VR-Zone Tech News for the Geeks Mar 2012 Issue by VR Media Pte. Ltd.

February 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Kinect Star Wars pre-orders in Singapore begins today Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/kinect-star-wars-pre-orders-insingapore-begins-today/15065.html February 29th, 2012

Star Wars fan who are looking to get the "Kinect Star Wars" game and Limited Edition "Kinect Star Wars" console bundle can pre-order at participating retailers in Singapore, starting today.

retailers starting today. The "Kinect Star Wars" game will be selling at S$59.90, while the Limited Edition "Kinect Star Wars" console bundle will have a S$649 price tag. On top of that, customers who pre-order the game or the console bundle will also receive a free premium of a Star Wars toy figurine from Hasbro (worth S$19.90), and they will be able to collect both the purchases and premium on 3 April at Plaza Singapura main atrium (12.30pm to 8pm). According to Ian Tan, category manager, Xbox 360, Microsoft Singapore, there is limited quantity to the "Kinect Star Wars" console with C-3PO golden wireless controller and R2-D3 blue-and-white themed console. And if you don't buy this console, you will never find another one like this again. If you are looking to sign up for StarHub Broadband plan, well, you can also enjoy the Xbox 360 Limited Edition "Kinect Star Wars" console bundle for free. Simply sign up for two-year StarHub 50Mbps Fibre Home Broadband or 50Mbps Cable Broadband plan. On top of that, StarHub customer will also receive a free Star Wars figurine. The "Kinect" Star Wars offers give dynamic modes - Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising; Duels of Fate; Podracing mode; Rancor Rampage mode and Galactic Dance Off mode.

On top of that, Microsoft has also introduced the all-white edition of the 4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect, which is selling at all major IT retail stores at S$469. The bundle will come with a glossy white Xbox 360 console, white Kinect sensor, one white wireless controller, two free games Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports, and 3-month Xbox LIVE Gold subscription. Note that this exclusive bundle is available for a limited time only.

The "Kinect Star Wars" game, and Limited Edition "Kinect Star Wars" console bundle will only be retailing on 3 April, but for those hardcore Star Wars fans who want to ensure they would get a copy of the game, and even own the limited edition game console, can pre-order them from participating 1

February 29th, 2012

Apple iPad 3 expected to launch on 7 March Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-ipad-3-expected-to-launchon-7-march/15073.html February 29th, 2012

The next version of Apple's iPad is expected to launch on 7 March at a scheduled event organised by the Cupertino, California-based company. The next version of Apple's iPad is expected to launch on 7 March at a scheduled event organised by the Cupertino, California-based company. Apple has not confirmed the product launch, but strongly hinted at it in its invitation to journalists. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have something you really have to see. And touch,â&#x20AC;? it said, accompanying an image of what appeared to be an iPad touchscreen, according to the BBC. The iPad 2 launched in March of last year, suggesting a trend for launches of the Apple tablet range, but the original iPad released in early April, so we cannot necessarily assume anything on the basis of dates. Sales of the first two iPad models have topped 50 million units worldwide, which, when we consider the high price tag involved, is a lot of profit for the company.

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With the death of Apple's co-founder and former CEO, Steve Jobs, last year investors have expressed concern about whether or not the company can continue to push forward. The launch of the iPhone 4S disappointed investors and fans alike, so many eyes will be watching the iPad 3 to see if it can steal back market share that is being slowly lost to rivals like Samsung's Galaxy Tab and Amazon's dirt cheap Kindle Fire, the latter of which now has its own competition in the form of a $199 Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet. All is not rosey for Apple, however, as it it is embroiled in a patent war with rival companies, with lawsuits fired back and forth. Initially it appeared to have the upper hand, but recent struggles with Samsung, Motorola Mobility and Proview have shown that it's best not to throw stones when living in a glass house.

Toshiba and Western Digital sign agreement to exchange HDD assets Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/toshiba-and-western-digital-signagreement-to-exchange-hdd-assets/15072.html February 29th, 2012

Toshiba and Western Digital have signed an agreement to exchange certain assets relating to their hard disk drive (HDD) businesses in efforts to increase capacity and expand market portfolios. Toshiba and Western Digital have signed an agreement to exchange certain assets relating to their hard disk drive (HDD) businesses in efforts to increase capacity and expand market portfolios. The deal will see Toshiba acquire a number of Western Digital's 3.5-inch HDD manufacturing equipment and related intellectual property, opening up the potential for new hard drive releases. Toshiba will also acquire manufacturing equipment for near-line HDDs for server applications. 2

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Meanwhile, Western Digital will acquire complete control of Toshiba Storage Device Thailand, Toshiba's HDD manufacturing subsidiary in Thailand. This will give Western Digital the potential for additional capacity, which will help it pump out hard drives into what is still a market drought after last year's floods in the country, providing, of course, that the factories are still in working order.

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Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the first downloadable content (DLC) pack for its recently released RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The additional game content, entitled Legend of Dead Kel, gives players access to a huge new continent called Gallows End, adding over 15 percent more landscape to the game, with tons of new quests and side quests to keep players busy. There's also many new enemies, a new dungeon type called Dverga Fastings, and dozens of new items to kit out your characters. The add-on also opens up what EA is calling â&#x20AC;&#x153;the ultimate player housing.â&#x20AC;? Users don't just get a little hut to store their belongings, but rather a huge estate with several buildings and many servants who even have their own side quests.

Toshiba is hoping to become the market leader in HDDs, SSDs, and NAND flash, with this deal expanding its HDD portfolio so that it covers all segments of the HDD market. It also enhances Toshiba's capacity to make near-line HDDs for the server market, which it expects to boom. It is not clear if this was a simple one for one exchange or if either company provided additional financial payment. If it is the latter neither company has released the figures. The companies hope to complete the deal by the end of March once it meets approval by the relevant authorities. This could be delayed, however, as it is also dependant on Western Digital's acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.

EA announces DLC for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ea-announces-dlc-for-kingdoms-ofamalur-reckoning/15071.html February 29th, 2012

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the first downloadable content (DLC) pack for its recently released RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning launched earlier this month in Europe and North America to some rave reviews. With a story developed by author R.A. Salvatore and the game's artwork influenced by Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn, developer 38 Studios has brought on some heavyweights to make this a successful and enjoyable game. Downloadable content has become a new way to expand a game without going all out with an expansion pack, borrowing from the regular updates users see in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. Not only does this method save the company money on packaging a new title, it can give a constant stream of revenue. The Legend of Dead Kel DLC pack will be available on 20 March on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Origin and Steam.

Is Lucid's Virtu MVP the next big thing for gaming? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/is-lucid-s-virtu-mvp-the-next-bigthing-for-gaming-/15070.html

February 29th, 2012 February 29th, 2012

We have as yet to see LucidLogix's new Virtu MVP software in action, but if we're to believe a blog post on Gigabyte's (un)official blog, then we're looking at something that every single gamer will want to get in on. Lucid's logo for Virtu MVP simply states Universal GPU Virtualization, but the way we're hearing it, this is way beyond anything the company has done so far. We have as yet to see LucidLogix's new Virtu MVP software in action, but if we're to believe a blog post on Gigabyte's (un)official blog, then we're looking at something that every single gamer will want to get in on. Lucid's logo for Virtu MVP simply states Universal GPU Virtualization, but the way we're hearing it, this is way beyond anything the company has done so far. Lucid's Hydra never really took off, mostly due to the fact that motherboard and graphics card makers alike never really got on board. Lucid's Virtu software gained some traction though, especially after Intel launched the Z68 chipset and Virtu MVP builds on this, but is meant to have a much bigger impact when it comes to the overall performance increase you get by combining multiple GPUs. We've only heard some rumours so far, but apparently Virtu MVP can deliver more performance than what you'd get if you'd combine the single GPU performance of two separate GPUs. This sounds almost too good to be true and apparently it's somewhat dependant on the types of GPUs you combine.

Lucid is carrying over many of the features from Virtu to Virtu MVP, such as Virtual Vsync which the company claims will allow for â&#x20AC;&#x153;unlimited frame rateâ&#x20AC;? although in this case we're talking about higher frame rates with Vsync enabled on LCD screens. The company has also added something it calls HyperFormance which is said to improve the overall responsiveness in 3D games, i.e. reduced input lag. This should be a feature that a lot of gamers are going to want on top of what's already been mentioned, as reduced input lag could mean that you end up on the winning end of a gunfight for example. We'll have to wait and see how good Virtu MVP really is, but we know that several motherboard makers are planning on supplying a copy of the software with their upcoming Intel 7-series motherboards. Lucid has apparently managed to impress them so much that this will be one of the headline features of their new boards and we presume this is part of the reason why Gigabyte is mentioning it on its blog. That said, the software will work with AMD's various platforms as well and hopefully there will be a way to purchase the software on its own for those that want a copy for their

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current hardware. Expect a more in-depth look at what Virtu MVP has to offer ones it becomes available.

OCZ expands Agility 3 SSD lineup with 180GB and 360GB variants Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ocz-expands-agility-3-ssd-lineupwith-180gb-and-360gb-variants/15069.html February 29th, 2012

The Japanese market has become the first to learn of two new Agility 3 series solid state drives on the horizon - a 180GB and 360GB model. Looking at the Agility 3 product page on OCZ's website confirms the two additional variants with their respective part numbers listed. The Japanese market has become the first to learn of two new Agility 3 series solid state drives on the horizon - a 180GB and 360GB model. Looking at the Agility 3 product page on OCZ's website confirms the two additional variants with their respective part numbers listed.

OCZ's Agility 3 line of SSDs sits underneath the company's flagship Vertex 3 line with the same SandForce SF-2281 controller, but with cheaper asynchronous NAND flash memory and the general consensus is that these drives offer pretty good bang for buck. The new 180GB drive (with a part number of AGT3-25SAT3-180G) fills the void between the existing 120GB and 240GB models, while the 360GB (AGT3-25SAT3-360G ) takes care of the gap between the 240GB and 480GB models. Running quickly over the rated performance figures, the 180GB model gives sequential read rates of up to 525MB/sec and writes at up to 500MB/sec with 35,000 IOPS 4K random write performance. The 360GB model is also rated at up to 525MB/sec read, but with 495MB/sec write rates and the same 35,000 IOPS 4K random write performance applies. Pricing on the two new models comes in at 19,000 JPY (US $256) for the 180GB Agility 3 and 36,000 JPY (US $447) for the 360GB.

February 29th, 2012

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Almost a couple dozen Doom 4 screenshots are out! Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/almost-a-couple-dozen-doom-4screenshots-are-out-/15068.html February 29th, 2012

If you're a die hard Doom fan you've no doubt been frantically holding out to get whatever bits of info you can source on the fourth release in id SOftware's classic FPS series, as until now there's been very little mentioned about it apart from a brief statement during QuakeCon 2011 from John Carmack. At that time Carmack said Doom 4 was a go and that it would be using a new scripting language called "super-script" which is based on C++.

As for these screenshots however, Bethesda has not come forward and confirmed or denied their authenticity. They certainly appear to be legit, depicting previous rumours that Doom 4 would be a remake of an earlier installment (Doom II: Hell on Earth) or possibly a prequel to Doom 3 where the carnage would take place on Earth.

To see the full stash of screenies head over to the source, but remember to ignore the cancellation talk!

Since then we've heard next to nothing on its development, not until this report came in on Tuesday morning that is. AllGamesBeta have posted up no less than 21 screenshots of id Software's work in progress on the game, although in this same report they give some shattering news that supposedly the game has been cancelled and won't be seeing light of day.

The $35 Raspberry Pi computer launches, crashes servers due to demand Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-35-raspberry-pi-computerlaunches-crashes-servers-due-to-demand/15067.html February 29th, 2012

If you thought the Apple fan boys (and girls) were silly for queuing up ahead of new product launches, then the craziness going on around the Raspberry Pi launch would have you flabbergasted. Not only has the $35 computer managed to crash the servers of both the retail partners, but people got up at daybreak to get their orders in as soon as the order pages went live.

Thankfully it was indicated a short time later through a Tweet that Doom 4 is anything but doomed and is indeed still a work in progress.

February 29th, 2012

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It's amazing how much attention the Raspberry Pi has been getting in the media, with coverage on the television news, all just because it's a low cost computer targeting the educational market. That said, the buyers at launch aren't schools, as the first batch of 10,000 units is limited to one order per customer and this this case it's mostly hardware enthusiasts and various companies trying to get their hands on it.

some time studying programming many years ago. Either which way, we do condone what the Raspberry Pi foundation is trying to achieve, as it's not an easy task to get students interested in programming.

For the time being the availability is limited to only the more expensive of the two models that the Raspberry Pi foundation will be offering and that's only if you're lucky enough to place an order with one of its two distribution partners, RS Components or Premier Farnell. However, the foundation is moving over to a licensed manufacturing model where RS and Farnell will take over the manufacturing and this should hopefully alleviate some pressure from the foundation as well as get product out in the market.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-cuts-prices-by-2-to-15-acrossnine-phenom-ii-cpus/15066.html February 29th, 2012

AMD cuts prices by 2 to 15% across nine Phenom II CPUs

Along with AMD's juggling of its FX-Series that took place yesterday in the form of two new models (the FX-6200 and FX-4170) as well as some price cuts to a couple existing FX chips, we've since learned that the company hasn't stopped there in terms of the price slashing with significant cuts made across its Phenom II range of processors as well. Along with AMD's juggling of its FX-Series that took place yesterday in the form of two new models (the FX-6200 and FX-4170) as well as some price cuts to a couple existing FX chips, we've since learned that the company hasn't stopped there in terms of the price slashing with significant cuts made across its Phenom II range of processors as well.

The idea behind the Raspberry Pi was to create an affordable computer for schools that would allow kids to learn the basics of programming and general computer “hacking”. It's a fairly basic system that comes with a Broadcom BCM2835 SoC based on an ARM11 processor that operates at 700MHz paired up with Broadcom's VideoCore IV GPU and 256MB of RAM. There's no on board storage, but an SD card slot is present. The cheaper – yet un-launched – $25 model has a single USB 2.0 port whereas the more expensive $35 model has two USB 2.0 ports and an Ethernet port with both models sporting an HDMI port, an composite video RCA connector, a 3.5mm audio jack and various other low-level interfaces and a micro USB port for power. The Raspberry Pi will run various flavours of Linux and the foundation has been working closely with Fedora and Debian among others to create special versions of the OS that can run on the fairly low specced system. Various precompiled images will be downloadable from the foundation, of which some had already appeared ahead of the hardware launch and we're sure more are to come. As to how popular the Raspberry Pi will be with students is anyone's guess as the moment, but at least the foundation has found itself a big enough following with the enthusiast market to make a splash in the general media which will hopefully help them to reach into the educational institutions. The question is if the teachers will be able to integrate something as complex as the Raspberry Pi into their lessons, know how poor some programing teachers are at teaching programming, with yours truly having spent

Nine Phenom II processors have been reported to be affected with cuts ranging from 2% up to 15% across the board. The Phenom II X4 965 appears to have taken the biggest drop, shifting down from $135 to $115. The X4 955, X4 975 and X4 980 all receive double-digit % cuts as well, while the X6 1055T and X6 1075T saw drops of 6.1% and 8.8%, respectively.

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Samsung Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionssamsung/15057.html February 29th, 2012

Samsung's presence can surely be felt at the IT Show 2012, with lots of promotions on their wide range of products from TV, digital cameras, notebook PCs, to monitors, printers, mobile phones and tablets. Their booths can be located at Hall 4, booth number 8328 and 8301. Samsung LED D7000 TV 6

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The Samsung LED D7000 series features a minimalist design and is aesthetically pleasing with a thin 5mm black bezel and framed by a jewel-like transparent bezel that uses Samsung's Crystal TV design. The Smart TV incorporates improved backlight scanning technology with Samsung's 3D frame interpolation algorithm, which claims to improve 3D picture quality and creates sharp 2D and 3D pictures and smooth frame transitions without blurring. Retail Price: 55-inch - S$5,999 ; 46-inch - S$4,499 IT Show Price: TBC Samsung MultiView MV800 digital camera

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The Series 5 ULTRA is powered by second generation Intel Core i5-2467M processor, up to 8GB memory, combined with ExpressCache system by Diskeeper and AMD Radeon HD graphics card. Comes in 13- and 14-inch models, the Series 5 ULTRA is able to fast boot in just 20 seconds, restarts from sleep mode in two seconds, and offers up to 6.4 hours of battery life on a single charge. The laptops also come with Samsungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s superior LCD technology with 300nit HD LED SuperBright display, Image Enhancer technology and anti-reflective screen for a superb viewing experience. Retail Price: 13-inch - S$1,288 ; 14-inch - S$1,588 IT Show Price: TBC Samsung TA950 monitor

The Samsung MultiView MV800 has a 3-inch wide flipout touch display that lets you frame every shot and view easily from any perspective. It claims to be the first premium compact model with such flip screen, and boasts a 16.1megapixel rating with a 5x optical zoom lens that can capture every detail close-up, and a 26mm wide-angle lens to take picture of larger gatherings. The camera also comes with the innovative Live Panorama function that lets you shoot panoramic photos by simply holding down the shutter button. On top of that, just connect the MV800 to a 3D HDTV, and you can view the images and panoramic shots in outstanding 3D in-depth quality instantly. Retail Price: S$499 IT Show Price: TBC Samsung Series 5 ULTRA notebook PCs

The 27-inch Samsung TA950 3D LED monitor offers full high definition 1920x1080 resolution and realistic 3D playback on a wide variety of 3D content. It sports a metallicsilver finish, has a wide viewing angle, and comes with built-in TV tuner, picture-in-picture (PIP) feature and can function as a TV. Connectivity options include HDMI, USB and cable inputs, and with the Samsung Smart TV, you can navigate YouTube, social networking services like Facebook and Twitter, or download a variety of Samsung Apps via a convenient on-screen widget. The TA950 is also equipped with two 7-watt speakers that support Dolby Digital, SRS TheaterSound HD, DTS 2.0 and 3D Sound. Retail Price: S$899 7

February 29th, 2012

IT Show Price: TBC

Published by: VR-Zone February 29th, 2012

Samsung booths can be located at Hall 4, booth number 8328 and 8301, at the IT Show 2012

Mozilla introduces new Boot to Gecko mobile OS Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/mozilla-introduces-new-boot-togecko-mobile-os/15064.html February 29th, 2012

The new Xperia acro HD SO-03D is scheduled to retail in Japan on 15 March next month, with pre-orders starting on 2 March.

A new mobile OS called "Boot to Gecko" has been unveiled by Mozilla at this week's Mobile World Congress, which claims to not only bring a similar user experience, but will also be 10 times more affordable than the current breed of high end smartphones like the Apple iPhone.

NTT DoCoMo has announced the pre-order of the Xperia acro HD SO-03D will commence from 2 March, while the sales date is on 15 March. The Xperia acro HD SO-03D is one of the latest model in DoCoMo series of smartphone, designed with characteristic features to suit the Japan market. It has similar specifications to the Xperia NX SO-02D, features mobile wallet, infrared, is waterproof and weighs 149g. Mozilla is known for their free Firefox web browser from the PC to mobile devices. And it looks like the software company could be going after Android with the introduction of a new open-source mobile operating system, Boot to Gecko (B2G). B2G claims to offer similar user experience like other smartphones, but best of all, it will bring down the cost of a smartphone; reportedly 10 times cheaper than the iPhone.

With a two-year contract, the Xperia acro HD SO-03D will cost around 30,000 yen (approximately US$370) if you factor in discounts for monthly subscription. Note that you can probably get more discount from the Spring Special Smart Phone Campaign that runs until 31 March, whereby the price for the phone could go to the region of 20,000 yen (approximately US$250) for two-year contract.

Mozilla is pushing web applications using web standards and enouraging developers to create applications that will work on any HTML5-enabled devices. The company has also introduced the Mozilla Marketplace for developers to submit the web apps, and for users to get them. In addition, Mozilla is also promoting new web APIs that allow web applications to direct access to various services including phone dialing, SMS messages, cameras, GPS, USB, and Bluetooth.

LG demos voice-to-video conversion over a LTE network Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-demos-voice-to-video-conversionover-a-lte-network/15062.html February 29th, 2012

At the Mobile World Congress 2012, Spanish telecommunications provider Telefónica has announced that it would work with Mozilla to develop smartphones based on the Boot to Gecko platform with price that is comparable to feature phones. *Pics from PC Magazine

Xperia acro HD SO-03D to retail in Japan on 15 March

At the Mobile World Congress, LG demonstrated world’s first voice-to-video conversion over a LTE network, which allows users to switch between voice and video during an ongoing call.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/xperia-acro-hd-so-03d-to-retail-injapan-on-15-march/15063.html

February 29th, 2012

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At last year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC), LG successfully demonstrated Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and video calls. Prior to the introduction of LTE technology, high definition video calls on smartphones were not possible, as 3G networks were unable to handle the volume of data at the speeds required for high quality video images. At MWC 2012, LG demonstrated the world’s first voiceto-video conversion over a LTE network. Based on LG’s proprietary technology, it allows users to switch between high quality voice and high resolution video call modes easily, during an ongoing telephone conversation. The LG’s LTE voice-to-video conversion process adheres to the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) Profile for Conversational Video Service, the industry standard established by the GSMA to govern the delivery of both video and voice data over LTE. The Korean electronics company said that it will launch LTE-capable smartphones compliant with Conversational Video Service later this year.

Cancelled Batman game footage shows up Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/cancelled-batman-game-footageshows-up/15061.html February 29th, 2012

Footage has surfaced of a cancelled Batman game based on the Gotham by Gaslight alternative universe comic, which shows the potential of the unfortunately axed title. Footage has surfaced of a cancelled Batman game based on the Gotham by Gaslight alternative universe comic, which shows the potential of the unfortunately axed title. Day 1 Studios, which made F.E.A.R., Fracture and MechAssault, pitched a game featuring the Caped Crusader to THQ, but the publisher was not impressed, forcing the studio to put a premature end to what could have been an interesting game. The setting is based on the one-shot comic Gotham by Gaslight, where Batman tries to hunt down Jack the Ripper in 1889. There's no time travel involved, and all the usual cast, including Gordon and the Joker, are there, but the time period changes everything.

With such an interesting setting and story, all that was needed was good gameplay. The demo released by a Day 1 Studios source to Siliconera shows that it had some potential in this area too. While we don't get to see the Dark Knight in combat, we do get to see some nice lighting and cloak effects. The world is dark and moody, everything you'd expect from Gotham, but even moreso when set in the Victorian styling of the late 19th Century. Perhaps the only big failing of the demo is seeing Batman leap several stories into the air to land on top of a building. This ruins some of the atmosphere and we would have rather seen him use a rope or similar device.

ZTE announces Era quadcore Android smartphone Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/zte-announces-era-quad-coreandroid-smartphone/15060.html February 29th, 2012

ZTE has announced its Era quad-core Android smartphone at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, touting it as one of the thinnest high-end devices on the market. ZTE has announced its Era quad-core Android smartphone at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, touting it as one of the thinnest high-end devices on the market. 9

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The ZTE ERA features a 4.3-inch screen, an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core mobile processor, 8GB of storage with room to expand via a MicroSD card, and an Nvidia Icera 450 HSPA + modem. The device is just 7.8mm thin and also comes with Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Google's mobile operating system.

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Nine out of ten people have not read Google's new privacy policy, a study by Big Brother Watch and YouGov has revealed. Nine out of ten people have not read Google's new privacy policy, a study by Big Brother Watch and YouGov has revealed. Despite Google plastering links and notices to its new privacy policy all over its numerous websites and services, only 12 percent of Google users have read the changes. Even more worryingly, a whopping 47 percent of British adults did not know that a new privacy policy is coming into effect on 1 March, despite 92 percent of online British users employing Google on a regular basis. Only 40 percent of users think Google should implement the policy change this week. This is likely because they want more time to read it, or are simply content with how things are run now.

ZTE is hoping that this device and others like it helps push it to becoming one of the top three handset makers by 2015, a goal that is certainly achievable given recent growth of 50 percent in handset shipments and a whopping 400 percent increase in smartphone shipments. It currently holds the number four spot and is seeing faster smartphone growth than any other company except Apple.

The policy change will take Google's roughly 60 separate privacy policies and replace them with a single unified policy that contains more detail, a move which the company claims will make it simpler and easier to understand Google's stance on privacy.

“In 2012, ZTE products will be building up from the lowmiddle end of the market into the middle-high end, with the ZTE Era being the best example of that development,” said He Shiyou, EVP and Head of the Terminals Division at ZTE. “We will continue our long-standing cooperation with operators around the world, but we will also continue to build our distributor channels (both ODM and OEM), and we will be focusing our marketing in particular on the highend markets of Europe, America, Japan and China.” The ZTE Era will launch in China and Europe in the second half of 2012.

9 out of 10 people have not read Google's new privacy policy Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/9-out-of-10-people-have-not-readgoogle-s-new-privacy-policy/15059.html February 29th, 2012

“The impact of Google’s new policy cannot be understated, but the public are in the dark about what the changes actually mean,” said Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch. “Companies should not be allowed to bury in legal jargon and vague statements how they may monitor what we do online, where we use our phones and even listen to what we say in calls. This change isn’t about Google collecting more data, it’s about letting the company combine what’s in your emails with the videos you watch and the things you search for.” Big Brother Watch has contacted the UK's Information Commissioner to ask for an investigation of Google's privacy policy change and whether or not it breaks UK data protection law. The Article 29 Working Party has filed a 10

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similar request with the data protection authorities of other European Union member states.

• Dr Ni Zhengdong, Founder, Zero2IPO

“If people don’t understand what is happening to their personal information, how can they make an informed choice about using a service?” added Pickles. “Google is putting advertiser’s interests before user privacy and should not be rushing ahead before the public understand what the changes will mean.”

• Marc van der Chijs, CoFounder, Tudou.com • Antonny Liem, CEO, Merah Putih Incubator

You can read the new privacy policy here.

DEMO Asia 2012: 76 StartUps, 14 countries, 1 Stage

9:50am

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/demo-asia-2012-76-start-ups-14countries-1-stage/15055.html February 29th, 2012

• Professor Wong Poh Kam, Director, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre; Board Director, BANSEA (Moderator) DEMO ASIA – Alpha Pitch Program Kickoff! Overview DEMO’s Alpha Pitch Programme. • Jessica Tan, Managing Director, Microsoft Singapore • Alpha Pitch by 10 Innovators sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

DEMO Asia, a launchpad for budding startups, will take place for the first time in Asia tomorrow here in Singapore. The stage is set for pitches by 76 start-ups coming from 14 countries where they will vie for the attentions of venture capitalists and the public.

Alpha Pitch by sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark: • Audio Scribe Limited (New Zealand)

• Agate Studio (Indonesia) • HobbyMash (Philippines)

Each presenting team will be given only 6 minutes to pitch their ideas to the audience, without the use of flashy powerpoints or electronic aids. There will also be networking opportunities and various panels on a myraid of topics chaired by distinguished industry figures throughout the 3 days. The following is the event programme: 8:00am 8:45am 9:00am

• GIO Software Co, Ltd (South Korea) • StyleRocks Pty Ltd (Australia) • Tapit Media Pty Ltd (Australia)

Registration Level 2, Matrix@Biopolis Guests to be seated by 8:45am Welcome to DEMO Asia! Welcome and Opening Speeches by:

• Rofarez Solutions Sdn Bhd (Malaysia) • Coworkify (Japan) • DocuBuzz Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) 10:20am

• Robin Hu, Chairman, Sphere Exhibits • Benjamin Ng, General Manager, DEMO Asia

9:20am

• Matt Marshall, Executive Producer, DEMO Panel “Investing in Asia – Opportunities and Challenges for Startups and Investors”

• Appota.com (Vietnam) DEMOfocus on Cloud & Enterprise Technologies Get a glimpse into promising startups that could to be the next big thing in the cloud and enterprise space. • 6 Launch

11:20am

• 4 Alpha Pitch Cloud & Enterprise Technology Sages 11

February 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Get valuable perspectives from our panel of experts who will comment on the morning’s

• 8 Launch 3:20pm

demonstrators and the cloud technology markets. Sages include:

demonstrators and the social media technology market.

• Simone Brunozzi, Technology Evangelist, Amazon Web Services – Asia Pacific

• Jeff Clavier, Founder, SoftTech VC

• Zane Adam, Senior Director, Azure Asia, Microsoft

• Marc van der Chijs, Cofounder, Tudou.com

• Lim Kuo-Yi, CEO, Infocomm Investment Pte Ltd

11:40am

• Matt Marshall, Executive Director, DEMO (Moderator) DEMO One-on-One

• Vinnie Lauria, Founder, Lefora

3:40pm

“Nation as IDM Platform” • Michael Yap, Deputy Chief Executive (Regulatory) Executive Director (Interactive & Digital Media Program Office)

12:00pm

4:40pm

• Jeff Clavier, Founder, SoftTech VC

2:20pm

• Interview by Matt Marshall, Executive Producer, DEMO DEMOfocus on Social and Media Technologies Check out how the social media companies intend to change the way we live.

• 3 Alpha Pitch Web Technology Sages Get valuable perspectives from our panel of experts who will comment on the afternoon’s demonstrators and the web technology market.

Networking Lunch Sponsored by Media Development Authority Singapore (MDA)

2:00pm

• James Chan, Principle, Neoteny Labs (Moderator) DEMOfocus on Web Technologies See the promising web technologies that aim to make it big. • 8 Launch

• Interview by Matt Marshall, Executive Producer, DEMO DEMO Asia Showcase Opens Levels 2, 2M, 3 & 4

Levels 2, 2M, 3 & 4 DEMO One-on-One Hear from one of Silicon Valley’s most active angel investors.

• 2 Alpha Pitch Social and Media Technology Sages Get valuable perspectives from our panel of experts who will comment on the morning’s

• Rebeca Hwang, CoFounder, Younoodle • Erwan Mace, Developer Relations, Google

5:00pm

• Adriana Gascoigne, Founder, Girls in Tech (Moderator) DEMO One-on-One Hear from Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). • Robert Kim, Director, Consumer Infocomm, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) • Joerg Krahnert, Managing Director, Netbiscuits 12

February 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

• Paul Doherty, President, ScreamPoint • Dib Chaudhuri, Cofounder & President, Lakshya Digital

5:30pm

5:40pm – 7:30pm

• Interview by Matt Marshall, Executive Producer, DEMO DEMO Asia – Day 1 Wrap Up • Matt Marshall, Executive Producer, DEMO DEMO Asia Showcase / Cocktail Reception Hosted by Google Enjoy a fun evening with great networking at the DEMO Showcase!

NEC unveils PH1000U professional projector of 11,000 ANSI lumens brightness Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nec-unveils-ph1000u-professionalprojector-of-11-000-ansi-lumens-brightness/15056.html February 29th, 2012

operating 24/7 and is designed for higher education, house of worship, corporate and retail environments. Powered by a unique 3-chip 0.96-inch DLP system, the WUXGA resolution projector boasts 11,000 ANSI lumens brightness and features a sleek design. The company states that the PH1000U can take on most demanding integration projects, under almost any operating conditions. It also offers Open Pluggable Specification (OPS), which is the first industry-wide standardization in option slots to simplify installation, use and maintenance while offering input flexibility. On top of that, the projector supports multiple input cards, including an HD/SD-SDI and single board computer (SBC). Other connectivity options include DisplayPort, HDMI and RGB connectors, as well as NEC’s Projector Viewer function. Users can also stream content over the network, while administrators can monitor and control the projector via a wired or wireless connection (with optional Wi-Fi module). The NEC PH1000U projector is available now at an estimated retail price of S$76,788 with two-year limited warranty. Specifications - 11,000-lumen brightness - 2000:1 contrast ratio (with dynamic contrast) - 3-Chip DLP - 1920 x 1200 WUXGA native resolution - Dual UHP lamps with lamp life up to 2500 hours in ECO Mode - Open Pluggable Specification option slot including an HD/ SD SDI input card and SBC - Connectivity includes HDMI with HDCP, DisplayPort, three computer inputs, component and S-Video - Stacking capability (up to 44,000 lumens with four projectors)

NEC has launched their latest professional projector, PH1000U, which uses a three-Chip DLP system, and features high-performance video processing, integrated networking and asset management, and 11,000 ANSI lumens brightness.

- Complete line of five bayonet-style lenses with powered zoom, focus and lens shift - Lens Memory controls lens attributes (zoom, focus, shift) based on input resolution and input selection - Windows Network Projector Function directly connects to networked projectors without the need for additional proprietary software - Windows Remote Desktop Function allows the control of the projector with a keyboard and mouse through the USB input - Windows Network Drive and Media Connection functions display multimedia files (.jpeg, .bmp, .png, .mpeg2 or .wmv9) - Cornerstone correction helps display the image properly when the projector is set up at an angle to the screen

Today, NEC Asia Pacific announced the new PH1000U digital projector with unique 3-chip DLP system. This professional installation model claims to be capable of

- Geometric correction allows the projector to display square-looking images on cylindrical, spherical or cornered screens 13

February 29th, 2012

- Edge blending technology creates panoramic images with multiple projectors - DICOM simulation - PIP/side-by-side allows two sources to be displayed on the screen at one time

Published by: VR-Zone

processing engine’s adaptive noise reduction and other low noise technologies, the WX100/WX150 is able to deliver superb quality images. Other features include fast autofocus, approximately 0.13 seconds in daylight and in low-light conditions, and advanced Optical SteadyShot image stabilization for crisp images. Sony Cyber-shot HX10V / HX20V

- Carbon savings meter calculates the positive effects of operating the projector in ECO Mode, which is encouraged by an optional message at startup - Security with lens anti-theft screw, cabinet control lock, logo lock and password protection - Email notifications to inform the system administrator when the projector’s lamp is approaching the end of its useful life

Sony announces new range of Cyber-shot digital cameras Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-announces-new-range-ofcyber-shot-digital-cameras/15054.html February 29th, 2012

Sony Singapore has unveiled eight Cyber-shot cameras - WX series (DSC-WX100), HX series (DSC-HX200V, HX20V, HX10V), W690, TX series (DSC-TX20, TX66), and H series (H90).

The Cyber-Shot DSC-HX20V is capable of taking clear and high resolution images and videos at almost any distance. It features Sony’s AA lens element, 18.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor, 20x optical zoom, optical SteadyShot, and a new GPS log recording function that lets users track and log location details of photos captured. The HX10V is the entrylevel version to the HX20V and is also equipped with the same 18.2 megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor. It incorporates a 24mm lens with image stabilisation, a 3-inch LCD screen with Photo Creativity editing and can record 1080/60i HD videos. Sony Cyber-shot W690

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX100

Measuring 17.5mm slim, the Sony DSC-WX100 claims to be world’s smallest and lightest cameras in its class. It comes with newly-developed Advanced Aspherical (AA) lens that has 10x optical zoom and can be enhanced by Clear Image Zoom for 20x zoom while resolution is kept. The camera also incorporates Extra High Sensitivity technology to reduce image noise up to 1/6, without affecting image quality. Combined with the 18.2-megapixel (effective) Exmor R CMOS image sensor, BIONZ image

Like its WX100 sibling, the Cyber-shot DSC-W690 is also very slim at 17.5mm, which claims to be the world's thinnest CCD-based digital camera with 10x optical zoom. It boasts a 16.1-megapixel Super HAD CCD, 10x optical zoom G Lens (25-250mm), improved Optical SteadyShot, and supports 360 Sweep Panorama.

Opera users can do online shopping easily on InMobi mobile payment platform Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/opera-users-can-do-onlineshopping-easily-on-inmobi-mobile-payment-platform/15053.html

February 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

February 29th, 2012

InMobi has announced the partnership with Opera Software to bring InMobiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SmartPay mobile payment platform to more than 160 million Opera mobile browser users worldwide.

ZDNet has said that LG are in the midst of discussions with Google about being the next Nexus maker, but it remains unclear for now as to whether or not they will score. HTC were given honours to present us with the first Google phone (the Nexus One), followed by Samsung with its lovely 4.65inch Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich attire. InMobi has announced its collaboration with Opera Software that lets users have a seamless online shopping experience. With this partnership, InMobi SmartPay will enable more than 16 million Opera users to pay for digital goods easily around the globe, when they make purchases with the leading publishers that partner with InMobi. The two companies are committed to providing choice to consumers, mobile content developers and app developers, by building viable third-party monetization solutions in the mobile browsing and computing space.

LG could be the next Google Nexus handset maker

It was previously speculated that the most likely candidate for a new Nexus device would be Motorola which Google is currently in the process of acquiring. It was thought that following the acquisition Google would only allow Motorola to have access to all of its latest Android updates, but if Google hand balls the next Nexus deal over to LG then it just goes to show that the company doesn't intend to play favourites.

AMD now rolling out FX-6200 and FX-4170 plus price cuts Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-now-rolling-out-fx-6200-andfx-4170-plus-price-cuts/15051.html February 29th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-could-be-the-next-google-nexushandset-maker/15052.html February 29th, 2012

We're starting to hear the rumour mill pump out talk of the next Nexus device being made by LG. It's been reported that LG is looking to get its mits on a contract that will give the handset maker exclusive rights to produce Google's nextgen Nexus device(s) and first dibs on one of Google's future major Android OS releases. We're starting to hear the rumour mill pump out talk of the next Nexus device being made by LG. It's been reported that LG is looking to get its mits on a contract that will give the handset maker exclusive rights to produce Google's nextgen Nexus device(s) and first dibs on one of Google's future major Android OS releases.

AMD's FX lineup of desktop processors has been dusted off a bit thanks to a couple of new additions to the series in the form of the FX-6200 and FX-4170 along with some price cutting on two existing chips; namely the FX-8120 and the FX-6100. AMD's FX lineup of desktop processors has been dusted off a bit thanks to a couple of new additions to the series in the form of the FX-6200 and FX-4170 along with some price cutting on two existing chips; namely the FX-8120 and the FX-6100. It's a shame AMD hasn't included its flagship FX-8150 with it still costing too much in line of the competition at about $245. The new 32nm-based hexa-core FX-6200 and quad-core FX-4170 AM3+ processors both run a TDP of 125W and carry 8MB of L3 cache. The FX-6200 has a base clock of 3.8GHz with Turbo at 4.1GHz, while the FX-4170 runs at 4.2GHz with a 4.3GHz Turbo speed. Pricing on the FX-6200 and FX-4170 hasn't officially been disclosed, but as an indication the FX-6200 is up for pre-

February 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

order at 152.70 Euro and the FX-4170 is shifting for 120.60 Euro at the time of writing. As for the aforementioned price cuts on the FX-8120 and FX-6100 chips, they've taken a small dive from $205 to $185 and $155 to $145, respectively.

Xbox 360 Game Review: Gears of War 3 and RAAM's Shadow DLC Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/xbox-360-game-review-gears-ofwar-3-and-raam-s-shadow-dlc/15050.html February 29th, 2012

In addition to the game: - Octus Award Box with the Octus Service Medal awarded to Dr. Adam Fenix - Exclusive Adam Fenix playable character for multiplayer Are you ready for war? Well, if you are, you would want to try hands on Gears of War 3 and RAAM's Shadow DLC thirdperson shooter. Developed by Epic Games, Gears of War 3 is the third instalment of its series and the final game in the story. Before we move on to the review, here's a look at what's inside the Gears of War 3 Limited Edition box.

- Fabric COG flag - Personal effects of Dr. Adam Fenix such as his Last Will and Testament, Hammer of Dawn schematics and Fenix family mementos Gears of Wars 3 Limited Edition (Xbox 360) - S$84.90 Gears of War 3: RAAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shadow DLC - 1200 MS Points

Nokia's 41 Million Pixel Smartphone a Revolution in Mobile Photography? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nokia-s-41-million-pixelsmartphone-a-revolution-in-mobile-photography-/15045.html February 29th, 2012

High end movie cameras always record in higher resolution than stated, but starting today, similar technology is becoming available in the smartphone market: Meet the Nokia 808 PureView. Today, Nokia unleashed a product which no one expected. With all the talk of quad-core phones, Android 4.0, Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" and upcoming 8.0 "Tango" it is easy to forget that while the performance of the phones is different, almost every phone comes with 5MP, 8MP or 12MP camera. Not anymore. 808 PureView certainly isn't going to make European car-maker Peugeot very happy (the company trademarked all three number with zero in the middle i.e. why Porsche 901 was renamed 911, extended to even some consumer products such as PC displays) - but this is a landmark smartphone.

February 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

In some ways Qualcomm appears to be behind some of its competitors, especially with the delay of its first quad core processors, but its new MSM8960 SoC has proven that more cores aren't always the way forward, despite the market hype. Now the company has announced a "pro" version of the MSM8960, simply called the MSM8960 Pro. In fact, VR-Zone reported about this model way back in September of last year, but then we didn't have a lot of detail to go on, except that there would be to SKUs of the MSM8960, one with Adreno 225 graphics which is the model available now and one with Adreno 320 graphics which is the pro version that Qualcomm has announced now. The MSM8960 Pro will also be clocked higher at 1.7GHz versus 1.5GHz for the non pro version.

Based on Symbian "Belle" operating system, the 808 PureView brings a record 41 million pixel CMOS sensor with Carl Zeis glass optics and the new proprietary pixel oversampling technology. We might argue it's not pixel oversampling, but hardware accelerated downsampling - the concept is effectively the same. The camera works in two ways. First and foremost, with the standard resolutions (2, 3, 5 and 8 MPixels), you can zoom in up to 3x without any loss of clarity. Second mode is to capture an almost full, 38 million pixel (7152x5368) image. Nokia released image gallery with the phone, and you can see it by clicking on following links: However, don't expect to see a 4K video being shot on this mobile phone. This phone captures Full HD i.e. 1080p video at 30 frames per second with 4X lossless zoom. This is also the first mobile phone to support "Nokia Rich Recording" i.e. combining the integrated microphone with DSP processor and allegedly "enabling CD-like levels of quality". The headphones are not the downfall of this device either multi-channel Dolby Headphone technology is here (hence the necessity for a headphone dock - it carries a separate DSP processor). If you're wondering how much does this 41MP goodness runs for, the answer is simple - $500 (without operator subsidies).

According to the press release from Qualcomm, the MSM8960 Pro will be optimized for "the most advanced operating systems, including the highly anticipated Windows 8 system" suggesting that the company is likely to target the MSM8960 Pro towards ARM based tablets and the ultra-thin and light notebook segment rather than for phones. Qualcomm also claims to have over 120 OEM design wins in development for its Snapdragon S4 class SoCs, although to be clear, this includes some 14 different SKUs of which some hasn't launched as yet and of which a couple are even based on the ARM Cortex-A5 core rather than Qualcomm's Krait architecture. Even so it's easy to see why Qualcomm is currently ahead of the competition when it comes to market share in the mobile SoC market space, but the company can't rest on its laurels, as there are plenty of competitors that want a slice of Qualcomm's market share and it looks like 2012 is going to be a very competitive year among the ARM licensees.

Broadcom announces Android 4.0 optimized SoCs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/broadcom-announces-android-4.0optimized-socs/15048.html February 29th, 2012

Is that too high or too low? Express your opinions below.

Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon S4 Pro Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/qualcomm-announces-thesnapdragon-s4-pro/15049.html February 29th, 2012

The ARM SoC market space for the mobile market is getting crowded, but it doesn't seem to stop Broadcom getting into the game with several new models optimized for Android 4.0. The company has announced the BCM28155, BCM28145 and BCM21654G at the MWC, all based on ARM's Cortex-A9 core. The ARM SoC market space for the mobile market is getting crowded, but it doesn't seem to stop Broadcom getting into the game with several new models optimized for Android 4.0. The company has announced the BCM28155, BCM28145 and BCM21654G at the MWC, all based on ARM's Cortex-A9 core. The most basic model is the BCM21654G which is a single core 1GHz chip with an integrated HSPA modem that supports download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5.8Mbps. There's also support for 8Megapixel camera sensors, 720p video recording and 17

February 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

accelerated 2D and 3D graphics courtesy of Broadcom's own VideoCore IV technology. The BCM28145 and BCM28155 appears to be near identical in terms of what's on offer, as both are a dual core SoCs with clock speeds of up to 1.3GHz with support for HSPA + download speeds of up to 21Mbps and upload speeds of 5.8Mbps. The main difference appear to be the fact that the BCM28155 supports 1080p video whereas the BCM28145 is limited to 720p video, but both processors support still images up to 20Megapixels. As with the BCM21654G, the BCM28145and BCM28155 sports Broadcom's VideoCore IV technology. All three models support 400MHz LPDDR2 memory; although the BCM28155 has an advantage over the other two models by having a dual-channel memory interface. Broadcom is also offering companion chips that add Bluetooth 4.0, dual-band Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct and WiFi Display support, GPS and GLOSNASS support as well as NFC. All three models apparently support dual-SIM as well, a feature that seems to be mostly popular in the Asian market. The only downside as we can see it is that Broadcom is manufacturing its new SoCs at 40nm, which means that are likely to run hotter and use a bit more power than its competitors whom are moving its latest products to 32 or 28nm. All three solutions will go into production in the second half of the year, suggesting that these will end up in mid-range handsets that should launch towards the end of the year. Broadcom is currently sampling customers, but didn't mention any potential partners.

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Gigabyte shrinks the G1.Sniper series to mATX with the M3 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-shrinks-the-g1.sniperseries-to-matx-with-the-m3/15101.html March 2nd, 2012

So far, all of Gigabyte's G1 series gaming motherboards have used the ATX or XL-ATX form factor, but with the introduction of its 7-series boards the company decided to launch a much requested mATX model, the G1.Sniper M3. It shares some of its features with the G1.Sniper 3, but as it's a smaller board; some compromises had to be made. So far, all of Gigabyte's G1 series gaming motherboards have used the ATX or XL-ATX form factor, but with the introduction of its 7-series boards the company decided to launch a much requested mATX model, the G1.Sniper M3. It shares some of its features with the G1.Sniper 3, but as it's a smaller board; some compromises had to be made.

As with the G1.Sniper 3, Gigabyte has used Creative's Sound Core3D here too, albeit with a slightly different design. We're not sure if there will be more capacitors or not, but there are a lot of empty spaces where additional audio grade capacitors appear to missing from. You do of course get the headphone amp here too, alongside the shielding which this time around also surrounds the front audio jack header.

The G1.Sniper M3 starts off with a pair of x16 PCI Express 3.0 slots, albeit both slots would as usual operate in dual x8 mode when used with a pair of graphics cards. The board also has a x16 PCI Express 2.0 slot, although it only has four lanes connected via the chipset, as well as a x1 PCI Express 2.0 slot. You only get two SATA 6Gbps and three SATA 3Gbps ports, but most mATX chassis don't have space for much more than five drives anyhow, so this shouldn't prove to be an issue for most. There's no Killer NIC is sight on the G1.Sniper M3, instead an Intel Ethernet controller is being used which isn't a terribly bad alternative. The board also has headers for six USB 2.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports. What we are missing though is the power, reset and clear CMOS buttons alongside the POST80 debug LED. At the rear of the board we find four USB 2.0 ports â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no USB 3.0 hubs on this board â&#x20AC;&#x201C; two USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, a PS/2 port, an Ethernet port, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI and D-sub connectors. Not bad, but somewhat disappointing compared to the G1.Sniper 3.

March 2nd, 2012

We're not blown away by the G1.Sniper M3 and it looks slightly short on features compared to ASRock's Fatal1ty Z77 Professional-M, at least as far as we can tell from the tiny picture that leaked. It's not a massive difference and hopefully the G1.Sniper M3 will make up for being somewhat lighter on features by being more affordable than the competition. We should also point out that the board we saw didn't have the final heatsinks, as they should look more like the ones on the G1.Sniper 3. We'll have to wait and see how popular the G1.Sniper M3 will be with gamers, especially as this is the target market and also where Gigabyte is going to have to slug it out with the competition.

Detailed hands on pictures of Gigabyte's G1.Sniper 3 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/detailed-hands-on-pictures-ofgigabyte-s-g1.sniper-3/15100.html March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

As you have most likely already seen from the picture above, Gigabyte has really toned down the heatsink design on its gaming boards with the G1.Sniper 3 and we were told that they'd received a lot of criticism for its heatinks on the previous boards and as such decided to go for something a bit plainer. This looks a lot cleaner at least, although we're sure that some users won't be happy with this move either. So what's new? Well, let's start at the rear of the board – and no we're not talking about the I/O – as some of the biggest changes have taken place here. As you can see, the audio chip has changed, gone is the huge Creative 20K2 chip and in its place is the much smaller Sound Core3D which isn't much larger than your average audio chip. However, as with its previous models, Gigabyte has also added a headphone amp, Nichicon audio capacitors and some shielding to reduce any potential signal interference.

Earlier today we swung by Gigabyte's office for an update ahead of Cebit and we were pleasantly surprised when the company told us that we could post pictures of its near final revision motherboards as of today. Due to the fact that Gigabyte has several new boards, we'll be breaking this down in a few articles so we can take a closer look at the various models, starting with the G1.Sniper 3. Earlier today we swung by Gigabyte's office for an update ahead of Cebit and we were pleasantly surprised when the company told us that we could post pictures of its near final revision motherboards as of today. Due to the fact that Gigabyte has several new boards, we'll be breaking this down in a few articles so we can take a closer look at the various models, starting with the G1.Sniper 3. Sadly we can't write too much about the technology of these 7-series chipsets motherboards for Intel's third generation Core i processors as they're currently being called, although to make things easy we'll simply stick to Ivy Bridge as and when we refer to the CPU. That said, it's not as if we're looking at boring boards here, as although they might not be packed to the brim with shiny new features, there's enough here to go around.

If you look closely in the bottom right hand corner of the picture you'll see another small chip underneath the audio shielding, this is the new Killer NIC from Qualcomm. Considering that the previous implementation used an FPGA, memory chips and a PHY from Broadcom, we'd say that this is a massive improvement in terms of PCB space requirements. The cost is apparently a lot lower as well, but just don't know how much cheaper it is. The downside both in terms of both of the new chips is the fact that some additional CPU processing time is needed, but this is unlikely to be a huge issue for anyone going for one of these boards. Due to some controversy over the Killer NICs, Gigabyte has added a second network controller – this time from Intel – to allow competitive gamers to use a standard network controller to avoid being called cheaters, although you can't 2

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

see that chip in the picture above, but it's right above the first x16 PCI Express slot on the board.

images show the main character with what appears to be a tomahawk, as well as a bow and quiver on his back.

Ubisoft confirms Assassin's Creed III setting in American Revolution

The game studio has spent the past three years working on what it is promising to be the â&#x20AC;&#x153;biggest instalmentâ&#x20AC;? of the Assassins versus Knights Templars story, with a complete rethinking of every element of the franchise.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ubisoft-confirms-assassin-s-creediii-setting-in-american-revolution/15099.html March 2nd, 2012

Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin's Creed III, the highly anticipated sequel in its assassin adventure, will be set at the time of the American Revolution. Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin's Creed III, the highly anticipated sequel in its assassin adventure, will be set at the time of the American Revolution.

Although some players considered the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood game to be the third installation, it is technically a spin-off from Assassin's Creed II, continuing the story of the game's protagonist. Ubisoft has promised that Assassin's Creed III's main character will be completely new, which looks to be the case from the artwork we have seen. Ubisoft has promised more details about the game on Monday, 5 March. The game will be released on 30 October of this year.

Leaked artwork showed the main character of the upcoming game weilding an axe and a pistol, with an American flag in the background, suggesting that the setting would in the second half of the 18th Century in the New World, with the protagonist potentially being a Native American. The time period is the logical next step to that of the previous two titles, which were set in the late 12th Century and late 15th Century respectively. The American Revolution gives plenty of material for the game designers to work with and should give players a unique experience at this important time in history.

First Look Video: Canon EOS 5D Mark III Menu Structure Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-look-video-canon-eos-5d-markiii-menu-structure/15097.html March 2nd, 2012

If you haven't seen the 1DX you wouldn't necessarily know that the menu structure has changed in the 5D Mark III. It isn't a drastic change but change none-the-less. http:// www.youtube.com/embed/eYEA3NZFaQk

German court dismisses Apple and Samsung lawsuits Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/german-court-dismisses-apple-andsamsung-lawsuits/15098.html March 2nd, 2012

Ubisoft revealed that the leaked images were real and Game Informer has published several new ones, giving us a tantalising first look at Assassin's Creed III. The new

A German court has dismissed two separate lawsuits brought by rivals Apple and Samsung against each other, 3

March 2nd, 2012

marking a stalemate in both companies' efforts to ban opposing devices in the largest European economy.

Published by: VR-Zone March 2nd, 2012

A German court has dismissed two separate lawsuits brought by rivals Apple and Samsung against each other, marking a stalemate in both companies' efforts to ban opposing devices in the largest European economy. The Mannheim regional court threw out Apple's case, which alleged that Samsung infringed one of its patents relating to slide-to-lock technology. The court also dismissed the final of three patent claims Samsung made against Apple, relating to 3G/UMTS technology, the other two of which had been previously rejected.

Scientists have demonstrated how “twisting” radio waves can significantly increase their capacity to carry information, which could free up frequency space for more radio, television, and Wi-Fi transmissions. Scientists have demonstrated how “twisting” radio waves can significantly increase their capacity to carry information, which could free up frequency space for more radio, television, and Wi-Fi transmissions. Professor Bo Thide from the Swedish Institute of Space Physics and a number of Italian colleagues shared their discovery in the New Journal of Physics, where they argued that the problem of limited bandwidth could soon be solved. The technique employs what is called “orbital angular momentum” to bend the waves, a method also believed to be employed in black holes. This allows for a wave to contain more information than previously possible by expanding its potential bandwidth.

Despite the stalemate both companies have additional lawsuits and patent claims pending a decision, including four more patents held by Samsung and another slide-tounlock lawsuit brought by Apple. Samsung welcomed the court's rejection of Apple's claims, stating that it affirms that its Galaxy range does not infringe Apple's intellectual property. It expressed disappointment that its own case was also dismissed, however, and vowed to appeal it at the Higher Regional Court in Karlsruhe. The smartphone and tablet rivals have been at each other's throats for the past year after Apple threw the first stone, accusing Samsung of “slavishly copying” its designs, particularly in terms of the Galaxy Tab and iPad. It secured an initial sales ban against the device in Germany, but Samsung altered its design slightly and was able to put it back on the market.

Scientists demonstrate radio wave "twisting" to increase bandwidth

The scientists demonstrated the theory by sending a signal from San Giorgio island to Palazzo Ducale in St. Mark's square, the location where Galileo first showed off his telescope hundreds of years ago. They employed a simple technique of adding a twist to the dish that sent the signal, resulting in it twisting and providing more bandwidth than normal. The significance of this discovery cannot be understated, as the telecommunications industry is suffering from a severe lack of spectrum, particularly in the mobile sector, where Wi-Fi-capable smartphones and tablet computers are continuing to boom.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/scientists-demonstrate-radio-wavetwisting-to-increase-bandwidth/15096.html

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Source and Image Credit: BBC

accompanied by pictures of a novel power connector solution.

NVIDIA GK104 PCB Pictured

Chinese websites have leaked a partial PCB drawing for NVIDIA's upcoming GK104 based graphics card, accompanied by pictures of a novel power connector solution.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-gk104-pcbpictured/15095.html March 2nd, 2012

Not content with leaking PCB drawings, a poster at chinese forum Chiphell has now leaked a live picture of GK104's PCB. The actual PCB is largely reminiscent of the leaked diagrams, and also fills in the missing blanks with a die shot and memory modules. Not content with leaking PCB drawings, a poster at chinese forum Chiphell has now leaked a live picture of GK104's PCB. The actual PCB is largely reminiscent of the leaked diagrams, and also fills in the missing blanks with a die shot and memory modules.

The GPU and memory area have been blanked out. Fortunately, the rest of the drawing reveals important details about GK104. The PCB itself is of similar length to the GTX 580. However unlike GTX 480 and GTX 580, there is no room spared in the fan area, with the 5-phase VRM section filled to the brim. The PCB seems to be capable of 2 x 6pin PCI-e + 8-pin power connectors, which could see this connector scheme recycled in a possible dual-GPU variant requiring 375W. Display outputs include 2xDVI, 1x HDMI and 1x DisplayPort. As expected, two SLI connectors are featured, for up to 4 way SLI (if supported).

The picture confirms everything discussed in the diagram leak article - from the overall length, unique stacked power connectors, the five phase VRM, 2x SLI connectors to the display outputs. The 2x DVI seem to be stacked like AMD's Radeon HD 5800 and 6900 graphics cards, constricting exhaust flow. In addition, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs are present. While it is difficult to tell from this angle, this particular PCB - most likely an engineering sample - appears to be sporting the 8-pin + 6-pin stacked power connector, as opposed to the previously leaked 2x6-pin stacked variant. It remains to be seen which configuration the final production boards will ship with. As for the bits not shown by the drawings - a total of 8 memory chips are present, which all but confirms the heavily rumoured 256-bit memory interface. A total of 2GB GDDR5 memory is expected. At first glance, the die appears to be similar in size to Tahiti, perhaps a tad smaller. Unlike recent NVIDIA performance GPUs, GK104 sheds the headspreader. GK104 is reported to release as GeForce GTX 670 Ti later this month.

In its single GPU GK104 form, it uses a stacked design featuring 2 x 6-pin PCI-e power connectors arranged on top of each other, driving upto 225W. However, certain samples and possibly overclocked variants may feature 8-pin+6-pin stacked - as is shown possible by the PCB drawing. The second single 6-pin connecter leads are left unused. In the stacked design, the top connector is flipped, so the 6-pin plug must be rotated 180 degrees to fit.

NVIDIA GK104 PCB diagram leaked

According to the latest rumours, the first GK104 based SKU is set to release later this month branded as GeForce GTX 670 Ti, offering performance between GTX 580 / HD 7950 and HD 7970.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-gk104-pcb-diagramleaked/15093.html March 2nd, 2012

LG showcases WCD-800 advanced wireless charger Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-showcases-wcd-800-advancedwireless-charger/15092.html

Chinese websites have leaked a partial PCB drawing for NVIDIA's upcoming GK104 based graphics card, 5

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

March 2nd, 2012

Wouldn't it be nice if we can do away with messy power cables to connect and charge our devices? Well, Korean electronics maker, LG, has recently unveiled their new advanced wireless charger, WCD-800, at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 that provides users with great convenience and flexibility.

The wait is over. Canon has announced the highlyanticipated EOS 5D Mark III digital SLR camera. At Ion Orchard in Singapore, Canon Singapore unveiled the successor to the 5D Mark II which is targeted at professional and advanced amateur photographers and film makers.

The WCD-800 wireless charger is actually a cradle which allow the phone to be docked vertically, allowing users to make video calls and send text messages or horizontally to view TV programs and High Definition movies while charging. Using electromagnetic induction, the WCD-800 relies on electric currents produced by the magnetic fields of the electric coils located under the charger, and helps to eliminate the inconvenience of power cable that needs to be plugged into the smartphone when recharging. The WCD-800 will be introduced first in Korea followed by North America in the first half of the year.

The 22.3-megapixel Canon 5D Mark III features a few improved features including the 36 x 24mm full-frame CMOS sensor, ISO sensitivity of 100 - 25,600 (expandable up to L:50, H1:51,200, new DIGIC 5+ processor, and continuous shooting speeds of up to 6 fps at full resolution. The digital SLR camera is also equipped with new 61-point High Density Reticular AF system (41 cross-types), 63zone dual layer iFCL metering system, and offers multiple exposures, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and supports CF and SD cards.

Canon unveils long-awaited 5D Mark III digital SLR camera Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-unveils-long-awaited-5dmark-iii-digital-slr-camera/15091.html

March 2nd, 2012

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Andrew Koh, senior director and general manager, Consumer Imaging and Information Division, Canon Singapore, was at the event to introduce the EOS 5D Mark III as well as new EF24mm f/2.8 IS USM, EF28mm f/2.8 IS USM, EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lenses, Speedlite 600EX and 600EX-RT, and wireless file transmitter WFT-E7.

16 and 32GB iPad 3s at launch, cheaper iPad 2 soon after, mini iPad coming Q3 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/16-and-32gb-ipad-3s-at-launchcheaper-ipad-2-soon-after-mini-ipad-coming-q3/15090.html March 2nd, 2012

You can now compose and track fast moving objects while maintaining focus, thanks to the new AF system. The new AF system lets you achieve fast AF speeds on f/4.0 lenses where it is usually associated with f/2.8 lenses on the EOS 1D Mark IV. The 5D Mark III claims to significantly reduce color artifacts and moirĂŠ effect, and it supports Standard Definition to Full High Definition recording (in 30P/25P/24P). It also supports continuous shooting up to a maximum of 30 minutes recording; it will create a new video file once the current file reaches 4GB during shooting. With a 3.2-inch tempered glass LCD II monitor (3:2 aspect ratio), you can frame shots, review images and navigate menus easily. The Canon EOS 5D Mark III will be available in end March at authorized Canon dealers. Pricing details are not available yet, until closer to retail. Canon has also not confirmed if the 5D Mark III will be showcased or taking pre-orders at the upcoming IT Show 2012.

More miniature iPad talk is continuing to churn its way through the rumour mill with the latest word being that it'll run a screen size of 7.85-inches with the same 1024 x 768 resolution seen on the first couple gen iPads. More miniature iPad talk is continuing to churn its way through the rumour mill with the latest word being that it'll run a screen size of 7.85-inches with the same 1024 x 768 resolution seen on the first couple gen iPads. Pricing on the mini iPad is expected to sit between US $249 and $299, helping Apple provide a counter attack on affordable Android units including the Kindle Fire and Nook. While samples are said to be already out, volume production on Apple's mini iPad isn't expected to kick off until Q3. Another interesting rumour has also just surfaced indicating that Apple is looking to roll out a cheaper, stripped down iPad 2 soon as well. This is said to be a model with just 8GB of storage and a lowly price tag of somewhere around US $349. The many potential iPad buyers out there who had great difficulty swallowing the cost of one may be snapping them up in droves once these market segments are covered with lower cost alternatives. Meanwhile, as we all know the other end of the spectrum is about to be polished right up on March 7th when Apple outs the iPad 3 in 16 and 32GB flavours (while perhaps not 7

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

quite as popular, surely a 64GB will follow). This supposed quad-core wielding 9.7-inch tablet is rumoured to be slightly thicker than iPad 2 to accommodate several new features including a 2048 by 1536 (264dpi) Retina display, improved cameras and LTE 4G technology.

- Receipts: Organizes receipts and business expenses. Creates digital copies of receipts for returns, which you can re-print whenever you need them.

PlanOn introduces world's first credit card-sized receipt scanner

- Imports: Imports data to Outlook, Word, Excel and compatible databases.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/planon-introduces-world-s-firstcredit-card-sized-receipt-scanner/15089.html March 2nd, 2012

- Business Cards: Captures important contact information from business cards, even handwritten notes.

- RMS Software: Includes Receipt Management System (RMS) Software that easily scans, edits, organizes, and imports. - Warrantee & Insurance Information: Keeps warrantee and insurance info safe. - Track Expenditures: Tracks expenditures however you want: by purchase type, expense category, month, or year.

PlanOn System Solutions, who is known for scanning and printing solutions for the mobile professionals, has announced the world's first credit card-sized receipt scanner that offers high-resolution color scanning wherever you go. It is extremely portable and you will never lose another receipt again.

- Bargain Hunting While Shopping: Scans the labels of items at the store so you can bargain hunt at other stores or online for the best deal -- or remember favorite products or gifts that you want to buy. - Promotional Gifts: SlimScan can be given out as promotional gifts imprinted with a company logo. - Dimensions: 1.96 x 3.06 x 0.08mm - Resolution: 300 dpi, 24 bit color. - Memory: Stores 600 images.

Intel lets slip its upcoming Ivy Bridge processors Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-lets-slip-its-upcoming-ivybridge-processors/15088.html March 2nd, 2012

The PlanOn SlimScan claims to be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first credit card-sized portable full color scanner that lets you scan and organize receipts and business cards wherever you are. Measuring 1.96 x 3.06 x 0.08mm, SlimScan is a fullfeatured, high resolution color scanner that can easily fit in your wallet or credit card holder. If you are one of those who frequently misplace things including receipts, business cards or handwritten notes, then you probably would want the SlimScan that can capture full-color digital images of the items. Made of durable stainless steel, SlimScan features a convenient preview screen that lets you instantly view, zoom-in and pan scanned images on the fly. It connects directly to Windows PCs through USB and lets you upload and edit scanned items conveniently.

We've already report just about everything there is to report on Intel's soon to launch Ivy Bridge processors, but with close to two months before the launch, Intel has gone and put up publically accessible information that details all of its upcoming processors models. This is about as official as it'll ever get ahead of a launch and someone at Intel is most likely going to be having a really bad day for it. We've already report just about everything there is to report on Intel's soon to launch Ivy Bridge processors, but with close to two months before the launch, Intel has gone and put up publically accessible information that details all of its upcoming processors models. This is about as official as it'll ever get ahead of a launch and someone at Intel is most likely going to be having a really bad day for it.

The SlimScan scanner with special software bundle (SS100RMS) is available immediately from PlanOn and leading retailers, priced at US$139.99 MSRP. SlimScan Features: What Intel has posted is what it calls a flipbook, something that would normally be a printed product guide that is being 8

March 2nd, 2012

given to its various partners as a simple hand out to allow their customers to keep track of all the CPU models. The PDF was posted on one of Intel's partner sites called the Retail Edge Program and it's not accessible to the general public. However, this specific PDF can be found by simply searching for the various upcoming CPU models, so obviously Intel's security on its partner site isn't really of much use.

Published by: VR-Zone

claim to uphold, so it'll be interesting to see what the company has to show. OCZ will also be showing a range of solutions for cloud computing and enterprise servers, including its Z-Drive R4 CloudServ PCI Express SSD which will be demoed at the show. Expect us to swing by the OCZ booth next week to take a look at the latest and greatest technology from the company and to see if the new Vertex 4 series can deliver on OCZ's claims.

Some of ASRock's Z77 motherboards leak ahead of Cebit Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/some-of-asrock-s-z77-motherboardsleak-ahead-of-cebit/15086.html March 2nd, 2012

The PDF doesn't really seem to contain any new information, but it does confirm all the Core i7 and Core i5 models we've known about to date. The screen shots above only details some of the models and you can download the entire PDF if you want to have a look for yourself. Interestingly the PDF is dated January 2012 – April 2012 and as such it's clear that it doesn't really take Intel's delay into account and it puts more fuel on the fire that the delay has nothing to do with Intel's ability to manufacture at 22nm.

OCZ to show off its new Indilinx Everest 2 based Vertex 4 SSD at Cebit Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ocz-to-show-off-its-new-indilinxeverest-2-based-vertex-4-ssd-at-cebit/15087.html March 2nd, 2012

Come Cebit next week we'll get the first sneak peeks of what should be the final motherboard designs based on Intel's upcoming 7-series chipsets for Ivy Bridge, but details of ASRock's upcoming motherboards have made their ways online via a range of different sources, including pictures and specs of some of the models we can expect at the show. The pictures are of a pair of Fatal1ty branded models as well as of an Extreme board which all are the high-end modesl in ASRock's new line-up. Come Cebit next week we'll get the first sneak peeks of what should be the final motherboard designs based on Intel's upcoming 7-series chipsets for Ivy Bridge, but details of ASRock's upcoming motherboards have made their ways online via a range of different sources, including pictures and specs of some of the models we can expect at the show. The pictures are of a pair of Fatal1ty branded models as well as of an Extreme board which all are the high-end modesl in ASRock's new line-up.

Cebit might not be the most prominent IT show these days, but it doesn't stop companies from announcing new products at the show and that's just what OCZ has said it will be doing. The company is getting ready to unveil its Vertex 4 series of SSDs based on its new Indilinx Everest 2 SSD controller which should prove to be competitive against SandForce's 2000-series of controllers.

First of all, our Chinese language sister site has dug up the product names of ASRock's upcoming models. As such we can expect to see the H77M, H77 Pro4/MVP, Z77 Pro4, Z77 Pro4-M, Z77 Extreme4, Z77 Extreme6, Fatal1ty Z77 Professional and Fatal1ty Z77 Professional-M. The last three of those models have made appearances on various websites and the Z77 Extreme6 has been extensively detailed as you can see below.

The Z77 Extreme6 is at least for now ASRock's highestend non-Fatal1ty branded board. Although it's not a direct replacement for the Z68 Extreme7 Gen3, as it seem to slot in just below it in terms of features, nor would it be a straight replacement for the P67 Extreme6 based solely on features. That said, ASRock has managed to squeeze in a fair amount of features on the Z77 Extreme6.

OCZ is making some bold claims about the Indilinx Everest 2 controller and its new Vertex 4 series of SSDs, in fact, the company goes as far as to say that its new SSDs will deliver “industry-leading performance and superior data management for all file types and sizes.” That's no small

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Microsoft has released a consumer preview of Windows 8, the next version of its popular operating system, giving people a sneak peek at what is to come and letting them help iron out any kinks before its expected release later this year. Microsoft has released a consumer preview of Windows 8, the next version of its popular operating system, giving people a sneak peek at what is to come and letting them help iron out any kinks before its expected release later this year. The Redmond, Washington-based firm previously released a Developer Preview last September to more than three million developers throughout the world, but now many more people can get their hands on a pre-release version of Windows 8 to see what it has to offer.

For starters it has three x16 PCI Express ready slots, of which the first two are PCI Express 3.0 slots that will operate in dual x8 mode when both slots are in use. It's not clear as to what the third slot is, but presumably we're looking at a x4 slot here. The board also has a PCI Express x1 slot, two PCI slots and a mini card PCI Express slot – which might support mSATA – located below the first x16 slot. Besides the standard two Intel SATA 6Gbps ports and four SATA 3Gbps ports, ASRock has also added two additional SATA 6Gbps ports via an ASMedia ASM1061 controller, although interestingly ASRock has shared the second port from the ASMedia controller with the eSATA port, so you only get one or the other. Other on board features include headers for two front USB 3.0 ports (via the Intel chipset), what appears to be three headers for six USB 2.0 ports, a header for a FireWire port, power and rest buttons, a POST80 debug LED, a floppy drive connector, a serial port header and of course four DIMM slots. The rear I/O is comprised of a PS/2 port, two USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports – of which two are via an Etron EJ168 host controller – the aforementioned shared eSATA port, a FireWire port, a Gigabit Ethernet port – connected to a Broadcom controller – 7.1-channel audio with optical S/ PDIF out, a DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI and D-sub connector and finally a clear CMOS button. For the Z77 Extreme6 ASRock went with an 8+4 PWM design that's cooled by a pair of heatsinks connected via a heatpipe. The board will also come with a copy of LucidLogix's Virtu MVP software and it does of course support all the new Intel features like Smart Connect and Rapid Start that will come with Ivy Bridge and the new 7series chipsets.

Microsoft releases Windows 8 Consumer Preview

“With Windows 8, we reimagined the different ways people interact with their PC and how to make everything feel like a natural extension of the device, whether using a Windows 8 tablet, laptop or all-in-one,” said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft. “The Windows 8 Consumer Preview brings a no-compromises approach to using your PC.”

This latest preview version features significant improvements over the Developer Preview, including performance tweaks and changes that increase quality and reliability. While not a finished product, it's considerably closer to what we'll be using to replace Windows 7 in the future. The Consumer Preview showcases many of the unique features of Windows 8, such as its secure boot, fast boot, and Metro touch interface for tablet computers. It also gives people a first look at a beta version of the Windows Store, which contains a variety of Metro apps, Internet Explorer 10, and the operating system's integration with Microsoft's cloud services. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is available immediately in English, French, German, Japanese, and simplified Chinese. Users can download it here.

BioWare launches Star Wars: The Old Republic in Asia Pacific Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/bioware-launches-star-wars-the-oldrepublic-in-asia-pacific/15084.html March 2nd, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-releases-windows-8consumer-preview/15085.html March 2nd, 2012

BioWare has launched Star Wars: The Old Republic, its first foray into the world of massively multiplayer online games, in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore,

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

adding to the existing millions to players in Europe and North America.

Check out our review of the game here.

BioWare has launched Star Wars: The Old Republic, its first foray into the world of massively multiplayer online games, in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore, adding to the existing millions to players in Europe and North America.

World of Warcraft developer Blizzard to axe 600 jobs

Players in these Asia Pacific zones can avail of new servers located in this region for reduced latency and they will also be able to purchase the game in local shops. BioWare is launching three servers initially for these countries, which will be physically located in Australia. The first, called Dalborra, is for player-versus-environment gameplay (i.e. traditional MMORPG adventuring). The second, called Master Dar'Nala, is for player-versus-player gameplay. The third, called Gav Daragon, is for role-playing player-versus-environment gameplay. More servers will be added over time if demand calls for it. Players from these regions who have already signed up to The Old Republic on US or European servers can avail of a limited-time free migration service to the Asia Pacific servers in late April. BioWare has yet to determine a specific time for these transfers, but will email qualifying players.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/world-of-warcraft-developerblizzard-to-axe-600-jobs/15083.html March 2nd, 2012

Blizzard, the developer behind the popular World of Warcraft MMORPG, has announced that it will be axing 600 jobs throughout the world, including 200 in Ireland. Blizzard, the developer behind the popular World of Warcraft MMORPG, has announced that it will be axing 600 jobs throughout the world, including 200 in Ireland. The company assured gamers that the jobs are mostly “nondevelopment,” and thus should not impact most of the games it is working on, including an expansion for World of Warcraft and the much-anticipated Diablo III. Given a recent mess-up by a Blizzard community manager about lowering expectations for the hack-and-slash title, which forced the game's director to step in, we cannot help but wonder if this “Bashiok” is among the number getting the chop. A third of the jobs will be lost in Blizzard's offices in Cork, Ireland, where it employs 900 staff, mostly for customer support. It has only been in operation there for five years, but the global recession, which has hit Ireland particularly hard, has obviously affected its ability to maintain jobs.

The standard edition of the game costs $79.99 AUD, $89.99 NZD, $389.00 HKD, or $64.90 SGD. A Digital Deluxe Edition, which contains several exclusive in-game items, is available from Origin.com for $89.99 AUD, $99.99 NZD, $465.00 HKD, or $76.90 SGD. Both editions come with 30 days of game time. 60-day game cards can be $42.99 NZD, $249.00 HKD, subscriptions, payable in US costing $14.99 for one month, $77.94 for six months.

bought for $32.99 AUS, or $39.90 SGD. Recurring dollars, are also available, $41.97 for three months, or

Players in Asia Pacific who redeem a game card or pay a subscription for the game by 29 April in Hong Kong and Singapore, and 30 April in Australia and New Zealand, will receive the in-game Founder's Medal, which awards a title only available to early players of the game.

“Over the last several years, we've grown our organization tremendously and made large investments in our infrastructure in order to better serve our global community,” said Mike Morhaime, co-founder and CEO of Blizzard. “However, as Blizzard and the industry have 11

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

evolved we've also had to make some difficult decisions in order to address the changing needs of our company.”

we have the highest speed kit in the range. It is a 2x4gb kit rated at 2133MHz 9-11-10-28 @ 1.65v and carries the model name F3-2133C9D-8GAB. It is also available in a 4 x 4GB kit.

He added that letting people go is not easy, and that the company is grateful for having worked with these employees and proud of the contributions they have made. Affected staff will be offered a severance package and other benefits. Blizzard is also making some efforts to help employees find jobs elsewhere.

It's great to see manufacturers re-embracing a standard profile after many years of kits with tall heat-sinks, some with heat-pipes and even water-cooling. Many users have lost a few handfuls of hair when they discover their actually necessary huge CPU cooler prevents their memory from fitting or vice versa. The truth is, most of today's 1.5-1.65v memory doesn't require massive heat-spreaders. They are there more for the bling factor than for any tangible cooling benefit. In the case of the G.Skill ARES, low profile doesn't mean boring looking though. G.Skill have produced a very nice looking, stylized kit that will look the part in a windowed case.

“I also want to emphasize that we remain committed to shipping multiple games this year, and that our development teams in particular remain largely unaffected by today's announcement,” Morhaime added. “We're continuing to develop, iterate, and polish Blizzard DOTA, Diablo III, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, as well as other, unannounced projects. We'll have exciting news to share in the coming weeks regarding Diablo III's release date, and will soon be holding a private media event to showcase the latest work on Mists of Pandaria.”

G.Skill ARES 8GB (2x4GB) 2133MHz memory kit review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/g.skill-ares-8gb-2x4gb-2133mhzmemory-kit-review/14977.html March 2nd, 2012

G.Skill recently unveiled their new low profile ARES line of memory. It is aimed at performance systems using very large air coolers where tall ramsinks is an issue. Here for review we have the top spec kit in the range. This 2133MHz 2 x 4GB kit has stock timings of 9-11-10-28 @ 1.65v. Let's see if it performs as good as it looks.

We used one of the largest air coolers on the market, the Noctua NH-D14 tower cooler and of course had no problem at all with memory clearance. Let's have a look at the specs of the 2133MHz G.Skill ARES kit. Specifications Model Number Series System System Type Mainboard M/B Chipset Capacity Multi Channel Kit Tested Speed Tested Latency Tested Voltage Registered/Unbuffered Error Checking Type SPD Speed SPD Voltage Warranty Fan Included Features

F3-2133C9D-8GAB ARES Desktop DDR3 Intel P67/Z68 8GB (4GBx2) Dual channel kit DDR3-2133MHz (PC3-17000) 9-11-10 2N 1.65v Unbuffered Non ECC 240 Pin DIMM 1600MHz 1.5v Lifetime No Intel XMP (Extreme Memory Profile ) ready

These specs list support for the Intel Sandy Bridge platform. There shouldn't be any problem running them on AMD sans Intel's XMP feature of course. A X79 user would go for the quad channel kit.

G.Skill have really been on a roll recently. They offer some of the highest spec memory on the market and have enjoyed great success with their Ripjaws line for the Z68 and X79 platforms. Now the company has turned its attention to its refresh of the mainstream tier. They have released a new range of memory that really impresses by virtue of the fact that it's low profile from the top to bottom of the range.

MegaUpload Founder Released from Prison, Gives a Daring Interview Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/megaupload-founder-released-fromprison-gives-a-daring-interview/15074.html

The range runs from 1333MHz to 2133MHz and is available in kits ranging from 2 x 4GB up to 4 x 8GB. Here for review 12

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

March 2nd, 2012

Kim Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz), founder of MegaUpload gave a daring 23 minute interview as soon as he was released from captivity. He explained his business was supposed to be protected by the U.S.-own DMCA law, and that obviously wasn't the case. Earlier today, Kim Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz) was released from prison on bail. Immediately, Kim invited New Zealand's 3 News and gave a detailed interview on Campbell Live. The new Norton 360 V6.0 helps to optimize PC's settings, frees up memory, and removes unnecessary files to improve the computer's performance. It can automatically back up and encrypt user's important files so that they can retrieve them in case of a hard drive crash, natural disaster or other mishaps. Norton 360 offers four different layers of smart protection that proactively detect and eliminate threats before they reach the user's computers. Retail price: Norton 360 6.0 AP 1 user MM - S$65 ; Norton 360 6.0 AP 1 user 3 License MM - S$119 ; Norton 360 6.0 AP SOP 5 user Ret - S$169 IT Show price: TBA Kim compared the case of the to "Weapons of Mass Destruction" as the invented reason to go to war in Iraq. The invention of MegaUpload and subsequent attack by the content lobbyists was explained as U.S. government actively working to "protect the outdated monopolistic business media model which simply doesn't work in the age of Internet".

Norton Internet Security 2012

Kim claims that he is protected by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, and that he is an easy target, since he doesn't have 50 billion dollars in the bank account and is not on Stock market, while public companies are protected.

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Norton Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionsnorton/15081.html March 2nd, 2012

It is important to have some sufficient protection against malware and viruses. Norton by Symantec will be launching the new Norton 360 V6.0 at the IT Show 2012, as well as the Norton AntiVirus 2012 and Norton Internet Security 2012. Their booth can be located in Hall 6, booth number 6251. Norton 360 V6.0

Norton Internet Security 2012 (NIS) features Norton Identity Safe that provides a streamlined interface with improved login and form detection technology, and the capability to store passwords in the cloud so they are accessible from most devices with a web browser; and Norton Management that lets users download, transfer, update, or renew your Norton products from anywhere right over the Internet. With Norton Online Family, you can keep your kids safe online as it tracks where your kids go and what they do online so you can keep them safe from online dangers and teach them good Internet habits. Retail price: NIS AP 1 user MM - S$49; NIS AP 1 user 3 License MM - S$89 ; NIS AP SOP 5 user Ret - S$149 IT Show price: TBA

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Norton Antivirus 2012

According to the magazine, the game is approximately 30% complete and will be unveiled at the Game Developers Conference 2012, which takes place from March 5-9 in Moscone Center in San Francisco. Norton Antivirus 2012 (NAV) features Norton Insight, the latest version of Norton's security technology that checks where files came from and how long theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been around to automatically identify and stop new online threats. It also offers Norton Management that makes it easy to download, transfer, update, or renew your Norton products from anywhere right over the Internet.

The game is built upon a completely new game engine, including newly written Glassbox graphics engine. The new engine enables multiple zoom levels, from the conventional God mode to "reading street signs". The game will feature multiple cities, downloadable buildings and other DLC's.

Retail price: NAV AP 1 user MM - S$39; NAV AP 1 user 3 License MM - S$65 ; NAV AP SOP 5 user Ret - S$99 IT Show price: TBA

SimCity V Coming in 2013, Looks Amazing Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/simcity-v-coming-in-2013-looksamazing/15080.html March 2nd, 2012

After a decade of wait, EA and Maxis announced that the newest iteration of the game, SimCity V will come on the market in 2013. From the looks of it, this might be the game to spend countless nights on, becoming a major on your own... without having to look at the dust and people asking for a quarter on the streets, like real-world majors do. German gaming magazine GameStar revealed one of most expected simulation titles in a while. After Sid Meier made a big comeback with Civilization V, a 2011 hit title - Will Wright, another gaming legend is making his comeback with yet another V, and that's SimCity V.

Given the fantastic 3D experience in Civilization V, one cannot but feel excited about how SimCity V will look with 3D glasses attached to your nose. We'll bring more news next week, as the game developer conference commences. You can see more SimCity V images on NeoGaf forum.

MSI unveils GT780DX Notebook with 4.16GHz clocked Core i7 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-unveils-gt780dx-notebookwith-4.16ghz-clocked-core-i7/15078.html March 2nd, 2012

MSI has dared to do what no other notebook manufacturer would by selling a gaming laptop with a heavily overclocked mobile Core i7 EE processor tipping beyond the 4GHz 14

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Published by: VR-Zone

barrier. This will be as part of a limited edition variant of its GT780DX, running a Core i7-2920XM Extreme Edition with frequencies of up to 4.16GHz on tap in Turbo Boost mode (up from the stock 3.5GHz Turbo Boost frequency). MSI has dared to do what no other notebook manufacturer would by selling a gaming laptop with a heavily overclocked mobile Core i7 EE processor tipping beyond the 4GHz barrier. This will be as part of a limited edition variant of its GT780DX, running a Core i7-2920XM Extreme Edition with frequencies of up to 4.16GHz on tap in Turbo Boost mode (up from the stock 3.5GHz Turbo Boost frequency).

Polishing off this notebook's feature set is the SteelSeriesmade LED backlit keyboard (providing a good batch of gaming oriented features), a couple USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, HDMI 1.4 and VGA video outputs as well as Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity and a 9-cell battery. MSI has made this possible by packing the notebook with a superior cooling solution it calls "Cooler Boost". MSI says with this cooling tech implemented the fans can work at higher than usual rotation speeds resulting in a temperature drop by as much as 10c.

Pricing on this limited edition overclocked model hasn't yet been disclosed. The base (non-overclocked) model of the GT780DX with its Core i7 2670QM processor sells for US $1,749.99.

Panasonic Singapore launches new LUMIX cameras and HD camcorders Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/panasonic-singapore-launches-newlumix-cameras-and-hd-camcorders/15077.html March 2nd, 2012

The GT780DX is already quite the impressive piece of portable gaming prowess with its 17.3-inch (either 1600x900 or 1920x1080) LED-backlit display, NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 570M graphics core supported by 3GB of GDDR5 memory and up to 16GB of DDR3 system memory. Up to two HDDs can be incorporated into the GT780DX with the premium option being a couple 750GB 7200rpm in RAID 0, offering 1.5TB of storage space. Further to that is space for a DVD or Blu-ray drive.

This morning, Panasonic Singapore unveils their latest members of the LUMIX camera family, which include the DMC-TZ30 with built-in GPS feature; DMC-SZ7 and DMC-SZ1 which have slim form factor and packed with powerful performance; and the DMC-FT4 of the Tough and Active series that is geared for outdoor usage. The electronics manufacturer also announced the new High Definition (HD) camcorders, including the HX-WA20 which is designed for shooting even under harsh conditions.

With its compact body, wide-angle versatile lens, and photo and video recording feature, the Panasonic LUMIX TZ30 15

March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

claims to be an ideal travel companion It offers a 20x optical zoom on its LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens (compared to 16x zoom of the TZ20) , and has built-in GPS functions. Panasonic also included a worldwide map data on the bundled DVD which you can load onto a SD card and into the camera. This allows you to not only geotag your pictures, but you can also see where you are exactly on the map. Note that, there is no turn-by-turn navigation feature to find you way around the vicinity. The DMC-FX80, DMC-FH8, DMC-FH6 and DMC-S2 are not only stylish and slim, but also offer great ease of use at shooting superb quality photos and videos. The FX80, FH8 and FH6 are fitted with 24mm ultra wide angle lens with 5x optical zoom, while the FH8, FH6 and S2 can record dynamic HD videos in 1,280x720p at 25p in MP4 (FH8) or Motion JPEG (FH6).

The LUMIX SZ series are designed with slim form factor and powerful features. The DMC-SZ7 features 14.1-megapixel MOS sensor and full HD video recording, while the DMCSZ1 is equipped with a 16.1-megapixel CCD sensor and HD video recording. Both models incorporate LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 25mm ultra wide-angle and 10x optical zoom. The DMC-SZ7 can record at 1,920x1,080 50i (PAL) in AVCHD (MPEG-3/H.264) format.

Besides the cameras, Panasonic has also announced seven video camcorders. The HC-X900 and HX-X900M feature advanced 3MOS sensor, F1.5 LEICA Dicomar lens with bright image rendering, high corner-to-corner resolution and Nano Surface Coating Technology to reduce ghosting and distortion. The HC-V700 features a 28mm wide angle lens with 46x zoom for ultra-telephoto shooting. It also incorporates HYBRID O.I.S + that can minimize blurring regardless of zoom. With the 3D Conversion lens, the HCV700 can shoot in 3D . The HC-V500 and HC-V500M are equipped with 16GB built-in memory and SD card slot, and packs a 50x Intelligent Zoom that lets you zoom in easily on subjects. Both also feature a unique Advanced highlight Playback function that let you playback recorded images quickly and easily. The compact HC-V100 boasts up to 165 minutes continuous recording time, is lightweight and supports full HD video recording. If you're looking for a camcorder for active outdoor use, check out the Panasonic HX-WA20 that lets you shoot under almost any conditions. The 16-megapixel WA20 can be used to 3m underwater for up to an hour, and can record images at 240fps (640x360) or 480 fps (320x180) for 15 seconds. You can also shoot panoramic pictures easily by swinging the camera up, down, left or right to take vertical or horizontal images. The Panasonic LUMIX cameras and video camcorders will retail in authorized dealers from April. Pricing will be announced closer to retail.

Buffalo enters the consumer SSD market Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/buffalo-enters-the-consumer-ssdmarket/15076.html March 2nd, 2012

For users who are into outdoor sports and activities, the allweather LUMIX DMC-FT4 is the one you need to bring along wherever you go. It has inner rubber padding and reinforced glass and claims to be dustproof, waterproof, shockproof and freezeproof. Besides GPS functions, the DMC-FT4 also comes with compass, altimeter and barometer. But the most unique feature of th FT4 is that it can do time lapse shooting; you can set in one-minute to 30-minute intervals for up to 12 hours.

Although Buffalo has a wide range of external storage solutions, an entry into the consumer SSD market space wasn't something we expected from the company. Our expectations didn't stop Buffalo to launch is somewhat poorly named SSD-NS/PM3P in Japan though, although at this point in time it's not clear if it'll be available elsewhere. Although Buffalo has a wide range of external storage solutions, an entry into the consumer SSD market space wasn't something we expected from the company. Our 16

March 2nd, 2012

expectations didn't stop Buffalo to launch is somewhat poorly named SSD-NS/PM3P in Japan though, although at this point in time it's not clear if it'll be available elsewhere. The SSD-NS/PM3P comes in three different sizes, 128, 256 and 512GB and is apparently manufactured by PLDS, otherwise known as Philips and Lite-On Digital Solutions which contract manufacture a wide range of items. Internally the SSD-NS/PM3P uses a Marvell controller and NAND flash from Toshiba with the addition of 256MB of cache for the 128GB and 512MB of cache for the tow larger models.

Buffalo has only provided rudimentary performance figures for its SSD-NS/PM3P, although at least they are measured using CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1. As such the 128GB SKU will reach read speeds of up to 479MB/s, with the 256GB SKU hitting 513MB/s and finally the 512GB SKU reaching 500MB/s. Price wise it doesn't look like Buffalo is going to be all that competitive, although it's worth keeping in mind that these are Japanese prices and computer electronics are in general more expensive in Japan. Considering that the list price for the 128GB SKU is 24,400 Yen (US$300/S$375) you can see what we mean. The 256GB is a massive 47,700 Yen (US $588/S$736) and finally the 512GB SKU â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which is at least for now only available as a special order item â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is going for an insane 90,300 Yen (US1,113/S$1,393). Comparing that with Crucial's pricing for its m4 series and it's hard to see how Buffalo will have any potential buyers for its new SSDs.

Exclusive: Additional ULV Ivy Bridge processor unveiled Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/exclusive-additional-ulv-ivy-bridgeprocessor-unveiled/15075.html March 2nd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

We've already seen details of Intel's upcoming Core i7-3667U and Core i5-3427U ULV Ivy Bridge processors back in December, but now details of an additional three ULV models have reached us. On top of that, we have details on the programmable TDP of all five ULV models and Intel has clearly allowed for a lot of flexibility for its partners. Let's start with the programmable TDP of the two models we already know about. The Core i5-3427U at stock 17W TDP will operate at 1.8GHz, but it can go down to 14W and all the way up to 25W. All models can go down in terms of TDP, but not all can go up. Its lowest speed is 800MHz, again something that is a common feature across the entire range, although at 25W TDP it can operate as high as 2.3GHz without going into turbo mode. The Core i7-3667U will be able to operate at speeds of 2.5GHz at a 25W TDP, up from 2GHz at 17W TDP. As for the new CPU models, at the bottom we have the first Core i3 models in the Ivy Bridge ULV range, the Core i3-3217U. This is a 1.8GHz model with no option to increase the TDP for higher speeds, but again it can be lowered to 14W TDP and speeds of as low as 800MHz. As per all current Core i3 processors, it also lacks turbo boost and as such won't overclock. It also features slightly slower graphics at the top speed compared to the previous two models, as it tops out at 1050MHz rather than 1150MHz. However it does support DDR3 1600MHz memory and it has 3MB of cache. Next up we have the Core i5-3317U which is a 1.7GHz part, again with no option to increase the TDP, but it has the same low TDP options as the Core i3-3217U. Here we're looking at turbo support though at up to 2.4GHz for both cores and 2.6GHz for a single core, making it slightly slower than the Core i5-3427U. The graphics clock is also the same as for the Core i3-3217U, but in this case it's unlocked and can be overclocked, although that would be down to the notebook manufacturer to add support for this, so it's unlikely that this is something we'll see implemented in a lot of Ultrabooks. The third and final new model is the Core i7-3517U, a 1.9GHz part that supports the higher 25W TDP and as such an increased clock speed of up to 2.4GHz. In turbo mode it'll go up to 2.8GHz for two cores and 3GHz on a single core. The GPU clock speeds are the same as for the Core i7-3667U and we're of course also looking at 4MB of cache here. What's interesting is that all the models ending with 17 in the model number appears to be OEM processors for consumer level Ultrabooks and as such lack support for Intel vPro and TXT technology, something the Core i7-3667U and Core i5-3427U offers. The Core i3-3217U also lacks support for the new digital random number generator, VT-d and AESNI, but this isn't really a big surprise. So there you have it, several new Ultrabook processors are coming, but with the "delay" this means we won't be seeing them in retail products until June or possibly even a little later in the year.

March 6th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Assassin's Creed III to feature four-player online coop mode

improvements to the graphics, including more realistic facial animations, in addition to better artificial intelligence. The launch trailer for the game shows the American Revolution setting, revealed by Ubisoft last week, along with a new main character, Connor, who is half Native American, making for an interesting divergence from the settings and characters of the previous installments. It also demonstrates some of the cool new moves we can expect.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/assassin-s-creed-iii-to-feature-fourplayer-online-co-op-mode/15147.html March 6th, 2012

Assassin's Creed III, Ubisoft's upcoming back-stabbing adventure, will include an online co-operation mode for up to four people. The multiplayer mode will allow between two and four people to get in on the Assassins versus Knights Templar action, with players able to find team-mates from across the world. The game will also feature the other multiplayer modes that came with Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, such as free-forall and team, with various maps and mission objectives. This should add some longevity to the game once the singleplayer gameplay is fully experienced.

Intel Xeon E5-2690 and E5-2660 8-core Sandy BridgeEP Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-xeon-e5-2690-and-e5-2660-8core-sandy-bridge-ep-review/15122.html March 6th, 2012

Its been almost two years, an eternity in our IT circles, since the release of the Gulftown/Westmere-EP Xeon 5600 series. After several delays, the Socket 2011 based Xeon E5 2600 series (formerly codenamed Romley) is officially launched today, with Intel porting over the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture to its 2P Xeon offerings. Featuring IPC improvements and two additional cores on higher end SKUs, Chipzilla reaffirms itself as a runaway leader in the x86 Server/Workstation market. Read on for our review! Introduction / Quick Recap Prior reading before our quick recap: by Nebojsa Novakovic The Xeon E5 (8 core/16 thread) silicon live in living colour - with a 20MB L2, die size of 416mm and a transistor count of ~2.263 billion

Ubisoft is also promising that the use of its new AnvilNext game engine will make Assassin's Creed III look like a next-generation game on existing consoles. While this is obviously a marketing ploy, the studio is promising some big 1

March 6th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Partitioning of the 32nm transistors Sandy Bridge-EP die

planar

double-gate

Overview of the Xeon E5 - basically all the improvements of the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture like AVX and Turbo Boost 2.0 brought to the server/workstation platform

Xeon E5-2600 SKUs ranging from low power quad core variants to the full fledged 8-core 150W monsters

Block Diagram - with 2 QPI links, Quad Channel LRDIMM support and 40 PCIe 3.0 lanes per socket, the Xeon E5 should be a no brainer for high performance workloads

Intel Integrated I/O in a nutshell - integrating traditional north bridge into the CPU and providing DMA access to storage and network controllers for reduced latencies

March 6th, 2012

Unlike earlier Xeons and SNB/SNB-E, we're sad to report that multiplier adjustment is disabled (BIOS values set to read only) and base clock straps are non-existent (frequency only goes up to ~108MHz) across the current stepping. We sure hope Chipzilla changes their mind (since traditionally it has never been obstructed, albeit not officially supported) or maniac SR-X overclockers/high frequency traders are going to be turned away.

Published by: VR-Zone

CoolerMaster Silent Pro M2 1000W PSU Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/coolermaster-silent-pro-m2-1000wpsu-review/15146.html March 6th, 2012

CoolerMaster has a long standing reputation as a power supply designer and manufacturer, much of which came from their Silent Pro M series. The Silent Pro M series saw the light of day a little over 3 years ago and, as the series name suggests, the units were designed with optimum acoustics performance in mind, quickly making them a favorite among enthusiasts who cared about silent operation. A few weeks ago the curiosity of enthusiasts was stirred by the news stating that CoolerMaster was preparing the 2nd generation of Silent Pro power supplies. Today the wait is over; the Silent Pro M2 1000W arrived in VR-Zone’s labs for thorough testing and review.

Quad channel IMC in the Xeon E5 also supports DDR3 LRDIMM (evolution of FB-DIMM but pin compatible with regular UDIMM) that allows densities up to 768GB (24 x 32GB modules)

March 6th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

• Multiple updated connectors for all types of interfaces (PCIe, SATA etc.) • Double-Layer EMI Filter Dual protection from electromagnetic interference • Multiple Protection Design (OVP/UVP/OPP/OTP/ SCP) • High reliability with an MBTF of at least 100,000 hours of use • Five Year Warranty

March 6th, 2012

Yahoo is planning to lay off many of its employees, with the figure potentially numbering into the thousands, according to people close to the matter. Yahoo is planning to lay off many of its employees, with the figure potentially numbering into the thousands, according to people close to the matter. The company's new CEO, Scott Thompson, who previously worked for PayPal, replaced Carol Bartz last September after she failed to achieve the turn-around the company was expecting. It looks like Thompson is going to be a bit more ruthless in his approach to rescuing Yahoo's finances.

Model Type Dimension (W / H / D) Input Voltage Input Current Input Frequency Range PFC Power Good Signal Hold Up Time Efficiency MTBF Protection Output Capacity Operation Temperature Regulatory

Fan Certifications Connector

RS-A00-SPM2 ATX 12V V2.3 150 x 180 x 86mm 5.9 x 7.1 x 3.4 inch 90-264Vac (Auto Range) 6 - 12A 47 - 63Hz Active PFC (>0.9) 100-500ms >17ms 88% Typically 100,000 Hours OVP/UVP/OCP/OPP/OTP/ SCP 1000W 0~40°C (Nominal Input Voltage) TUV / CE / UL / FCC / BSMI / GOST / C-tick / KC / CCC 135mm Hydraulic Dynamic Bearings 80 Plus Silver M/B 24 Pin Connector x 1 CPU 8 Pin x 2 PCI-E 8 Pin x 3 PCI-E 6+2 Pin x 3 SATA x 12 4 Pin Peripheral x 5 4 Pin Floppy x 1

Yahoo has 14,100 staff and could lose a huge number of them, possibly into the thousands, according to anonymous sources cited by AllThingsDigital. The job losses are expected to be in products, research, marketing, PR, and non-essential businesses, suggesting that few sectors of the company will be immune to the axe.

"As we have indicated, our leadership is engaged in a process that will generate significant strategic change at Yahoo, but final decisions have not yet been made at this point.” the company said, refusing to verify whether or not job cuts were on the table, and, if so, to what extent. The layoffs will hurt a lot of families, but it is likely that Thompson sees little alternative, with the company's revenue dropping by more than a fifth last year. It was once a dominant force on the internet, but its failure to remain relevant in a quickly changing industry means that its future has been under question for a while.

Yahoo to axe thousands of jobs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/yahoo-to-axe-thousands-ofjobs/15145.html

March 6th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Adobe launches Photoshop Lightroom 4 for digital photographers

ZTE takes top patent slot in 2011 with nearly 3,000 PCT patent filings

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/adobe-launches-photoshoplightroom-4-for-digital-photographers/15144.html March 6th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/zte-takes-top-patent-slot-in-2011with-nearly-3-000-pct-patent-filings/15143.html March 6th, 2012

Adobe has launched Photoshop Lightroom 4 for digital photographers using either a Mac or Windows-based computer. Lightroom is one of the main pieces of software used by photographers who want to edit and touch up their digital photographs. Adobe promises even more features in the latest version, with better shadow and highlight processing, the ability to create photo books, extra local adjustment controls, and enhanced video support. The adjustment controls increase the dynamic range from cameras, giving the photographer greater control of the use of light in a photograph. Users can also adjust other elements with new local adjustment controls for noise reduction, moire and white balance.

ZTE filed the most international patent applications in 2011, earning it the top spot in the World Intellectual Property Organization's rankings for Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) filings. ZTE filed the most international patent applications in 2011, earning it the top spot in the World Intellectual Property Organization's rankings for Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) filings. The Chinese telecommunications and networking equipment firm filed a whopping 2,826 PCT patents last year, guaranteeing it the number one spot. Over 60 percent of these filings relate to LTE/3G technology, cloud computing, and the so-called “Internet of Things.” Last year's patent filings represent over a quarter of the company's total international patent filings and pending applications, which number over 10,000. Considering the patent battles that many other firms, such as Apple and Samsung, are embroiled in, ZTE is putting itself in a very strong position both to defend itself from lawsuits and go after rivals which it believes unlawfully employ its technology.

Users who want to work with video clips can now do so thanks to native video support, which allows playing, trimming and frame extraction of videos shot on digital SLR cameras, point-and-shoot cameras, and even smartphones. Edited videos can be exported or published directly to Flickr or Facebook, while images can be emailed directly from the program with a new integrated email feature. “Feedback from our customers is invaluable in developing Lightroom and the real trick to a great release is to combine these insights with Adobe’s unrivalled image processing innovation,” said Winston Hendrickson, vice president products, Creative Media Solutions, Adobe. “Lightroom 4 is a stunning new release that will enhance photography workflows and help photographs stand out from the crowd.” Lightroom 4 is available immediately for $149 for new users or $79 as an upgrade from a previous version.

“Becoming the world No. 1 in PCT applications is a great accomplishment, but not our ultimate goal,” said Shi Lirong, president of ZTE. “Through innovation, we seek to enable people around the world to enjoy enriching life experiences through new technologies.” ZTE puts 10 percent of its annual revenue into research and development, with spending in this area over the last three years topping 20 billion renminbi. With 15 research centres throughout the world and a research staff of 30,000, it's no surprise that ZTE has been pumping out patent applications.

Meet Seiko Astron, the world's first GPS solar watch Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/meet-seiko-astron-the-world-s-firstgps-solar-watch/15139.html

March 6th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

March 6th, 2012

V Pro and P8Z77-V Deluxe. The differences between the three models are fairly subtle, yet there's enough difference that any potential buyer will have to pick carefully to get the right board.

It can be quite tedious to adjust your watch's time especially when you are flying to other parts of the world, and that you watch isn't digital. With this Seiko Astron GPS solar watch, you can get an accurate time no matter where you are on Earth.

Seiko, under the supervision of Seiko Epson Corporation, has developed a patented, low-energy-consumption GPS receiver and create a watch that can receive GPS signals and identify time zone, time and date data using the global network of GPS satellites. The Seiko Astron is solarpowered, and claims to be able to recognize all the 39 time zones on earth; the hands can adjust automatically to the correct local time with Atomic Clock precision. The watch also has a perpetual calendar such that the date will also be as accurate as the time. Simply press the button and the time and time zone will adjust automatically. It takes six seconds or a little more for the time to self-correct and 30 seconds or a little more for the time zone. According to Seiko, there are three models in high-intensity titanium, which is stronger than stainless steel but 40% lighter, and two in stainless steel. But for such an advanced watch, the price doesn't come cheap. The recommended retail price for Seiko Astron is from 152,250 yen (US$1,880) to 210,000 yen (US$2,594).

At the launch of the 7-series chipset Asus is expected to have three different P8Z77-V models ready, the P8Z77-V, P8Z77V Pro and P8Z77-V Deluxe. The differences between the three models are fairly subtle, yet there's enough difference that any potential buyer will have to pick carefully to get the right board.

Starting with the P8Z77-V we're looking at a fairly loaded board straight away with a pair of x16 PCI Express 3.0 slots – dual x8 mode when both are in use – a single x16 PCI Express x16 slot – in x4 mode – two x1 PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI slots. Add the standard Intel SATA ports and two additional SATA 6Gbps, a USB 3.0 header and four USB 2.0 headers for eight ports and you've pretty much covered all the features.

A quick look at the P8Z77-V range from Asus Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/a-quick-look-at-the-p8z77-v-rangefrom-asus/15141.html March 6th, 2012

At the back we have a PS/2 port, two USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports – of which two are via an ASMedia controller – a Gigabit Ethernet port, 7.1-channel audio with S/PDIF out and a DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI and D-sub connector. There's also a space for one of Asus' proprietary pin headers for one of its Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo cards, although this may or may not come with the board depending on the SKU/market.

At the launch of the 7-series chipset Asus is expected to have three different P8Z77-V models ready, the P8Z77-V, P8Z776

March 6th, 2012

The P8Z77-V Pro has only had a few minor upgrades, such as an additional header for a pair of extra USB 3.0 ports and a different VRM design. We're not entirely sure why you'd go for the P8Z77-V Pro over the P8Z77-V considering the small differences, but we'll have to wait and see what the price difference is to before we can draw any real conclusions.

Moving up to the P8Z77-V Deluxe Asus has done quite a few changes. Gone are the PCI slots in lieu of two additional x1 PCI Express slots. The two extra SATA 6Gbps ports gains SSD caching and some of the USB 2.0 pin headers are gone and in their place we find power and reset buttons and a POST80 debug LED.

Published by: VR-Zone

Around the back Asus has done some serious overhauling as this time around we're looking at four USB 2.0 ports, six USB 3.0 ports – again using ASMedia host controllers – two eSATA ports, a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports – one via an Intel controller and one via a Realtek controller – 7.1channel audio with optical S/PDIF out, a DisplayPort and HDMI connector and a clear CMOS button.

Overall a pretty solid line-up of boards from Asus and we'll be hitting the company up at Cebit to see what else they have lined up for the 7-series chipset launch, as well as all the other motherboard makers of course.

March 6th, 2012

Asus continues the TUF series with the Sabertooth Z77 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-continues-the-tuf-series-withthe-sabertooth-z77/15140.html March 6th, 2012

As far as going after niche markets, Asus' TUF series is one of those peculiar products that isn't necessarily selling towards its intended target market, nor does the product range really fit in as it sits on its own as a side-line to many of Asus' other board ranges. The latest addition is the Sabertooth Z77 which builds on previous TUF boards and then adds a few features of its own.

Published by: VR-Zone

As you can see, the Sabertooth Z77 features Asus' unique Thermal armor, a plastic shield that encases the entire board, although this time around Asus has made a few tweaks to the design. For one the company has added a pair of 50mm fans this time around, one just below the CPU socket and one as part of the rear I/O that draws in cool air from outside the chassis to help cool the MOSFETs. The other addition is dust protection covers for all of the PCI Express slots as well as for two memory slots and some of the pin headers. These are simple plastic covers that prevent buildup of dust in the slots over time.

The general board design is fairly conservative with two x16 PCI Express 3.0 slots in dual x8 mode, one x16 PCI Express 2.0 slot which is operating in x4 mode and three x1 PCI Express 2.0 slots. You also get the standard four SATA 3Gbps ports and two SATA 6Gbps from the Intel chipset as well as a pair of additional SATA 6Gbps ports. The board also has a USB 3.0 header for two ports and what should be headers for an additional six USB 3.0 ports.

March 6th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

IT Show price: S$1,499 with free upgrade to 8GB RAM (worth S$49), McAfee Anti-Virus Plus (worth S$49), and Lenovo Mouse (worth S$39, while stocks last) Lenovo IdeaCentre B320

Around the back we're looking at four USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, two eSATA ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, 7.1channel audio with optical S/PDIF out, a DisplayPort and HDMI connector and a CMOS reset button. The rear fan is recessed behind the CMOS reset button, but even so it prevents any additional rear ports to be fitted to the board. If you feel the extra cost for a five year warranty is worth it, then maybe this is the board you've been waiting for, but otherwise we'd say other models from Asus offer more in terms of features for what has at least in the past been a lower cost.

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Lenovo Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionslenovo/15136.html March 6th, 2012

The Lenovo IdeaCentre B320 has a space-saving all-in-one design that offers advanced cable management to avoid clutter. It features integrated stereo speakers, integrated Lenovo High-Sense webcam for clearer video chats, and Lenovo Dynamic Brightness System that can automatically adjust screen brightness based on ambient light conditions. Retail price: starts from S$1,249 IT Show promotion: free McAfee Anti-Virus Plus worth S $49

Lenovo's star products at the IT Show 2012 include the IdeaPad U400 ultraportable laptop, IdeaCentre B320 all-inone desktop, and ThinkPad Edge E420 business laptop. The Lenovo booth can be located on Level 4, booth number 8358.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420

Lenovo IdeaPad U400

The Lenovo IdeaPad U400 comes in a full aluminum shell in Graphite Gray, and is equipped with second generation Intel Core processor. It features a 14-inch HD display with ATI Radeon HD6470M 1GB graphics, which gives sufficient viewing space. Thanks to optional RapidDrive SSD technology, it can boot up in less than 17 seconds. Retail price: S$1,499

In a sleek and stylish midnight black soft-touch finish with silver frames, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420 is powered by second Generation Intel Core processor with Turbo Boost Technology that offers the performance you need to run your tasks. It has a 14-inch LED widescreen panel and spill-resistant keyboard that helps to prevent liquid spills from damaging the motherboard. With Lenovo Enhanced Experience 2.0 for Windows 7, it ensures faster startup and shutdown times. Other features include 720p HD cam, optional AMD Radeon HD 6630M 1GB switchable graphics and up to seven hours of battery life. Retail price: starting at S$1,499 9

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IT Show promotion: PWP upgrade to 3-year warranty at S$99 (U.P S$269), additional 2GB memory worth S$49, and free Microsoft Office 2010 Home and Business Edition worth S$228 (while stocks last)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Specifications Revealed Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-geforce-gtx-680specifications-revealed/15137.html March 6th, 2012

NVIDIA's much anticipated GK104 release is finally impending and we have specifications and details for the first SKU - GeForce GTX 680. As previous rumours suggested, GTX 680 will feature 1536 SP and 256-bit memory. However, contrary to rumours, NVIDIA has retained the shader hotclock, although the Kepler shaders could be significantly different from its Fermi counterparts which makes it difficult to predict performance. The core will be clocked at 705 MHz and the shaders at 1411 MHz, retaining the 2x shader hotclock from Fermi. GK104 significantly improves upon GF110/GF114's memory controller, setting a new record for reference memory clock at 6 GHz. This equates to a memory bandwidth of 192 GB/s - exactly the same as GTX 580 despite the narrower memory bus.

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upgrade until Asus releases the Maximus V Formula. Not only has the company brought back water cooling to the R.O.G. platform, but there's plenty of other features on offer, some that were weren't even told about at the preview event we attended. Although not available at the launch of Intel's new 7-series chipset, we can see a lot of Asus R.O.G. fans waiting to upgrade until Asus releases the Maximus V Formula. Not only has the company brought back water cooling to the R.O.G. platform, but there's plenty of other features on offer, some that were weren't even told about at the preview event we attended. The basic board layout consist of two x16 PCI Express 3.0 slots – which are of course operating in dual x8 mode – a single x16 PCI Express slot, an open-ended x4 PCI Express slot – we're not entirely sure how many lanes are available for each slot – and three x1 PCI Express slots. We spotted a PLX bridge chip on the board which means that Asus is splitting the available bandwidth from the chipset between the various PCI Express devices on the board, as there isn't enough bandwidth to go around.

As we have witnessed from previously leaked PCB pictures, the GTX 680 will sport 4 display outputs - stacked dual DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort. GK104's die appears to be slightly smaller than Tahiti but significantly larger than Pitcairn. Two SLI connectors will enable upto 3-way SLI. However, the experimental stacked PCI-e power inputs may not make it to the final production graphics cards. GTX 680 will be 10 inches long, which is longer than GTX 560 Ti or HD 7870 but shorter than HD 7950 or GTX 570. The general visual appearance will be reminiscent of GTX 570, albeit more compact with a repositioned fan. The rear end will be similar to HD 5800 or HD 6900, with identical outputs and a blocked exhaust. NVIDIA will reveal details about GTX 680 in an event on 12th March, with a hard launch rumoured for 23rd March days after HD 7800's release.

Asus brings back water cooling for the Maximus V Formula Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-brings-back-water-cooling-forthe-maximus-v-formula/15135.html March 6th, 2012

Beyond the standard four SATA 3Gbps and two SATA 6Gbps ports, Asus has added a second set of SATA 6Gbps ports. Beyond that we spotted pin headers for two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, a POST80 debug LED, power and reset buttons and Voltage measuring points. The Maximums V Formula also has a new audio solution which we were told should be based on a C-Media chipset. If you look closely at the lower left hand side corner of the board, you'll notice an R.O.G. logo on a matte square, this apparently hid some secret feature that we weren't told about, so it'll be interesting to see what Asus has come up with once the board is officially announced.

Although not available at the launch of Intel's new 7-series chipset, we can see a lot of Asus R.O.G. fans waiting to 10

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The rear I/O is identical to that of the Maximus V Gene and as such you get four USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out â&#x20AC;&#x201C; note that Asus appears to have fitted the wrong audio connector here as there are two optical S/ PDIF connectors and as far as we're aware, the board doesn't feature S/PDIF input, unless this has something to do with the change of audio chip â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and a DisplayPort and HDMI connector. You also get the same mPCIe Combo pin header and riser card that accepts an half-size mini PCI Express card and an mSATA SSD as you get with the Maximus V Gene.

Published by: VR-Zone

Another new feature is the inclusion of the ThunderFX USB sound card and amplifier. The ThunderFX is quite different from your average USB sound card though, as not only can it be used with a PC headset, but it can also be connected to either a PS3 or an Xbox 360 thanks to a pair of RCA audio jacks at the rear. It even has a special 2.5mm microphone connector for Xbox 360 headsets. When used with a PC it also offers active noise cancelling thanks to a built in microphone that records and tries to cancel out background noise. This has apparently been specifically tuned to work well in environments where there are a lot of people, such as LAN parties.

The Maximus V Formula might not be the most visually impressive R.O.G. board from Asus to date, but it has a decent enough feature set, although we're curious about what Asus was hiding. We'll make sure to follow up with more details once Asus is ready to launch the Maximus V Formula sometime in May according to what we were told at the preview event.

Asus' Maximus V Gene gets some interesting additions Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-maximus-v-gene-gets-someinteresting-additions/15127.html March 6th, 2012

The return of water cooling is done quite differently from in the past, as this time there's no need to cool the chipset with water, simply due to the fact that it doesn't get very hot. So what Asus has done instead is to create a water cooling solution for the MOSFETs. For those of you that don't want to use water cooling this isn't a huge issue, as below the water cooling pipe you'll find a regular heatpipe connecting the two VRM heatsinks. As such you get good enough cooling without using water, but you might be able to push the system even further with the addition of water cooling.

As far as motherboard sub-brands go, Asus' R.O.G. series of motherboards are part of what must easily be the most recognized series of motherboards. The latest mATX addition to the series is the Maximus V Gene based on Intel's Z77 chipset and it brings with it a couple of interesting features that made us scratch our heads a little. As far as motherboard sub-brands go, Asus' R.O.G. series of motherboards are part of what must easily be the most recognized series of motherboards. The latest mATX addition to the series is the Maximus V Gene based on Intel's Z77 chipset and it brings with it a couple of interesting features that made us scratch our heads a little.

March 6th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Taking a closer look, you'll see a pin header at the top of the PCB labeled mPCIe-Combo. This allows a small module – picture below – to be inserted that can house not only a halfsize mini PCI Express card, but also an mSATA SSD. The design is actually quite clever, except for the small fact that it has to be attached to the motherboard before it's installed into the chassis. This is due to the fact that the riser card has to be screwed in place through a hole in the motherboard.

In general the Maximus V Gene builds in the Maximus IV Gene, it has two x16 PCI Express 3.0 slots as well as a single open-ended x4 PCI Express 2.0 slot and Asus stuck with the standard two SATA 6Gbps and four SATA 3Gbps ports offered by the chipset. There are headers for two USB 3.0 ports and four USB 2.0 ports as well as a POST80 debug LED and power and reset buttons.

As you can see on the picture below, the raiser card fits neatly, but it's not clear as to how you'll attach the antennas from a Wi-Fi card or a TV-tuner, although it's likely that Asus will at least add some kind of holes in the I/O shield for Wi-Fi antennas. We're not entirely sure how popular this feature will be with gamers, but it's at least a different take on things and it adds more expansion options to this mATX motherboard. The Maximus V Gene should launch alongside all of Asus' other 7-series motherboards towards the end of April.

The rear I/O looks fairly basic with four USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 pots – of which two are via an ASMedia host controller – an eSATA port, Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1channel audio with S/PDIF out and a DisplayPort and HDMI connector. You also have a couple of buttons here, one that should clear the CMOS and one that allows you to connect the white USB 2.0 port to another computer for diagnostics as with previous R.O.G. boards. However, what's interesting with this board is what you don't see on the picture above.

March 6th, 2012

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A quick look at Asus's P8Z77-I Deluxe mini-ITX motherboard Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/a-quick-look-at-asus-s-p8z77-ideluxe-mini-itx-motherboard/15126.html March 6th, 2012

If you're a fan of mini-ITX motherboards, then Asus' upcoming P8Z77-I Deluxe is likely to blow your mind. We've seen a few high-end mini-ITX motherboards in the past from Zotac, but so far no-one has come up with anything like what Asus has created with the P8Z77-I Deluxe. If you're a fan of mini-ITX motherboards, then Asus' upcoming P8Z77-I Deluxe is likely to blow your mind. We've seen a few high-end mini-ITX motherboards in the past from Zotac, but so far no-one has come up with anything like what Asus has created with the P8Z77-I Deluxe.

As this is a mini-ITX board you only get a single x16 PCI Express 3.0 slot, although Asus has also fitted a halfsize mini PCI Express card slot which houses a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth card as standard. There are two SATA 6Gbps and two SATA 3Gbps ports as well as headers for two USB 3.0 ports and four USB 2.0 ports. At the rear we find four USB 3.0 ports â&#x20AC;&#x201C; two of which are via an ASMedia host controller â&#x20AC;&#x201C; four USB 2.0 ports, two eSATA ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 5.1channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and a DisplayPort, HDMi and DVI connector, as well as a pair of buttons that we aren't sure as to what they do.

It's impossible to not be impressed by the engineering that has taken place here, as Asus has created a rather innovative mini-ITX board. It won't be everyone's cup of tea for sure and it's likely to cost as much, if not more than some full-size alternatives, but none of that makes the P8Z77-I Deluxe any less impressive.

Apparently the designers at Asus decided to go for the all or nothing approach with the P8Z77-I Deluxe, as they've literally crammed the board full of features of which the most prominent one as odd as it is, is the VRM module. If you've been around for a few years you might remember that Gigabyte at one point in time had a card which added additional power phases to some of its high-end motherboard models, well, Asus has taken that concept to the next level with the P8Z77-I Deluxe by placing the entire VRM on a vertical PCB. This is the first mini-ITX board that we've ever seen that features eight power phases and we were told that the board is meant to be as good as an overclocker as your average full-size motherboard thanks to it.

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Jabra Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionsjabra/15133.html

March 6th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

March 6th, 2012

In addition to Noise Blackout 3.0, the Jabra Supreme is the first Bluetooth headset for mobile users that is equipped with Active Noise Cancellation technology. You can hear your caller better even with the background noise around you. With Voice Guidance and Voice Control features, you can easily activate phone functions by issuing voice commands so your hands are always free for whatever you need to do. Its powerful 24mm speaker produces a rich, high quality sound on every call while its patented flip-boom arm also acts as the on/off function.

With Jabra wireless noise-cancellation headsets, you can have voice conversation wherever you are, be it noisy food centres or on the move. The company is showcasing their Jabra EXTREME2, Jabra SUPREME and Jabra WAVE and others at the IT Show 2012 (booth 6711 and 3001). Jabra EXTREME2

Retail price: S$198 IT Show price: S$169 (FREE Powerocks Tarot portable charger & Lucky Dip) Jabra WAVE

The Jabra EXTREME2 was launched in Singapore last month and combines highly-acclaimed Noise Blackout 3.0 technology â&#x20AC;&#x201C; using dual microphones to distinguish sounds â&#x20AC;&#x201C; along with advanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology to cancel out up to 28dB of unwanted background noise, such as traffic, machinery, wind while retaining the natural sound of your voice. Equipped with HD voice technology and A2DP, the Extreme2 delivers voicecalls and audio output in crisp, crystal-clarity. New premium features include caller ID, battery level, connectivity status, step-by-step audio instructions for pairing. Retail price: S$128 IT Show price: S$109 (with Lucky Dip) Jabra SUPREME

The Jabra WAVE incorporates advanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and a 3-level Wind Noise reduction technology, including rounded holes on microphone for smooth wind passage and a wind sock to reduce wind noise for clear conversation. Launched last month, the WAVE features enhanced A2DP and HD Voice capabilities, has consistently been voted most comfortable for headset for its unique behind-the-year wearing style. At just 13g, it offers all-day comfort and ease-of-use. Retail price: S$128 IT Show price: S$109 (with Lucky Dip) Booth number: 6711 & 3001

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Microsoft Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionsmicrosoft/15007.html March 6th, 2012

Come to the IT Show 2012 and check out the great promotions from Microsoft - from Xbox 360 game console, Kinect, to peripherals including mouse, keyboard and 14

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webcam. The Microsoft booth can be located on level 6, number 6115. Xbox 360 250GB Ultimate Action Pack with Kinect Sensor

Published by: VR-Zone

Pre-order console collection at the Kinect Star Wars road show on 3rd April at Plaza Singapura’s main atrium will entitle customer to a special premium - Star Wars figurine from Hasbro (worth S$19.90). *While stocks last. Microsoft Touch Mouse

Xbox 360 250GB Ultimate Action Pack with Kinect Sensor, and games including Super Street Fighter IV, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Kinect Adventures, R-Type Dimensions game download card (IT Show ONLY), Gunstringer game download card, Fruit Ninja Kinect game download card; 3month Xbox LIVE Gold membership; additional wireless controller (IT Show ONLY); and sure-win Instant Jackpot at IT Show. Total price: S$995 IT Show 2012 price: S$649 Xbox 360 Limited Edition “Kinect Star Wars” bundle

The Microsoft Touch Mouse is the new multitouch mouse for Windows 7 that will let you click, flick, scroll and swipe so it’s easy and fun to interact with your PC. Designed to enhance your Windows 7 usage, the Touch Mouse combines the virtues of a mouse with the rich natural language of gesture to offer a more intuitive way to navigate your PC. The top of the Touch Mouse is composed of a matrix of capacitive touch-sensing electrodes to track the position of the user’s fingertips along its surface. Retail Price: S$99 IT Show Price: S$79 with free S$10 shopping voucher and free 4GB thumb drive worth S$10 (limited to first 100 customers daily), and Sure-Win Instant Jackpot. Explorer Touch Mouse

The Xbox 360 Limited Edition “Kinect Star Wars” bundle features a custom Star Wars design, modeled after R2D2 and C3PO, including an R2-D2 blue-and-white themed console and first ever white Kinect sensor, a custom Xbox 360 Wireless Controller inspired by C3PO, unique sounds from the Star Wars universe and an Xbox 360 Wired Headset. The bundle also includes copies of “Kinect Adventures” and “Kinect Star War”. Additionally, the Xbox 360 Limited Edition “Kinect Star Wars” console bundle will feature an exclusive C-3PO unlockable for Dance Mode. IT Show 2012 price: S$649 with Limited Edition Xbox 360 320GB Star Wars R2D2-themed Console, Limited Edition White Kinect Sensor, one Limited Edition C3PO-themed Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 Wired Headset, Kinect Star Wars game and Kinect Adventures game.

The Microsoft Explorer Touch Mouse is the latest addition to the Microsoft touch mouse family, featuring an advanced touch strip with vertical and horizontal scrolling capability so you can flick, click and navigate in any direction. Featuring BlueTrack Technology that exceeds the 15

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Published by: VR-Zone

performance of optical and laser mice1, the Explorer Touch Mouse adapts to your active lifestyle. It allows you to swiftly and smoothly track on the surfaces you use every day. And you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to worry about switching batteries often with this mouse, which provides up to 18 months of battery life on two AA batteries. Retail price: S$59 IT Show price: S$49 with free S$10 shopping voucher (limited to first 100 customers daily) Booth location: Level 6, booth number 6115

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Fuji Xerox Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotions-fujixerox/15131.html March 6th, 2012

Incorporating the latest S-LED printing technology, the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint M205 fw offers print, copy, scan and fax (black) for your needs. The A4 Wireless Monochrome Multifunction Printer has a fast 24ppm print speed, and supports mobile printing (with Fuji Xerox Print Utility for iOS). Aside from laptops, cameras, accessories and displays, printers are also one of the most sought after products at the IT fairs. Well, many of us still need to print our documents and even scan or fax. Check out Fuji Xerox's promotions on the DocuPrint P205 b, DocuPrint M205 fw and DocuPrint CM205 fw.

Retail price: S$349 IT Show price: TBA Fuji Xerox DocuPrint CM205 fw

Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P205 b

Available in Black, Quartz and Pink, the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P205 b monochrome printer features the latest S-LED printing technology and boasts a fast 24ppm print speed. There's only a single toner to replace, and the printer comes with 4-year carry-in warranty and 1-hr Express Service guaranteed. Retail price: S$139 IT Show price: TBA Fuji Xerox DocuPrint M205 fw

If you need a color multifunction printer, you may want to consider the Fuji Xerox DocuPrint CM205 fw. Like the DocuPrint M205 fw, this one also offers print, copy, scan and fax (black); print speeds of 12ppm for color and 15ppm for monochrome; and supports mobile printing (with Fuji Xerox Print Utility for iOS). Retail price: S$649 IT Show price: TBA Booth location: Level 4, Hall 401, Booth 8468

March 6th, 2012

IT Show 2012 Promotions: ASUS Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionsasus/15120.html March 6th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

tasking. It also incorporates exclusive ASUS Super Hybrid Engine II technology that allows the notebook to resume in just two second, and up to two weeks of standby time, and ASUS SonicMaster Technology and audio powered by Bang and Olufsen ICEpower for your music enjoyment. Retail price: S$1,598 IT Show price: TBA ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201

ASUS will be showcasing their range of products from laptops, tablets, to routers and desktop at this week's IT Show 2012. Their booth can be located on Level 4, Booth 8310 and 8220, 8405 and 8498 (Newstead). ASUS K Series K43SD-i7

The ASUS K Series K43SD-i7 claims to be the first notebook PC with vibrant multi-color high quality aluminium textures. It features IceCool Technology that helps to keep palm rest cool even after long hours of usage, and comes with 2GB VRAM for better graphics performance, and superfast USB3.0 ports. Retail price: S$1,498 IT Show price: TBA

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 boasts to be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first tablet with NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad core processor. It is incredibly thin at 8.3mm, and weighs 586g. It supports full high definition 1080p video with seamless playback. With the dock, the Transformer Prime can be "transformed" into a laptop with the keyboard and touchpad. Retail price: S$899 (with dock) IT Show price: TBA ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router

ASUS Zenbook UX31E-i5

The ASUS Zenbook UX31E-i5 is extremely slim, measuring only 3mm at the thinnest point. Despite its compact form factor, the Ultrabook feature seconnd generation Intel Core processors that powers silky smooth multimedia and multi-

The ASUS RT-N66U dual-band wireless-N900 gigabit router delivers superb performance with wide coverage. It features a new ASUSWRT UI that lets you setup your 17

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network easily, customize user access, as well as monitor signal strength. The RT-N66U increases Wi-Fi speed for both 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz transmission by 50% up to 900Mbps that makes it ideal for bandwidth intensive tasks such as 3D high definition video steaming, multiplayer gaming, USB hard drive file sharing, and USB connected printer sharing. With the built-in Wi-Fi amplifiers, the RTN66U is ideal for large, multi-level homes and buildings as its signal range can virtually reach any area.

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Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security is all you need to have the protection for your devices and data. The security software vendor will be having a great promotion at the IT Show 2012, and their booth can be located at Level 6, booth number 6266.

IT Show price: TBA ASUS ROG Tytan CG8565

The ROG Tytan CG8565 claims to be the most equipped and powerful gaming desktop, featuring instant overclocking. Just a touch of the button, you can overclock the machine without the need to reboot. You can increase performance with the optional Intel Core i7 2600K processor, unlocked and overclocked to 4.6 GHz, while the DEFCON indicator shows system readiness with blue and red LED lights. The ROG Turbo Gear can also instantly shift between three overclock modes. Retail price: S$4,399 IT Show price: TBA Booth location:Level 3: 3015 (Newstead Booth) Level 4: 8405, 8220, 8310, 8498 (Newstead Booth), 8139 (Newstead Booth), 8235 (Courts Booth)

The Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2012 uses cloud-based technology to proactively stop threats before they reach users. It claims to utilize less than half the disk space and memory of other security products. The software also comes with intuitive interface that is easy to install and use, customizable parental controls to keep children safe online, as well as tools to protect data from loss or theft. The Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2012 can also extend protection to smartphones and tablets including Android, Windows and iOS devices. IT Show promotion: Trend Micro will be giving away a free, exclusive Trend Micro water bottle for purchases by the first 100 Popular Card members. Win attractive gifts freebies for every purchase.

Gigabyte announces its first Ultrabook at CeBIT, we go hands on Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-announces-its-firstultrabook-at-cebit-we-go-hands-on/15125.html March 6th, 2012

Level 6: 6721 (AAAs Com Booth)

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Trend Micro Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotions-trendmicro/15117.html March 6th, 2012

There's no denying that Ultrabooks haven't taken off like Intel hoped they would, but it looks like we looks forward to some much more interesting machines once Intel launches its Ivy Bridge ULV processors and Gigabyte has come up with an interesting take on the Ultrabook theme. The company's first foray into the Ultrabook market space is with the U2442 series which is a 14-inch notebook with a lot of interesting features under the bonnet. There's no denying that Ultrabooks haven't taken off like Intel hoped they would, but it looks like we looks forward to some much more interesting machines once Intel launches its Ivy Bridge ULV processors and Gigabyte has come up with an interesting take on the Ultrabook theme. The 18

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Published by: VR-Zone

company's first foray into the Ultrabook market space is with the U2442 series which is a 14-inch notebook with a lot of interesting features under the bonnet. Starting with the 14-inch display which makes the U2442 larger than most other Ultrabooks in the market today, Gigabyte has gone for a 1600x900 resolution panel which is a big win in our book. The downside is that the screen is glossy and we hope that Gigabyte will consider offering a matte display as an option. The U2442 isn't going to be competing with the slimmest of Ultrabooks, as it measures 18.5 to 20.5mm thick, but at 1.49kg it's quite light for a 14inch Ultrabook. Part of the reason for this is that the U2442 has a plastic rather than a metal chassis, but at least Gigabyte fitted a metal lid to help protect the LCD.

But wait, there's more, much more, as they say on the shopping channels, as Gigabyte has also fitted the U2442 series with a yet to be announced Nvidia GeForce GT 640M GPU with 2GB of dedicated graphics memory. This makes the U2442 the first Ultrabook with discrete graphics as far as we're aware. Sadly the standard SKUs will come fitted with a mechanical drive without SSD caching, although Gigabyte will be offering models with an SSD as standard.

As with every other upcoming Ultrabook, Gigabyte will be offering the U2442 with a selection of ULV Core i5 and i7 processors, but the company has a real trick up its sleeve here and no, we're not talking about overclocking. Gigabyte will be offering two SKUs, the U2442V with the ULV processors and the U2442N which will come with a regular, full fat, 35W mobile Core i5 or i7 CPU. This should make the U2442 one of the most powerful sub 1.5kg notebooks in the market.

Connectivity has been one of the weak points of a lot of Ultrabooks, but not so with the U2442 as it's crammed full with ports. For starters Gigabyte has kitted it out with a Thunderbolt interface â&#x20AC;&#x201C; although this is apparently optional and won't be available on all SKUs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, a D-sub connector, an Ethernet port, a pair of audio jacks and an SD card reader. You also get a webcam, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 + HS, in other words, the U2442 has pretty much everything you'll need.

As for the battery, Gigabyte has gone for a LithiumPolymer pack rated at 44Wh, although these aren't directly comparable to Li-Ion, as they're not made up out of multiple "cells". We weren't given any indication of battery life by the company and considering the model we looked at was an 19

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early pre-production unit, it's unlikely the company has run extensive battery tests.

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After 11 years in the works, however, it would be wise to not drag out the release much longer.

A recent comment from a Blizzard community manager caused considerable controversy when he told players to lower their expectations about the game. The game's director said that this was an â&#x20AC;&#x153;obviously sarcasticâ&#x20AC;? comment and that gamers should have high expectations. Some other features worth mentioning is the backlit keyboard, a feature more and more people are looking for when they're buying a new notebook, a large trackpad with buttons and last, but not least, access to both of the SODIMM slots which allows the owner to upgrade the memory. Our hands on time with the U2442 was far to short to give any kind or real impression, but Gigabyte seems to have come up with a good overall design with features like all the hot air being vented out the rear of the chassis instead of towards the sides. As long as the build quality of the production units is solid, alongside a decent price, Gigabyte could very well steal some market share from more established notebook makers with the U2442.

Release date for Diablo III leaked

Blizzard also recently announced that it was axing 600 jobs, most of them relating to customer service. It promised it won't affect its games, but it will likely mean longer delays in sorting out purchases and in-game problems.

US files extradition request for MegaUpload founder and staff Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/us-files-extradition-request-formegaupload-founder-and-staff/15129.html March 6th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/release-date-for-diablo-iiileaked/15130.html March 6th, 2012

Amazon has let slip the release date of 17 April for Blizzard's highly-anticipated hack-and-slash RPG Diablo III. The date has since been removed from Amazon's website, suggesting it was not supposed to publish it at this stage. Blizzard previously revealed that it was targeting a second quarter release date, which could be anything from the beginning of April to the end of June. Eager fans will be pleased to see that it is looking increasingly likely that the game will launch at the beginning of that period. However, Blizzard has so far failed to confirm this release date and likely won't do so until closer to launch, in case any last minute game-breaking bugs force it to delay the launch.

The United States has filed a formal application for the extradition of MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom and three staff members from New Zealand over allegations of profiting from the illegal hosting and sharing of files. The United States has filed a formal application for the extradition of MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom and three staff members from New Zealand over allegations of profiting from the illegal hosting and sharing of files. The US federal prosecutors file the request at the North Shore District Court in Auckland, New Zealand on Friday in efforts to get Dotcom and his associates onto American soil so that they can face prosecution, with the US claiming that MegaUpload profited at the expense of intellectual property holders, such as music and movie companies. 20

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The three others who face extradition are Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, all of whom were in prominent positions within the file-hosting company.

MegaUpload was shut down in January and the closure caused such a stir in the file-sharing community that many other file hosts decided to shut up shop to avoid similar prosecution. Dotcom claims that US authorities selected emails and other evidence in a misleading and malicious way. Lawyers for MegaUpload claim that many files stored on the service show that it was a legal hosting company. If Dotcom and his colleagues are extradited and found guilty of the charges, which include racketeering, copyright infringement, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, they could face up to 20 years in prison.

Apple achieves milestone 25 billion App Store downloads Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-achieves-milestone-25-billionapp-store-downloads/15128.html March 6th, 2012

Apple has reached a landmark figure of 25 billion downloads in its App Store and is offering a prize of a $10,000 iTunes gift card to one lucky user to celebrate. Apple has reached a landmark figure of 25 billion downloads in its App Store and is offering a prize of a $10,000 iTunes gift card to one lucky user to celebrate. The Cupertino, California-based company began its countdown last week, achieving the major milestone over the weekend when Chunli Fu of Qingdao, China downloaded the free trial version of Disney's game app Where's My Water? Fu will now receive the huge iTunes gift card as thanks from Apple for helping it reach its record goal. $10,000 will be

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more than enough to encourage her to buy the full version of the game, and dozens more, as well as thousands of songs, films and other media.

“We’d like to thank our customers and developers for helping us achieve this historic milestone of 25 billion apps downloaded,” said Eddy Cue, SVP of Internet Software and Services at Apple. “When we launched the App Store less than four years ago, we never imagined that mobile apps would become the phenomenon they have, or that developers would create such an incredible selection of apps for iOS users.” The record was achieved by users of the over 315 million iOS devices across the world, with over 550,000 apps on offer. The App Store launched in 2008 and broke the one billion download barrier within a year. Only four years later it has grown that figure by more than 25 times.

A quick look at Gigabyte's GA-B75M-D3V motherboard Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/a-quick-look-at-gigabyte-s-ga-b75md3v-motherboard/15124.html March 6th, 2012

Despite more and more features being integrated into the CPU, motherboard prices haven't exactly gotten any cheaper, although at least part of the reason for this is increased costs for the motherboard makers. However, Gigabyte has come up with an interesting board for those that are looking for something for a small business computer or similar in the shape of the GA-B75M-D3V which offers a well-rounded feature set without costing a fortune. Despite more and more features being integrated into the CPU, motherboard prices haven't exactly gotten any cheaper, although at least part of the reason for this is increased costs for the motherboard makers. However, Gigabyte has come up with an interesting board for those that are looking for something for a small business computer

March 6th, 2012

or similar in the shape of the GA-B75M-D3V which offers a well-rounded feature set without costing a fortune. If you're a regular VR-Zone reader you must think we've gone nuts featuring what looks like a five year old motherboard. Well, it's anything but, despite its looks. Being based on Intel's B75 chipset which is targeting small business computers you get all the latest features in a slightly unusual package. The board has a PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot – although for some reason the board we were shown only had eight lanes connected – two x1 PCI Express slots and a PCI slot. Add a pair of SATA 6Gbps ports and four SATA 3Gbps ports and you have a pretty standard Intel board.

Published by: VR-Zone March 6th, 2012

Amongst the mass of AIBs that handed out press releases marketing their new HD 7800 series graphics cards following AMD's official launch earlier today, ASUS released new HD 7850 and HD 7870 models that are worthy of mentioning in their own right as they steer away from the reference oriented mass. Amongst the mass of AIBs that handed out press releases marketing their new HD 7800 series graphics cards following AMD's official launch earlier today, ASUS released new HD 7850 and HD 7870 models that are worthy of mentioning in their own right as they steer away from the reference oriented mass. Utilizing ASUS' well regarded DirectCU II dual-slot, quad heatpipe and dual-fan wielding aftermarket cooling solution, ASUS has stepped up the pace on these cards with higher than stock frequencies out of the box.

As you can see, Gigabyte went for a compact mATX form factor for the B75M-D3V and as such it only has two DIMM slots, but you do at least get headers for two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports and a serial port. The rear I/O has four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a PS/2 port, a parallel port –a feature a lot of businesses wants – a Gigabit Ethernet port, 5.1-channel audio and a D-Sub and DVI port.

The core clock speed on ASUS' HD 7870 DirectCU II TOP has been boosted to 1100MHz (1000MHz stock), while the HD 7850 DirectCU II TOP comes in at 975MHz (860MHz stock). On the memory side of things, both models have their 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 1250MHz (5GHz effective), where 1200MHz is the stock memory speed for AMD's reference models. In as much as the B75M-D3V might be targeting businesses, it would be the kind of motherboard that would offer more than enough features for many a user. As a further business incentive, it will also come with Intel's Small Business Advantage software, although due to NDA's and such, we can't go into any details about that for the time being. With a sub US$80 MSRP, this should work out to be one of the cheapest boards with a 7-series chipset.

Both cards run the same video output configuration with a single DVI-I, 1 x HDMI and dual Mini-DP ports. If you're still confined to a D-Sub monitor (poor you!) ASUS has you covered with a DVI to D-Sub adapter in the packaging.

ASUS intros beefed up DirectCU II HD 7800 variants Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-intros-beefed-up-directcu-iihd-7800-variants/15121.html

March 6th, 2012

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ASUS has not confirmed pricing on the two DirectCU II based HD 7800 offerings as yet, nor does a Google search give us any love at this time, but it goes without saying that these beefed up variants will be fetching a noticable premium over AMD's recommended pricing of US $350 and US $250.

GIGABYTE readies "gamingfriendly" AIO 24-inch Barebone Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-readies-gaming-friendlyaio-24-inch-barebone/15119.html March 6th, 2012

The GB-AEGT All-in-One boasts a 24-inch LED backlit 2point multi-touch display, while housed inside is a Mini-ITX motherboard based on Intel's H61 Express chipset offering support for Core i3/i5/i7 LGA-1155 processors and up to 8GB of DDR3 memory.

GIGABYTE is preparing another All-in-One barebone PC for market which is geared more toward gamers with its vacant PCI-E x16 slot that can accomodate dual-slot cards. The GB-AEGT All-in-One boasts a 24-inch LED backlit 2point multi-touch display, while housed inside is a Mini-ITX motherboard based on Intel's H61 Express chipset offering support for Core i3/i5/i7 LGA-1155 processors and up to 8GB of DDR3 memory. GIGABYTE is preparing another All-in-One barebone PC for market which is geared more toward gamers with its vacant PCI-E x16 slot that can accomodate dual-slot cards.

Other specs include a 2.5-inch HDD/SSD dock, a couple mini PCIe slots, a 3.5-inch bay, a slim optical drive slot, two USB 3.0 ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, webcam, Gigabit Ethernet, Wifi (optional) and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity. 23

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While Samsung still hasn't confirmed when exactly it plans to launch the handset, the latest reports are now suggesting a May or possibly June launch. Samsung has stated that once the launch date has been scheduled for the GS III it would share that date out via Twitter. Apparently a Samsung representative has informed a Korean site that Samsung plans to launch a different smartphone in April packed with LTE capabilities and that the GS III is expected in May or June. If dual display tickes your fancy, there's both D-Sub and HDMI outputs on tap as well. Pricing and availability info on the GB-AEGT is yet to be disclosed.

Samsung says no to Galaxy S III launch in April

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Lexmark Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionslexmark/15116.html March 6th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-says-no-to-galaxy-s-iiilaunch-in-april/15118.html March 6th, 2012

At the IT Show 2012, Lexmark will have some great promotions for their range of printers including the Lexmark C540n, E260d and Interpret S405. The Lexmark booth can be located on Level 4, Hall 403, Booth 8433. Lexmark C540n A tweet from Samsung has let us know that previous rumours indicating its highly anticipated Galaxy S III smartphone would launch next month are false. We know the phone isn't all that far away and it's safe to say it should surface by mid-year, but April is a definite no go. A tweet from Samsung has let us know that previous rumours indicating its highly anticipated Galaxy S III smartphone would launch next month are false. We know the phone isn't all that far away and it's safe to say it should surface by mid-year, but April is a definite no go.

The Lexmark C540n claims to deliver vibrant high quality prints with true 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution, with print speeds of up to 20 pages per minute in black and color. It has a first page out time of as fast as 11 seconds with instant warm-up fuser and supports duplex printing. The 24

March 6th, 2012

C540n has a sleek and desktop-friendly design with intuitive configuration settings that lets you manage the printer easily. Retail Price: S$499 IT Show Price: S$249 IT Show Special Offers and Giveaways: Gift voucher worth S$25

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The new Motorola ATRIX 2 is now retailing in Singapore, and comes with ten free EA games for your enjoyment. With a fast 1GHz dual-core processor and 4.3-inch qHD touchscreen, you can have a seamless gaming experience.

Lexmark E260d

The Lexmark E260d A4 monochrome laser printer boasts professional print quality and rapid print speeds of 33 pages per minute (ppm). It claims to be environmental-friendly with built-in duplex printing feature and replacement toner cartridge with a 3,500 page yield, and offers efficient desktop printing for individual users or small groups with a print quality of 1200 x 1200 dpi. Retail Price: S$199 IT Show Price: S$129 IT Show Special Offers and Giveaways: Gift voucher worth S$10 Lexmark Interpret S405 The Lexmark Interpret S405 A4 all-in-one mono inkjet printer is designed for individual users or SMB users, and features Scan and Edit Text (OCR) with Lexmark Scan Centre. The S405 also features wireless 802.11b/g connectivity, and a 35-page automatic document feeder. Retail Price: S$199 IT Show Price: S$109 IT Show Special Offers and Giveaways: Gift voucher worth S$10

Game on with the new Motorola ATRIX 2

Building on the success of the ATRIX smartphone, Motorola has launched the new ATRIX 2 which promises great entertainment experience at an affordable price. The ATRIX 2 is powered by 1GHz dual-core processor, 4GB onboard memory, and sports a brilliant 4.3-inch qHD display that is superb for gaming as well as viewing photos and videos. You can also choose to output your screen onto the home HDTV via an optional HDMI cable to the phone's HDMI output. With the proprietary MotoCast app, the ATRIX 2 lets you access your personal content from anywhere. You can open your work documents as well as stream music, videos and pictures from your home PC. Other features include 8megapixel camera, full 1080p HD video capture, GoogleTalk to make sure you always stay connected and 1735 mAh battery. Like it's older sibling, you can connect your Motorola ATRIX 2 to the Motorola HD Dock with HDMI cable to launch a full version of the Firefox browser on any HD monitor or TV. You can also browse the web easily with the optional wireless keyboard and mouse. The Motorola ATRIX 2 is retailing exclusively at SingTel, M1 and Newstead at a recommended retail price of S$699 (including GST) and comes with 10 EA titles - Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Need for Speed Shift, Dead Space, EA SPORTS FIFA 10, THE GAME OF LIFE, MONOPOLY, The Sims 3, Tetris, Worms and Bejeweled 2.

SingTel to acquire Amobee to strengthen mobile advertising Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/singtel-to-acquire-amobee-tostrengthen-mobile-advertising/15114.html March 6th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/game-on-with-the-new-motorolaatrix-2/15115.html March 6th, 2012

Singapore Telecommunications company, SingTel, is planning to acquire mobile advertising company, Amobee, for a hefty US$321 million, with the purchase finalizing by June this year. 25

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charge Android phones and you can also choose to wirelessly stream music from your Android device via Bluetooth. Retail Price: S$349 IT Show Price: TBC Philips Fidelio Docking Speaker AS141

SingTel is planning to boost their mobile advertising business with the acquisition of US mobile advertising company, Amobee, for US$312 million dollars. If all goes well, the purchase will finalize by June 2012 and the management will remain in place. According to Allen Lew, chief executive of SingTel Group, majority of their 400 million clients are in emerging markets. Based in Redwood City, Amobee is a mobile advertising technology company that provide solutions and services for advertisers, publishers and operators, with a proprietary platform that supports existing and emerging mobile ad formats on any mobile, internet-enabled device, including gaming platforms.

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Philips Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionsphilips/15113.html March 6th, 2012

Like its AS851 sibling, the Philips Fidelio Docking Speaker AS141 also comes with a FlexiDock to fit and charge your Android phone. With the built-in Bass Reflex Speaker System, it provides powerful and deep bass when listening to your favorite songs. The AS141 also features FM digital tuning with presets, MP3 Link for portable music playback and Bluetooth wireless music streaming from your Android device. Retail Price: S$219 IT Show Price: TBC Philips G-Line 273G3D Gaming monitor

Philips will be at the IT Show 2012 with their range of products including earphones, iPhone/iPod and Android phones docking speakers as well as displays. If you're going, their booth can be located in Hall 4, booth number 8161, and Hall 601, Harvey Norman Booth 6137. Philips Fidelio Docking Speaker AS851

Stylish and elegant designed, the Philips Fidelio Docking Speaker AS851 incorporates Digital Sound Processing technology that claims to deliver clear, detailed and powerful sound without any distortion. It has a FlexiDock to fit and

The Philips G-Line 273G3D Gaming monitor features a unique pearl white finish and a 27-inch Full high definition (HD) 120Hz display that can produce vivid and realistic images. The monitor also comes bundled with Philips Active 3D wireless shutter glasses that lets you view images in 3D, and can automatically detect 3D content and switch to 3D mode seamlessly. Input options include two HDMI and analogue VGA. 26

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Retail Price: S$699 IT Show Price: S$599 Philips E-Line 237E3QPHSU IPS monitor

In case you've been living under a rock, the HD 7800 'Pitcairn' cards that are released today is sandwiched between Southern Islands flagship HD 7900 'Tahiti' and the entry level HD 7700 'Carpe Verde', price and performance wise The 23-inch Philips E-Line 237E3QPHSU IPS monitor incorporates various proprietary technologies including 20,000,000:1 ratio SmartContrast; SmartImage technology that can optimizes monitor performance by dynamically adjusting the contrast, color saturation and sharpness of the screen to enhance viewing experience; and SmartTouch technology features intelligent touch sensitive icons that replace conventional protruding buttons. It features a 1920 x 1080 screen resolution with wide viewing angles of 178degree vertical and lateral. Retail Price: S$289 IT Show Price: S$269 Booth location: Hall 4, booth number 8161, and Hall 601, Harvey Norman Booth 6137

AMD Radeon HD 7870 and HD 7850 Review

The HD 7800 series also brings the much vaunted Graphics Card Next architecture to replace the aging VLIW4/VLIW5 designs of previous generations

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-radeon-hd-7870-and-hd-7850review/15108.html March 6th, 2012

Coming in at US$249 and US$349, the AMD Radeon 'Pitcairn' HD 7870/7850 fills the gap in the middle of the increasingly crowded Southern Islands family. If you are on a specific budget and not looking for absolute performance and don't want to wait for the impending arrival of Nvidia's Kepler to apply performance and price pressures, then you may be interested in having a look at our review. Introduction / Quick Recap

Feature set wise, the HD 7800 series has the same selling points that we've seen from new AMD cards over the last two months, including improvements in process/power efficiency, flexible multi-monitor configurations and an improved UVD engine

Prior reading before our quick recap: AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series enters the fray just in time to fight GK104 by Nebojsa Novakovic Glorious shot of the 28nm Pitcain silicon in BGA form factor 27

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AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series enters the fray just in time to fight GK104 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-radeon-hd-7800-series-entersthe-fray-just-in-time-to-fight-gk104/15109.html March 6th, 2012

Specifications Dump

The tropical island adventure continues, this time with Pitcairn - after addressing both the high end and the "mainstream" with the HD7900 and HD7700 series respectively, AMD now goes for the sweet spot in-between with the HD7800... Contrary to its CPU line-up, AMD has enjoyed blistering success in the GPU arena for quite a while now, and its newest generation GPU continue the same - from being able to get away with charging pretty high prices for the highend HD7970 and HD7950 yet keep the sales going, to the mainstream HD7700 parts wirh decent performance despite only 128-bit memory bus. The Catalyst drivers seem to be improving along the way too, and the OEM vendors are given more freedoms for custom designs earlier in the product lifecycle.

We are told that we will not see actual retail cards until 19th March (2 weeks from this review). The consolation is that there will be an impressive array of custom AIB board designs/bloat when it does hit the shops.

The new HD7800 'Pitcairn' series, that Lennard has a look at today, continues the same tradition, filling in the gap between the two already announced lines for the US$ 300class sweet price spot that would expect higher sales volumes than the HD7900, yet at higher margins than the HD7700 parts. The 256 bit GDDR5 memory bus wih 160 GB/s memory bandwidth, and 2 GB memory capacity are the first in class for this price level, aside from 32 ROPs, 1,280 stream processors (20 Computer Units - CU) and, very importantly, 160 GFLOPs Double Precision floating point. While this is far behind the high end HD7900 series, this is the first serious DP FP performance enablement in the below US $300 price class in any GPU around, important for GPGPU applications that need double precision. All these specs actually quite seriously tackle the upcoming Nvidia GK104 Kepler parts from one end, while the HD7900 does it from the other end. Remember, Nvidia had the practice to seriously curtail DP FP on all their consumer products, including the highest end ones, to keep the Quadro and Tesla going. AMD kept the full DP FP performance on the high-end consumer lines, but usually never had any DP FP in the lines below. Now that has changed - let's see the Nvidia response. HD7800 Series also brings in PCIe v3 for that extra bandwidth, as well as very decent Crossfire scaling if you want to run a pair of these in parallel. And, oh yes, it is the first mainstream GPU around to ship at 1 GHz frequency as standard! For more, here is Lennard's detailed review for your pleasure...

March 6th, 2012

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IT Show 2012 Promotions: TomTom Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionstomtom/15112.html March 6th, 2012

TomTom’s latest GO and Via GPS range will be available at the IT Show 2012. In addition, The manufacturer will also be offering an extra two-year South East Asia Map Update Service, as well as a 10% discount on all TomTom accessories with the purchase of a TomTom GO or Via GPS. The booth can be found on level 6, booth number 6711. TomTom GO 2000 series

The TomTom VIA 260 is ideal for the daily driver with accurate navigation instructions such that you will never miss your next turn. It features Advanced Lane Guidance that shows which lane to take at junctions with photo realistic junction views. And on the most difficult highway intersections, a realistic 3D representation of the junction keeps drivers relaxed and safe. With the integrated mount with flip screen, yon can adjust the device to your preference, and even turn it upside down; the screen will flip the right way up automatically. South East Asia maps: The TomTom Via 260 comes with maps of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Hong Kong and Macau via TomTom’s latest map guarantee, free daily map updates with TomTom Map Share and postcode search functions. Usual Price: S$239 IT Show Price: S$199

The TomTom latest GO 2000 series features an intuitive design with large 5-inch fluid touch screen that lets you navigate with ease. Simply pinch to zoom in and out of maps, or scroll through menus with the tip of your finger. It comes with an easy click magnetic mount that is easily fixed and locked on the windscreen with one hand. The unique magnetic dock makes docking and undocking your device very convenient. The TomTom GO 2050 comes with maps of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Hong Kong and Macau via TomTom’s latest map guarantee, free daily map updates with TomTom Map Share and postcode search functions – must-have for the discerning traveller.

Booth location - Level 6, booth number 6711

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Incase Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionsincase/15111.html March 6th, 2012

Usual Price: S$399 IT Show Price: S$349 In addition to the features of the GO 2050, the GO 2050 World allows seamless navigation across 66 countries. It comes pre-installed with the latest maps of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America. It also features maps of South Africa, and major towns and cities of Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Angola and Zambia.

If you're looking for accessories for your iPhone, iPad or Macbook, you may want to check out the stylish cases and bags from Incase. Distributed by EQuest International, the Incase accessories can be found at Nubox booth on Level 3 (booth 3001). Incase iPad Snap Case & Mag Snap Case

TomTom GO 2050 World Usual Price: S$479 IT Show Price: S$429 TomTom Via 260

March 6th, 2012

The Mag Snap Case works with your Apple Smart Cover to provide complete protection to your iPad, while conventiently holding the Smart Cover open, and gives you an additional viewing angle. The durable hardshell construction protects the iPad back while your Smart Cover keeps the iPad front protected. Flip the Smart Cover open and it magnetically clings to the Mag Snap's built-in metal bars, holding it out of the way while you use your iPad. iPad Mag Snap Black or White Usual Price: S$59 IT Show Price: S$35 iPad Snap Case Usual Price: S$49 IT Show Price: S$25

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Compatible with the latest 13-inch MacBook Air, as well as 15-inch and 11-inch Macbooks, the Perforated Hardshell Case features durable, injection-molded construction for excellent notebook coverage and a custom fit. Usual Price: S$85 IT Show Price: S$69 Booth location - Nubox booth on Level 3 (booth 3001).

iPad 3 configurations and pricing revealed Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ipad-3-configurations-and-pricingrevealed/15110.html March 6th, 2012

Nylon Sling Sleeve

Constructed of custom weather resistant nylon, the Incase Nylon Sleeve offers optimum notebook protection in a slender, durable design. Concealable nylon handles and an adjustable, removable shoulder strap provide carrying comfort and convenience. Available in various colors and for 15”, 13” and 11” Macbooks.

According to a fresh report over at 9to5Mac it appears that iPad 3 pricing structure at launch will be identical to the current gen iPad 2 lineup. While this is of no real surprise from the likes of Apple who almost never inflate pricing, there have been a few rumours circulating of late which indicated that we might see US pricing increase by as much as $70-$80 for the new iPad 3 tablets. This latest report quashes said price hikes while at the same time letting us know the configurations that iPad 3 will be available in - again no different to the iPad 2 lineup.

Usual Price: S$89 IT Show Price: S$69 Perforated Hardshell Case

March 6th, 2012

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HD 7870 will most likely feature 2x6-pin power connectors then. Of course, PowerTune will push up the Max Board Power up closer to 200W if enabled. More affordable Radeon HD 7850 disables off 4 CUs to leave 16 CUs enabled. This translates to 1024 SP and 64 TMU. The HD 7850 is clocked at 860 MHz and rated 1.76 TFlops. It retains the same memory subsystem as HD 7870, with 2 GB GDDR5 offering 154 GB/s bandwidth. Thanks to the disabled units and lowered core clock, the HD 7850 drastically cuts down TDP to 130W. It could ship with only 1 6-pin power connector, and could make it the fastest GPU with such a configuration for a long time to come.

An earlier report from Digitimes has turned out to be bogus with indication of iPad 3 coming out in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB variants and no mention of a 64GB. We can see from 9to5Mac's report a more sensible arrangement not unlike prior gen iPads with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models on the horizon.

AMD Radeon HD 7800 Specifications Revealed

Of course, both HD 7850 and HD 7870 will be based on the GCN architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 28nm and will continue to offer all the same features introduced with Radeon HD 7970.

A pre-CeBIT peek at upcoming SFF Uni-box from Giada Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/a-pre-cebit-peek-at-upcoming-sffuni-box-from-giada/15106.html March 6th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amd-radeon-hd-7800-specificationsrevealed/15107.html March 6th, 2012

A specifications slide for AMD's upcoming Radeon HD 7800 series has been leaked by a Japanese website. The Pitcairn chip effectively doubles up on Cape Verde, featuring 1280 SP in 20 CU, 80 TMU, 256-bit 2GB memory and 32 ROP. Transistor count also nearly doubles to 2.8 billion. A specifications slide for AMD's upcoming Radeon HD 7800 series has been leaked by a Japanese website. The Pitcairn chip effectively doubles up on Cape Verde, featuring 1280 SP in 20 CU, 80 TMU, 256-bit 2GB memory and 32 ROP. Transistor count also nearly doubles to 2.8 billion.

The fully enabled Radeon HD 7870 clocks in at 1 GHz, and will be branded Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition, taking after the HD 7770 GHz Edition. 1280 SP at 1 GHz results in a theoretical throughput of 2.56 TFlops, surprisingly close to the HD 7950. 2GB GDDR5 is clocked at 4.8 Gbps for an effective memory bandwidth of 154 GB/s. The TDP of HD 7870 is rated at 175W - up from 150W of the HD 6870. The

Giada is planning to launch a new small form factor PC once CeBIT 2012 kicks off next week which it calls the Uni-box. The unit looks mildly Apple-inspired with a boxy aluminum chassis with internals that together are said to pull just 30W of power during 1080p video playback. Giada is planning to launch a new small form factor PC once CeBIT 2012 kicks off next week which it calls the Uni-box. The unit looks mildly Apple-inspired with a boxy aluminum chassis with internals that together are said to pull just 30W of power during 1080p video playback.

On that subject, packed inside is an Intel HDM65 Express motherboard with support for Intel's mobile Sandy Bridge CPUs. The Uni-box ships with 4GB of system memory, and a 16GB mSATA based SSD. Connectivity wise, it has D-Sub, DVI and HDMI connections along with Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth and a multicard reader.

March 6th, 2012

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Can you guess the ninth? Indeed it's ARM. In all, confusion much, Microsoft? - It's hard to comprehend there being a truly logical need for this level of product segmentation. One thing's for sure, retailers are going to be sweating it out a bit when explaining to customers which one is the ideal choice for their needs. It's probable from Microsoft's angle that flooding the market with a chopped up range of varying sub-products will reel in more attention (and ultimately, $).

Samsung 17.3-inch Ivy Bridge notebook gets a Pre-Order listing Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-17.3-inch-ivy-bridgenotebook-gets-a-pre-order-listing/15104.html March 6th, 2012

We'll know more about it including availability and pricing during CeBIT next week.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview reveals nine SKUs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/windows-8-consumer-previewreveals-nine-skus/15105.html March 6th, 2012

Following the release of Microsoft's Windows 8 Consumer Preview on Wednesday which was super quick to see over a million downloads within the first 24 hours, through some deeper investigation via the system registry it's been discovered that there will likely be no less than nine variations of the operating system when it hits shelves later this year. Following the release of Microsoft's Windows 8 Consumer Preview on Wednesday which was super quick to see over a million downloads within the first 24 hours, through some deeper investigation via the system registry it's been discovered that there will likely be no less than nine variations of the operating system when it hits shelves later this year.

Online US retailer J&R have jumped the gun on an unannounced Ivy Bridge-equipped Samsung notebook reminiscent by design of the company's Series 7 Chronos range, with a listing already on its website sharing out a good deal of detail on the upcoming model. Online US retailer J&R have jumped the gun on an unannounced Ivy Bridge-equipped Samsung notebook reminiscent by design of the company's Series 7 Chronos range, with a listing already on its website sharing out a good deal of detail on the upcoming model.

With a model name of NP700Z7C-S01US Nike, this is a large notebook with a 17.3-inch sized (1366x768) LED-backlit display (err, Samsung, this is a 17.3-inch notebook...) and as mentioned, it runs one of Intel's upcoming 22nm Ivy Bridge processors; namely the 2.3 GHz Core i7-3615QM.

Hiding (obviously not all that well) within the registry are references to nine Windows 8 SKUs. Looking closer, there appears to be two new Enterprise editions, one of which is purely for evalulation purposes. From there we can see there's the return of a Starter edition, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional (and Professional Plus), then of course Ultimate sitting atop the pack. 32

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The notebook depends on Intel HD 4000 graphics and has 8GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD assisted by 8GB of NAND Express Cache, DVD writer, multi-card reader, 1.3MP webcam, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi and an 8-cell battery.

We're not yet sure where the 'Nike' nickname comes into play here - perhaps a succeeding series to the current Chronos lineup. J&R lists the NP700Z7C-S01US at US $1,499.99 with availability marked as 'Coming Soon'.

March 8th, 2012

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VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Skyrim wins Game of the Year Award Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/skyrim-wins-game-of-the-yearaward/15184.html March 8th, 2012

went to Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, beating Super Mario 3D Land. Supergiant Games won Best Debut thanks to its Bastion game, which also won Best Downloadable Game.

Movie industry goes after filehosting service Hotfile Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/movie-industry-goes-after-filehosting-service-hotfile/15183.html March 8th, 2012

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has won the coveted Game of the Year title at the Game Developers Choice Awards this week. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has won the coveted Game of the Year title at the Game Developers Choice Awards this week. Five games were up for the top position, including Batman: Arkham City, Portal 2, Deus X: Human Revolution and Dark Souls, but it's probably no surprise that role-playing adventure Skryim took the crown. While Skyrim took gold, it failed to win in any other category it was nominated in, including Best Game Design, Best Technology, Best Visual Arts and Best Audio. We think Bethesda is probably content with Game of the Year though.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has filed for a summary judgement against file-hosting service Hotfile, claiming that it is infringing the copyright of its films. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has filed for a summary judgement against file-hosting service Hotfile, claiming that it is infringing the copyright of its films. The group, which consists of big name studios like Disney, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros, claims that over 90 percent of the files downloaded from Hotfile are infringing of copyright laws and that nearly every Hotfile user is liable. The request, if granted, could give the courts the right to force Hotfile offline without involving a lengthy trial procedure, a tactic that many hosting websites might feel is designed to prevent them from telling their side of the story and providing evidence of their innocence. The case follows the shutdown of MegaUpload and the arrest of its founders in January, with attempts by the US to extradite key employees to the US. That situation caused many rival hosting sites to shut up shop and the MPAA is likely hoping that Hotfile will do the same.

Valve's Portal 2 title did not lose out entirely, however, as it won both Best Game Design and Best Audio. Best Technology went to Battlefield 3. Best Visual Arts was won by Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Best Handheld

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

DisplaySearch said that doubling the pixel density means a significantly smaller aperture ratio, which requires a brighter backlight. To compensate for this the iPad 3 features at least twice as many LEDs at the 36 employed in the iPad 2.

The problem for Hotfile is that the MPAA's argument rests on the allegation that Hotfile employs a similar business model as MegaUpload, paying users for how many times their files are downloaded, which it claims gives an incentive for digital piracy.

The problem with this is that it uses a lot more power. While Apple has added a larger and more powerful battery, and promised that it can run for up to 10 hours, the same time as an iPad 2, DisplaySearch analysts believe that this battery was employed to address the higher power usage of the A5X chip, not the additional LEDs. This could mean that, despite Apple's promises, the iPad 3 will have lower battery life than previous models.

Hotfile said that it removes copyright-infringing files as soon as it is requested to do so, as outlined in the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. This has been the argument of many file hosts, citing the impossibility of monitoring the upload of every single file for infringing content. It does, however, force studios to hunt down infringing files, which adds to the costs incurred in protecting intellectual property. The MPAA claims that Hotfile does not qualify for immunity under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act as it has failed to go after repeat offenders, some of whom have received as many as 300 notices. However, Hotfile has since announced updates to its system that include more aggressive procedures for identifying and tackling repeat offenders.

Apple could have display issues with iPad 3 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-could-have-display-issueswith-ipad-3/15182.html March 8th, 2012

DisplaySearch also highlighted the fact that the iPad 3's 264ppi display is significantly less than the iPhone 4's 326ppi, a fact which might disappoint some users. Another problem, which will undoubtedly be a big issue given the popularity of Apple devices, is the potential that that the Cupertino, California-based company might find it difficult to get enough supply. DisplaySearch found that Sharp, Samsung and LG Display, all of which make the panels, have had some difficulty achieving the 264ppi density on an a-Si TFT display. Whether or not these can be pumped out in the quantity that Apple will want or need remains to be seen. The iPad 3 goes on sale on 16 March.

Apple could have some display issues with its new thirdgeneration iPad, such as supply shortages and a huge battery drain, according to analysts at DisplaySearch. Apple could have some display issues with its new thirdgeneration iPad, such as supply shortages and a huge battery drain, according to analysts at DisplaySearch. The retina display is without doubt the main feature of the iPad 3, or â&#x20AC;&#x153;new iPadâ&#x20AC;? as it is officially called, but the enhanced clarity and higher resolution do not come without a price.

Russian Password Crackers Switch to OpenCL, Add Support for Radeon HD 7000 GPUs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/russian-password-crackers-switchto-opencl-add-support-for-radeon-hd-7000-gpus/15181.html

March 8th, 2012 March 8th, 2012

If you need to crack somebody’s password, there’s no better piece of hardware than a graphics cards. ElcomSoft is a well known security firm with government and private clients… and have just announced the switch to OpenCL. The company originally supported CUDA and NVIDIA hardware, adding AMD and their STREAM library. However, according to one of ElcomSoft’s chiefs Andrey Belenko, the company had a lot of problems with AMD hardware. In order to address the situation, the company just announced the switch to OpenCL for AMD hardware. According to a post by Belenko, users of NVIDIA hardware won’t be affected (CUDA is still the main API) but users of AMD hardware should enjoy a smoother ride and much higher efficiency than it was the case in the past. Belenko also issued a damning statement when it comes to current state of play in supporting developers: “It’s great when we’re talking AMD, a company known for a rather inconsistent developer support for its latest hardware; there’s simply no alternative. If we wanted access to their latest state-of-the-art graphic accelerators such as AMD Radeon™ HD 7000 Series boards, it was OpenCL or nothing. We didn’t have such issues with AMD’s main competitor, NVIDIA. NVIDIA was the first player on this arena, being the first to release graphical accelerators capable of fixedpoint calculations. It was also the first to offer non-gaming developers access to sheer computational power of its GPU units by releasing CUDA, an application programming interface enabling developers use its hardware in nongraphical applications. From the very beginning and up to this day, CUDA maintains universal compatibility among the many generations of NVIDIA graphical accelerators. The same simply that can’t be said about AMD.” OpenCL support is now embedded into ElcomSoft Phone Password Breaker (EPPB) and Wireless Security Auditor (WSA). Following the switch to OpenCL, AMD hardware was optimized further, and received up to 50% boost in performance. Furthermore, the maker now supports complete Southern Islands family of GPUs, the Radeon HD 7750, 7770, 7850, 7870, upcoming 7890, 7950, 7970 and upcoming dual-GPU 7990. Do note that due to restrictions NVIDIA put in the GeForce boards (Double FP being nerfed), AMD Radeon 6000 and 7000 series just level a GeForce GTX 580 to the ground . The story is different when Tesla and Quadro are used, though.

Published by: VR-Zone March 8th, 2012

There is no doubt about it, the hottest news coming from the Game Developer Conference are what game developers think of Kepler, i.e. GK104 and GK107 chips. The GK104 will take shape as the GTX 680. According to the stories coming from CeBIT 2012 show in Hannover, Germany - Kepler is just weeks away. The first desktop part being launched is known under the codename GK104, and in the old product naming convention, the card would be named GTX 660 Ti or maybe GTX 670 Ti. If rumors are true, NVIDIA sees this part as a competitor to Radeon HD 7950 and 7970 and decided to give the new Kepler the top end name - GeForce GTX 680.

GeForce GTX 680 is featuring 1536 CUDA Cores divided into 96 SM cluster, a 256-bit memory controller connecting to 2GB of GDDR5 memory. Graphic card vendors will also offer a variant with 4GB of GDDR5 memory, and according to the sources – for the first time since GDDR5 was introduced, a NVIDIA GPU is able to drive clock the GDDR5 memory higher than AMD, which created the memory standard. There was a lot of confusion about the hot clocks, i.e. their disappearance an re-appearance. The stories we were told cite that the company adopted a CPU like approach to its upcoming GPU: dynamic clocking. Dynamic Clock Adjustment is very similar to former “hot clocks”, with the difference that GK104 comes with several dozen power planes, and will operate on varying clocks depending on the computational load, card temperature and the power consumption. As we posted several days ago, the complete GK104 chip will operate at a lower clock, very similar figure to GTX 480: low power mode is 300 MHz, standard is 705 MHz extendable to 950 MHz – while the cores alone will be able to reach 1411 MHz when the chip is loaded to 100%. The 2GHz QDR clock (six gigahertz effective) should be good enough for massive 192GB/s, i.e. significantly less than 7950 and 7970, but significantly higher than 7850 and 7870.

NVIDIA Kepler Takes Shape: GeForce GTX 680 to Offer Dynamic Clocking, 2 and 4GB GDDR5 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-kepler-takes-shape-geforcegtx-680-to-offer-dynamic-clocking-2-and-4gb-gddr5/15148.html

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Product Features Digital video image resolution up to 1280 x 720 at 30fps 4x digital zoom Records full motion HD video H.264 and MOV file formats Retractable USB 2.0 connector for instant internet upload 6cm x 12.5cm x 2.3cm(W x H x D) 5MP HD video image resolution up to 1280 x 720 at 30fps Record to SD Card or SDHC Card upto 8GB Flip Style retractable USB 2.0 connector for instant internet upload via PC/Laptop 6cm x 12.5cm x 2.3cm(W x H x D) @ 93 grams AV output for direct to TV viewing Technical Details Dimensions: 60 (W) x 112.5 (H) x 23.5 (D)mm Display: 2.0 TFT (480 x 240 Pixels) Photo Viewer Formats: JPEG Power: 2 × AA batteries (included) The rumored performance is a mixed bag between HD 7870 and HD 7970: 10% faster than Radeon HD 7970 in Battlefield 3, but 10% slower in 3DMark11. Also, Epic's Samaritan demo, which required three GTX 580 boards only requires a single Kepler, i.e. a single GK104 chip.

Weight: 97g including battery Zoom: 4x Digital

When it comes to availability, partners are typically saying one thing in public, and another thing behind closed doors. The availability isn’t known, and it won’t be known until partners receive launch quantities. The estimations we heard went from pessimistic “small quantities of Kepler graphics cards only”, “no overclocking boards at launch” to “they had the first silicon in September 2011, they (NVIDIA) must have to stacked up the chips to flood the market and claw the market and mindshare back”. As usuall, the rumors need to be taken with a few grams of salt (the Hawaiian one being one of most tastiest salts I have ever tried).

IT SHOW 2012 Day 1 Giveaway - Veho Kuzo VCCC-007 HD Camcorder Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-day-1-giveaway--vehokuzo-vccc-007-hd-camcorder/15180.html March 8th, 2012

To reward our IT SHOW portal visitors, we will be giving away products or cash prizes on every day of the show! Today's draw is for the Veho Kuzo VCCC-007 HD Camcorder, sponsored by BOIA Pte Ltd, worth SGD $299! Read more for the details on how you can win... 4

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

compatibility, multi-monitor support, NVIDIA 3D support and Intel HD 3000 series support (without tessellation). There have also been a number of improvements made in regards to GPU detection and Mesa driver compatibility as well as a new cross-platform launcher that doesn't depend on .NET. Unprintable Content (Video, Flash, etc.)

Here's the complete list of what's new :- Added Mac OS X version compatible with 10.7+ (no tessellation). - Added support for Intel HD 3000 GPU (no tessellation). - Improved support for multi-monitor configurations. - Added support for NVIDIA 3D Surround (multi-monitor stereo 3D). - Enhanced NVIDIA 3D Vision support. - New cross-platform launcher without .NET dependencies. - Fixed Phoronix Test Suite compatibility issue. - Fixed minor visual artifacts. - Improved compatibility with Mesa drivers. - Improved detection of new GPUs. To qualify for the giveaway, simply follow these steps: Step 1 - Facebook Like: This giveaway page, the IT SHOW portal and VR-Zone fan page Step 2 - Leave a comment at the comments section below on why you deserve to win Use a VALID EMAIL address so that we can contact you if you are selected. Contest open to Singapore Residents only. The winner will be picked on 9th March 2012 and contacted by email.

Unigine releases Version 3.0 of its Heaven DX11 Benchmark

The basic version can be downloaded for free, while the professional edition comes in at a hefty US $495 via UNIGINE's online store and provides the following :- Command line automation. - Reports in CSV format. - Stress testing mode (benchmark looping). - Technical support. - Licensed for commercial use.

Buffalo intros 14x BD-R, 6x BDXL Blu-ray writer Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/buffalo-intros-14x-bd-r-6x-bdxl-bluray-writer/15178.html March 8th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/unigine-releases-version-3.0-of-itsheaven-dx11-benchmark/15179.html March 8th, 2012

UNIGINE has just released version 3.0 of its popular DX11 benchmarking tool, Heaven which rolls in a ton of new features and fixes. Some of these include OSX 10.7+ compatibility, multi-monitor support, NVIDIA 3D support and Intel HD 3000 series support (without tessellation). UNIGINE has just released version 3.0 of its popular DX11 benchmarking tool, Heaven which rolls in a ton of new features and fixes. Some of these include OSX 10.7+

Buffalo has just announced a new internal SATA Blu-ray writer capable of burning single-layer BD-R discs at speeds of up to 14x. The BRXL-14FBS-BK is also able to burn to BDXL discs at up to 6x. Buffalo has just announced a new internal SATA Blu-ray writer capable of burning single-layer BD-R discs at speeds of up to 14x. The BRXL-14FBS-BK is also able to burn to BDXL discs at up to 6x.

March 8th, 2012

Further to the above, this 5.25-inch internal Blu-ray writer can also burn to BD-R DL at up to 12x, 2x for BD-RE, 16x for DVD-R/+R, 8x for DVD-R/+R DL/+RW, 6x for DVD-RW, 5x for DVD-RAM, 48x for CD-R and 24x for CD-RW.

Published by: VR-Zone

with the official receipt and warranty card. This is part of the “Felicia Chin & XZ-1” campaign, and Chin will meet the 88 Olympus customers on 10 March 2012, this Saturday, between 3pm – 5pm. The Olympus XZ-1 is the company's flagship compact digital camera which is currently retailing at S$748. But at this IT Show 2012, customers can purchase the camera at S$598 and receive free gifts worth S$145.

SilverStone shows off range of USB 3.0 accessories at CeBIT The drive comes bundled with DiXiM BD Burner 2011 and a host of CyberLink programs including PowerDVD 10, PowerDirector 8 HE, PowerProducer 5, Power2Go 7, InstantBurn 5, PowerBackup 2 and MediaShow 5.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/silverstone-shows-off-range-ofusb-3.0-accessories-at-cebit/15177.html March 8th, 2012

The BRXL-14FBS-BK will first hit the market in Japan at the end of this month with an equivilent price tag of about US $232.

Felicia Chin makes appearance at Olympus booth, at IT Show 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/felicia-chin-makes-appearance-atolympus-booth-at-it-show-2012/15175.html March 8th, 2012

It is not often a celebrity will come to IT exhibitions like the IT Show 2012. Well, fans of Felicia Chin will be pleased to know that the local actress will be gracing the IT Show 2012. Read on.

Appointed as brand ambassador for Olympus XZ-1 in November last year, Felicia Chin, who is currently taking a break from acting to pursue her Business Studies degree, will be making a special appearance at the IT Show 2012. The first 88 customers to purchase an Olympus XZ-1 between 1 February and 10 March 2012 will be entitled to a redemption of an exclusive Feli-XZ-1 mystery gift set and have their photo taken with Felicia Chin at Olympus’ IT Show booth

One area where SilverStone appears to be spending a lot of resources is in PC accessories and no, we're not talking about mice and keyboards etc. but rather about various add-in cards and other interesting little trinkets. At CeBIT the company was showing off some new USB 3.0 host controllers and some internal USB 3.0 card readers that we took a quick look at. One area where SilverStone appears to be spending a lot of resources is in PC accessories and no, we're not talking about mice and keyboards etc. but rather about various add-in cards and other interesting little trinkets. At CeBIT the company was showing off some new USB 3.0 host controllers and some internal USB 3.0 card readers that we took a quick look at. First up we have the EC03-P which is SilverStone's first USB 3.0 cards with the fairly recent Renesas uDP720202 host controller and as with many of its previous cards, this model only features an internal pin header.

The second new model is the EC04 which uses the 4-port TI TUSB7340 host controller and as such the card has two rear ports as well as an internal pin header, ideal for those upgrading a system that lacks USB 3.0 altogether. It's a shame though that SilverStone didn't go with Renesas 4-

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

port host controller as it offers superior performance to the TUSB7340. Next up we have a fairly basic card reader with only a SATA port â&#x20AC;&#x201C; although sadly we missed to get the model name of this one â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but it also sports a USB 3.0 port and an eSATA port, again making a good chose for upgraders.

The final product is a more advanced USB 3.0 card reader that handles a wide range of memory card formats, but it also adds a front USB 3.0. These were just some of the accessories on display at SilverStone's booth and the company is apparently working on a PCI Express based external storage solution which we'll try to find out more about closer to launch.

SilverStone goes budget with the Red Line series Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/silverstone-goes-budget-with-thered-line-series/15176.html March 8th, 2012

The first chassis in the new series is the RL01 which is a very functional chassis without too much bling. In fact, the only bling on the chassis is the backlit, red SilverStone logo which also doubles as the power button. The model on display at CeBIT was the Chinese SKU, but the global model will get upgraded slightly, as SilverStone will swap the front USB 2.0 ports for USB 3.0 ports.

One area where SilverStone has struggled a bit in past is when it comes to cost, as most of its chassis have been quite expensive. As such the company was working on a new series for the Chinese market that the company has now decided to launch globally which will be known as the Red Line series. One area where SilverStone has struggled a bit in past is when it comes to cost, as most of its chassis have been quite expensive. As such the company was working on a new series for the Chinese market that the company has now decided to launch globally which will be known as the Red Line series.

The chassis is pretty standard otherwise with three front 5.25-inch drive bays, one 3.5-inch drive bay, five internal 3.5-inch drive bays and space for a 2.5-inch drive. One interesting addition is the magnetically attached dust filter on the top of the chassis, an unusual addition, but at least something that will be easy to remove and clean. The RL01 might compare poorly to some of SilverStone's other chassis in terms of features, but we were told it should hit retail at around US$60 which makes it a pretty affordable option from SilverStone.

SilverStone shrinks the FT03, simply calls it the FT03-mini Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/silverstone-shrinks-the-ft03-simplycalls-it-the-ft03-mini/15174.html

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

March 8th, 2012

There's no denying that SilverStone comes up with some of the most innovative case designs in the market and the FT03 – also known as the Fortress – is possibly its most unusual case to date. At CeBIT the company was showing off a miniITX version of the FT03 simply called the FT03-mini which radically shrinks the chassis. There's no denying that SilverStone comes up with some of the most innovative case designs in the market and the FT03 – also known as the Fortress – is possibly its most unusual case to date. At CeBIT the company was showing off a miniITX version of the FT03 simply called the FT03-mini which radically shrinks the chassis.

According to SilverStone a lot of its customers were complaining about the fact that the FT03 wasn't small enough, despite saving a fair bit of desktop real-estate thanks to its unusual design. As such the company went back to the drawing board and made FT03-mini. The interesting thing here is that most of the structural design is shared with the SG05, but with a set of four thick aluminium panels fitted to it and then put on its short end.

This allowed SilverStone to save a fair bit of money in terms of tooling for the chassis, something which usually is the most expensive thing when building a chassis. Some changes were made, such as rotating the optical drive tray so if faces the right way around, moving around the hard drive bracket slightly and adding a second bracket so that two 2.5-inch drives as well as one 3.5-inch drive can be fitted internally. At the bottom of the chassis a 140mm AP141 fan was fitted to help cool the entire system and SilverStone told us that they have made sure that there's enough space for even a fulllength graphics card inside the FT03-mini.

One of the drawbacks of the FT03-mini over the SG05 is the fact that you can no longer use a standard ATX PSU, instead an SFX form factor PSU has to be used. These are generally not available at very high Wattage ratings though, but we have a feeling that SilverStone will offer its own version for the FT03-mini. A pair of USB 3.0 ports were added to the 8

March 8th, 2012

top of the chassis and this is also where you'll find a pair of audio jacks and the power and reset buttons. The FT03mini is so far the most interesting mini-ITX chassis we've seen at CeBIT and unlike the original FT03 it looks far less complicated to build.

Razer hosts US$15,000 DOTA 2 Tournament at IT Show 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/razer-hosts-us-15-000-dota-2tournament-at-it-show-2012/15161.html March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone March 8th, 2012

Back at CES the first pictures of MSI's Z77A-GD80 motherboard made an appearance, a board that was said to feature Thunderbolt connectivity, but back then MSI hadn't actually implemented it. Fast forward three months and the company is now showing off the final board with the actual hardware fitted to the board. Back at CES the first pictures of MSI's Z77A-GD80 motherboard made an appearance, a board that was said to feature Thunderbolt connectivity, but back then MSI hadn't actually implemented it. Fast forward three months and the company is now showing off the final board with the actual hardware fitted to the board.

Besides the usual promotions and good deals, Razer has gone further to host a Defense of the Ancients 2 (DOTA) Tournament at the IT Show 2012 and a prize pool of US $15,000. The tournament will take place during the four days of IT Show and you can watch the stream live online.

At technology and consumer electronics exhibitions like this week's IT Show 2012, you'll spot a lot of great deals. Aside from the promotions, touting and packed crowd, peripheral maker Razer is hosting their first Defence of the Ancient 2 (DOTA) Tournament at the IT Show, with a prize pool of US$15,000. From 8 to 11 March, the tournament features some of the best DOTA players in the region, in a 5v5 single elimination format. The invited teams include Team Razersponsored Orange e-Sports, the top DOTA team in Malaysia, Mineski, the top DOTA team in the Philippines, and PMS*, the all-female team from Singapore. The tournament is part of an effort to promote e-Sports in Asia Pacific, and the event will be streamed live at http://www.twitch.tv/ rapturegaming.

The actual Thunderbolt chip â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which MSI wouldn't tell us anything about â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is located just below the MOSFET heatsink and it wasn't that easy to get a good shot of it. What we should be looking at here is Intel's yet to be announced Cactus Ridge chipset, most likely the L3310 model. The Thunderbolt/mini DisplayPort connector is also present on the board now, just below the antiquated D-sub connector that everyone keeps on insisting to add to their boards.

MSI first to show Thunderbolt equipped motherboard at CeBIT Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-first-to-show-thunderboltequipped-motherboard-at-cebit/15173.html

March 8th, 2012

A quick overview of the Z77A-GD80 motherboard includes three x16 PCI Express 3.0 slots, as MSI has gone for the rather unusual â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but completely Intel approved â&#x20AC;&#x201C; option of doing dual x8 or x8, x4 x4 for CrossFire X setups. There are also four x1 PCI Express slots, the standard Intel SATA ports plus two SATA 6Gbps ports, a front USB 3.0 header, a FireWire header, Voltage measuring points, a POST80 debug LED, a manual BIOS swtich and power, reset and OC Genie buttons.

At the rear we have a PS/2 port, four USB 2.0 ports, a mere two USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1-channel audio with optical and coaxial S/PDIF out and of course the aforementioned Thunderbolt and D-sub connectors as well as an HDMI port. That about wraps it up for the Z77A-GD80, but we did also sneak a peek at MSI's GUS II or Graphics Upgrade Solution II, MSI's first Thunderbolt accessory.

Published by: VR-Zone

The GUS II should be sporting the same L3310 Thunderbolt controller as the Z77A-GD80 motherboard, but in this instance MSI had fitted a heatsink to the Thunderbolt chip which seems somewhat odd as the one on the motherboard didn't have one. The GUS II will apparently ship with one of MSI's R6770 Twin Frozr II cards as standard, but will potentially be available with an Radeon HD 6850 or a GeForce GTX 550Ti card as an option, as the GUS II is limited to sub 150W cards. At least for the time being, MSI doesn't have any laptops with Thunderbolt, so we're not entirely sure who MSI is targeting the GUS II towards.

Ultimate 8-core mATX Powerhouse: Xeon E5-2690, R4G, 7970DCii and more! Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ultimate-8-core-matx-powerhousexeon-e5-2690-r4g-7970dcii-and-more-/15123.html March 8th, 2012

"What if I have about US$5000 to spend - Could I have a true 8-core/16-thread CPU in a small form factor setup without compromising on storage, thermals or online gaming prowess?" Well, we show that we can! Introduction:

March 8th, 2012

Previously at CES, we came across a similar mATX based rig huming along discreetly in a hotel suite without anyone noticing. Since then, we have been obsessed with building a similar setup, specced out with some of the best hardware from around our lab, to see how much compute power we could squeeze in a small form factor. The following is a list of parts that we've used... CPU (Intel Xeon E5-2690 2.9GHz

Published by: VR-Zone

The X79 mATX scion of the acclaimed ASUS Republic of Gamers Rampage IV series, this small form factor motherboard still boasts of the same extreme overclockingoriented engineering (like the Digi+ II VRMs and 10K Black Metallic Capacitors) as its larger siblings, coupled with Intel gigabit ethernet for no-frills low latency networking and dual PCIe 3.0 x16 multi-GPU support. Also, the onboard 8channel SupremeFX III audio solution is rated at an above average 110dB SNR, doing away the need for a discreet sound card. One of the main reasons that we prefer using ASUS ROG X79 boards is the excellent UEFI BIOS, which has a clean and functional layout for overclockers, and it recovers well during unstable runs. Frequent bios updates by the ROG team to squeeze out every drop of memory and graphics performance is also a huge plus. The Rampage IV GENE can be purchased for US$289 on Newegg. CPU HSF (Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E edition)

A hercules among CPUs, this top of the line Sandy BridgeEP Xeon packs 8-cores/16 threads at 2.9GHz (turbos to 3.8GHz), providing up to 152GFLOPs per socket and has 40 PCIe 3.0 lanes for ambitious multi-GPU builds. In well threaded applications, our behemoth of a processor behaves like a 4.6GHz Core i7-3960X, making it an excellent choice if you don't overclock (which you currently can't). You can read our full review on it here. Quick search on Newegg shows it retailing for US$2039, and if you are on a tighter budget the entry level 8-core 2.2GHz (Xeon E5-2660, 95W) is not too far behind performance wise and goes for a more palatable US$1329. Motherboard (ASUS ROG Rampage IV GENE X79)

To take care of the CPU cooling (135W TDP on the 2.9GHz 8core E5-2690), we used the recent announced Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E, which is a updated version of the original Silver Arrow that we did a review on last year. Featuring eight nickel-plated 6 mm copper heatpipes and 2 * 154mm*120mm of heat dissipation area, it is bundled with an efficient pair of TY-150 & TY-141 ultra low noise PWM fans (clips for an optional third fan is included) for best-inclass cooling. 11

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We will update our readers about the pricing when it is publicly available.

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Huawei

Published by: VR-Zone

Hard disk storage is never enough, especially if you have loads of data to backup. Well, Seagate has some nice promotions at the IT Show 2012. Be sure to check out their booth at level 6, booth number 6381 Seagate GoFlex Satellite

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionshuawei/15132.html March 8th, 2012

Huawei is gaining a lot of attention lately with their range of smartphone and tablet devices. And it is not surprising that the company will be having some presence at this week's IT Show 2012. If you are looking for a new phone, you may want to check out their Huawei Honor smartphone at the Newstead booth on Level 3, Booth 3018 (Newstead); Level 4, Booth 8019 (ECS) and Level 6, Booth 6731 (AAAs Com). The GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage device lets users carry their media library with them while on-the-go. You can wirelessly stream movies, photos, music and documents to your iPad, Android tablet, smartphones or any Wi-Fi enabled device via the GoFlex Media app which is available from the Apple App Store and Android market, or a web browser. The GoFlex Satellite offers fast USB3.0/ USB2.0 connection and downloadable Media Sync software also allows for easy transfer of media and documents from a PC or Mac computer. It has 500GB storage that lets you store approximately 300 high definition movies, and can continuously stream up to five hours of video on a single battery charge. Retail price: S$299 IT Show price: S$289 with free exclusive Seagate Satellite Hard Pouch worth S$29.90 with every purchase Powered by a 1.4Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the Huawei Honor is a high performance Android smartphone that features a 4-inch FWVGA capacitive touchscreen (16:9) and 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with HDR. It supports HSPA+ 14.4Mbps data transfer and is DLNAenabled for easy file sharing with other DLNA-certified devices. With its 1,900mAh battery, you can share and connect for up to three days on a single charge, and up to eight hours of talk time. The Honor runs Android Gingerbread OS, though it will be upgradeable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Seagate GoFlex Desk USB 3.0 external drive

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Seagate Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionsseagate/15134.html March 8th, 2012

The GoFlex Desk external drive delivers high-capacity storage and automatic, continuous backup with encryption for all your files. It is equipped with a plug-and-play USB 3.0 interface that provides transfer speeds up to 10x faster than USB2.0, and is still compatible with USB 2.0 ports. Users can easily swap to FireWire 800 interface by pairing the drive with the appropriate GoFlex upgrade adapter. The 12

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GoFlex Desk drive also allows for use between Windows and Mac computers interchangeably without formatting or performance loss.

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both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems on the home network. IT Show price: 1TB S$229; 2TB S$259; 3TB S$329

IT Show price: 1TB S$179; 2TB S$209; 3TB S$299 Booth location: Level 6, booth number 6381 Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex ultra-portable drive, USB 3.0

Apple updates software for iPad 3 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-updates-software-foripad-3/15172.html March 8th, 2012

Apple has announced a plethora of new and improved software, apps and games for its iPad range, all with better graphics, to coincide with the announcement of the iPad 3. The Seagate GoFlex ultra-portable USB 3.0 drive is a sleek and lightweight hard drive that provides up to 10x faster file transfer speeds vs USB 2.0. It also offers the world’s biggest storage capacity for a 2.5-inch portable drive, with up to 1.5TB of capacity. The Seagate GoFlex ultra-portable drive comes with USB 3.0 connection and can also be upgraded to eSATA or FireWire 800 connections simply by switching the cable. It sits at the core of Seagate’s GoFlex storage system that integrates a family of devices and cables, providing users with seamless access to their content on a network, TV, or anywhere they go. People can pair a GoFlex or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive with a GoFlex TV HD media player or the GoFlex Net media sharing device to enhance their experience of the drive’s content. IT Show price: 500GB S$119; 1TB S$189; 1.5TB S$239 Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Home network storage system

The Seagate GoFlex Home is an easy-to-install network storage system. With the GoFlex Home connected to a wireless router, the entire household can centrally store, easily access and continuously back up files wirelessly from

Apple has announced a plethora of new and improved software, apps and games for its iPad range, all with better graphics, to coincide with the announcement of the iPad 3. All stock apps are being updated and other apps will benefit from the new retina display of the third generation iPad. Developers who put in the time and effort can also push for an even better visual experience in their apps and games. Top of the agenda are launches or updates for Apple's iLife software range, which includes iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand. All are free for existing customers or $4.99 for new users and are available today. Apple announced iPhoto, an image-editing rival to Adobe's recently launched Photoshop Touch. The app, available on both the iPhone and iPad, comes with multi-touch editing and various gestures and cool effects, with the software capable of working with photos up to a whopping 19megapixels, more than enough for many photographers. Apple has thrown in some easy sharing options too.

iMovie is getting a big update (1.3) with storyboards and new editing features, which makes the iPad a viable device for video editing, at least on a small scale. A Theatre mode for previewing videos, replete with genre templates and cinematic music, could be a fun tool to play around with. 13

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GarageBand 1.2 features improvements such as Smart String and a Note Editor. Making jam sessions becomes incredibly easy with touch-based instruments and sharing them is even easier, with iCloud, Facebook, YouTube and SoundCloud compatibility. Apple also announced several games for the iPad, the most notable of which is Infinity Blade: Dungeons, which sends adventurers out to craft the ultimate weapon using an unusual dungeon crafting system. Players will have an interesting mix of hack-and-slash while collecting crafting items. The graphics are full high-definition and Apple is touting that this game uses more memory and a higher screen resolution than current-generation consoles like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, providing, of course, it's played on the iPad 3. No price or release date for this game was revealed, but we can likely expect it shortly after the release of the iPad 3, if not coinciding with it, as an incentive to buy the new device.

Apple announces iPad 3 with retina display, quad-core graphics and 4G Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-announces-ipad-3-with-retinadisplay-quad-core-graphics-and-4g/15171.html March 8th, 2012

Apple has announced the iPad 3, which will feature a retina display that the Cupertino, California-based company is promising will be “amazing,” in addition to a quad-core graphics and 4G. Apple has announced the iPad 3, which will feature a retina display that the Cupertino, California-based company is promising will be “amazing,” in addition to a quad-core graphics and 4G. The resolution of the device will be 2048x1536, with 3.1 million pixels or 264ppi, more than any other mobile device to date. In fact, it's so big that it could match the huge panel the company is showing its slides on today and people still wouldn't be able to see the individual pixels. The screen also promises to feature 44 percent improved colour saturation over previous models. Add in 1080p video recording and a 5-megapixel “iSight” camera on the back, with auto-exposure, auto focus and other features for improving picture quality. The device will also feature the A5X processor with quadcore graphics, which the company is promising is twice as fast as Nvidia's Tegra 3.

The iPad 3 is powered by a battery capable of running for 10 hours, or even nine hours in 4G, matching Apple's battery life claims for the iPad 2. The device is 9.4mm thick and weighs 1.4lbs. Pricing will be $499, $599, $699 for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB Wi-Fi models respectively. The 4G models will obviously be more expensive, with a price tag of $629, $729, and $829 respectively. Finally, the new iPad will launch in US, UK, Japan, Singapore and several European countries on 16 March (next Friday), and Apple claims it will be its biggest product launch ever. No word yet on many other Asian countries. Interestingly the iPad 3 hasn't been given a formal name yet. Rumours suggested it would be called the iPad HD, but nothing Apple has had so far confirms that name. Update 1: Apple has confirmed it will release a white "new iPad." Update 2: iPad 2 will still be on sale, with a $100 price drop. Apple thinks this will make the device more affordable and accessible, but it probably could have chopped off a bit more than that and still make a profit. Update 3: Confirmation from Apple that the iPad 3 is technically just called the "iPad" or "new iPad," with a qualification that it is the "third generation" of the device. This move away from its previous naming convention is unusual and will likely cause a lot of confusion, an effect that is already apparent from those who were following the event.

Apple announces new highdefinition Apple TV Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-announces-new-highdefinition-apple-tv/15170.html

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

March 8th, 2012

All eyes are on Cook and whether or not he can deliver, with today's event marking one of the most significant in the company's history, with expectations of a formal announcement for the iPad 3, rumoured to be called iPad HD.

Apple has announced its new Apple TV today, which can play high-definition video and will go on sale next week for just $99. The new connected television will support high-definition 1080p and a new UI that is not just a basic iOS interface.

Cook said that the iPod, iPhone, and iPad ranges represent what the company is calling the “post-PC” reality of the current and future market, where more and more people use devices other than traditional desktop and laptop computers for all aspects of their lives.

Itunes and the iCloud are big factors of Apple TV, allowing users to directly access music and video from the internet and show it on their TV screens. The cloud-based iTunes service will now support movies as part of this.

"Any company would be thrilled to have just one of these devices,” Cook said. “At Apple, we're fortunate to have all three, and the momentum has been staggering." Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, shared that there are now 100 million iCloud users. The focus of this part of the demonstration appears to be more on showing the connection with the cloud than the actual Apple TV device itself. Update 1: Users will be able to use Airplay to match or stream content on or from their iOS devices. There will be 15,000 movies and 90,000 TV espisodes to choose from on the iTunes Store, with other content available from partners like Netflix. The new Apple TV will go on sale 16 March, the same day as the iPad 3.

Apple planning post-PC future Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-planning-post-pcfuture/15168.html March 8th, 2012

Apple has sold a whopping 315 million of these devices in 2011, representing 76 percent of the company's total revenue, so it's no surprise that this will continue to be a big focus for Apple going forward. Apple sold 62 million iOS devices in the final quarter of 2011 alone. Apple shops were also big on the agenda. Cook revealed that there are now 363 retail stores throughout the world, with 110 million visitors in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone. Examples included the Amsterdam store and the Grand Central outlet in New York. "Apple has its feet firmly planted in the post-PC future."

The tablets finally beat PCs in both graphics resolution and format Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-tablets-finally-beat-pcs-in-bothgraphics-resolution-and-format/15167.html March 8th, 2012

Apple is planning a post-PC future, according to its CEO, Tim Cook, who took over after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs last year. Apple is planning a post-PC future, according to its CEO, Tim Cook, who took over after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs last year.

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

From this week onwards, nothing is same again - if you want better resolution AND better aspect ratio format, go smaller! What's going on with this world?

said before - play ANGRY BIRDS better on widescreen... can see all the birds and pigs at the same time, isn't it?

It seems, as we wrote sometime ago, those same Taiwanese and Korean panel makers who ramrod abysmal moviescreen 16:9 displays to the 'helpless' PC industry, at the end don't have the same guts, or certain other when it comes to smaller - and overall cheaper - tablets. After all, 16:9 screen are supposed to be there because of saving few bucks when cutting the glass, so the 'more expensive' PC systems should be less beneficial than tablets in this regard.

Gigabyte displays its first LGA-2011 workstation board at CeBIT

Anyway, those concerned with the quality of display graphics which, together with the input device - not the CPU or memory speed - determines the most of actual user experience with a computer of any kind, may decide to somewhat like the usually hated, for a number of good reasons, certain fruit themed company with proprietary OS and product lines. The very productive and logical 4:3 aspect ratio of their iPad line, to continue unchanged in the iPad 3 and rumoured iPad Mini, forces all other tablet vendors to have similar or at least usable screen formats as well, if they want a part of the game. These two weeks see the Mobile World Congress and CeBIT next to each other. On the first one, Asus and other major vendors announced a host of new quad-core tablets with, guess what, 1920x1200 beyond Full HD resolution and perfect Golden Section 16:10 aspect ratio. With good eyesight, you can now see TWO vertical document or web pages on this 10-inch screen without any scrolling need. Wow! Then comes 7th of March, when, during CeBIT but on the other side of the world in California, a 2048x1536 often rumoured iPad 3 screen should see the light of the day. When was the last time we had such good resolution on a notebook? I will tell you: some 8 years ago there were such screens in a limited number of workstation notebooks, I myself had for five years one 2003 IBM Thinkpad with 1600x1200 display resolution.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-displays-its-first-lga-2011workstation-board-at-cebit/15166.html March 8th, 2012

Traditionally Gigabyte's consumer motherboard division has steered clear of the entry-level workstation market, so we were quite surprised to see its GA-X79S-UD5 board on display at CeBIT, although we'd been told that the company was working on such a product. The S in the model name apparently stands for server, although this is much more of a workstation product than a server product. Traditionally Gigabyte's consumer motherboard division has steered clear of the entry-level workstation market, so we were quite surprised to see its GA-X79S-UD5 board on display at CeBIT, although we'd been told that the company was working on such a product. The S in the model name apparently stands for server, although this is much more of a workstation product than a server product. Despite the model name, the board is built around Intel's new C606 chipset for the LGA-2011 Xeon E5 series of processors rather than the X79 chipset, although the board only has a single CPU socket. The X79S-UD5 is compatible with both the E5 Xeon processors and the consumer level Core i7's. Gigabyte also mentioned that its current line of X79 has also received a BIOS upgrade that will make those boards compatible with the E5 Xeon's.

Now you are likely to have the same resolution in a US$ 700 tablet - but not any laptops, which could use such graphics detail much more... So, mark this week in your computer history books: it is the week when, with the announcement of iPad 3, preceded by Asus Transformer Infinity and similar Acer and other vendors' tablet devices, the small US$ 500 - 700 class tablets beat twice or triple - or any level - priced mobile PC systems, including the highest end ones, in the display device resolution and aspect ratio. Double whammy, surely. If tablets have it, why not notebooks then? Remember, not too ago, the top gaming or workstation notebooks had 1920x1200 resolution, while now, two CPU refreshes after, the resolution went DOWN to 1920x1080, and the productivity went down much further with the extra scrolling need during the actual work due to too wide moviescreen. But no worries, at least those avid gamers or enthusiasts paying top dollar for such notebooks can - as I

So what about the board? Well, it has five x16 PCI Express slots, of which two are full x16 slots, one is a x8 slot and two are x4 slots, although we're not sure if all are PCI Express 3.0. There's also a single PCI slot on the board. Add eight 16

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DIMM slots, four SATA 3Gbps and two SATA 6Gbps ports and you got a pretty high-end X79 board. However, thanks to the C606 chipset, the X79S-UD5 has eight native SAS ports, although sadly Intel was unable to deliver 6Gbps speeds in the end, so the ports are limited to speeds of 3Gbps. One important thing for anyone considering using this board with a Core i7 CPU is that the SAS ports won't work with this CPU, as it requires the extra four lanes of PCI Express 3.0 bandwidth available from the Xeon processors to work. The SAS controller isn't a true hardware RAID, but it features XOR processing, so it should help to offload the CPU a lot more than your average software RAID implementation. The board also has headers for two front USB 3.0 ports, six USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port and it has a power button. At the rear we find a PS/2 port, four USB 3.0 ports, a FireWire port, what looked like three eSATA ports, although at least one appears to be a USB/eSATA combo port, four USB 3.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and oddly enough an O.C. button and a BIOS chip switch button.

The X79S-UD5 will also ship with Gigabyte's 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 combo card. We're not sure when the board will launch and as for pricing, well, it's not likely to be a cheap motherboard thanks to the cost of the C606 chipset which should be a fair bit more expensive than the X79 chipset. That said, as an entry level workstation board or potentially even a single socket server board thanks to the SAS ports, it might be an interesting option for some.

Sony Xperia S, now available in Singapore Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-xperia-s-now-available-insingapore/15164.html March 8th, 2012

Sony has acquired Ericsson's shares in the venture last month, and the Xperia S is the company's first smartphone that was announced earlier this year. Well, good news for those of you waiting for this phone, the Xperia S is now available in Singapore.

Powered by 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 32GB flash storage and running Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the Xperia S claims to be the first Sony smartphone from the Xperia NXT series to offer users high definition (HD) experience, and let them share content easily across multiple screens. The Xperia S features a razor-sharp 4.3-inch Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine display and a 12megapixel camera that can snap pictures in just 1.5 seconds from standby. You can also connect the smartphone via HMDI to TV or share photos wirelessly with just one touch. In addition, the Xperia S incorporates Near Field Communication (NFC) technology that lets users share content as well as utilize various NFC applications and services. The Sony Xperia S is available in Singapore today, in Black and White at a recommended retail price of S$898 without contract. According to the company, the Xperia S will be upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich during the second quarter of 2012.

Boston teams up with Asetek to deliver water cooled workstation Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/boston-teams-up-with-asetek-todeliver-water-cooled-workstation/15163.html March 8th, 2012

It's fairly likely that you've never heard of Boston Ltd, a UK distributor and white box server and workstation manufacturer. The company has teamed up with Danish Asetek to deliver a fully water cooled workstation using Asetek's famous water cooling solutions with four Nvidia cards and two brand spanking new Intel Xeon E5 processors. It's fairly likely that you've never heard of Boston Ltd, a UK distributor and white box server and workstation manufacturer. The company has teamed up with Danish Asetek to deliver a fully water cooled workstation using Asetek's famous water cooling solutions with four Nvidia cards and two brand spanking new Intel Xeon E5 processors.

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Although the system is built using fairly standard components such as a chassis and motherboard from Supermicro, the unit on display at CeBIT was a late stage prototype. When Asetek announced it was moving into the OEM server and workstation market there were some questions as to why the company had moved away from its fairly rigid water hoses in favour for something that looked a lot more traditional and now we know the reason why. As you can see in the picture above, the Boston system is using soft, black rubber hoses between the graphics cards and the radiators and this is what makes this a prototype system. Before final retail systems will ship, Boston will send its specs to Asetek who will then custom make cooling solutions to fit Boston's requirements for hose length using the regular rigid hoses that you get in the consumer water cooling solutions based on Asetek's products. As such you'll get a near perfect fit in the server or workstation without extra bits of hosing having to be tied up or positioned to fit properly.

Also note the unusual position of the radiators for the CPUs, as they're placed just above the pumps. Again, this was done to reduce clutter and hose lengths, as the cooling requirements are quite different inside a server or workstation that in your average PC, as you always have much improved airflow inside a server or workstation. We were told that the fans will change on the final production setup as well and the overall noise level of the water cooling setup of this workstation should end up at around 30dB. Boston will guarantee the water cooling for up to seven years, but after that Asetek is expecting that the pumps could start to fail. That said, very few companies keep their servers or workstations for that long, so it's unlikely to cause any problems. We've got another couple of interesting server cooling solutions coming up that are unlikely anything we've ever seen before, although neither is very likely to ever enter the consumer market space.

Genius shows off interesting projector screen at CeBIT Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/genius-shows-off-interestingprojector-screen-at-cebit/15162.html

Published by: VR-Zone March 8th, 2012

If you're familiar with Genius, then you've mostly likely encountered their input peripherals which are generally quite affordable, if not exactly being the best kit you can get out there. At CeBIT the company was showing off something that we didn't really expect to see, a portable projection screen with built in speakers. If you're familiar with Genius, then you've mostly likely encountered their input peripherals which are generally quite affordable, if not exactly being the best kit you can get out there. At CeBIT the company was showing off something that we didn't really expect to see, a portable projection screen with built in speakers. Mobile projects are anything but a rare occasion these days and we've even seen phones and camcorders with built in projectors these days. Genius was demoing a fairly typical LCOS projector at its booth at CeBIT with standard VGA resolution which we were told should retail for about US $250 when it arrives later this year, but it wasn't at all what caught our eye.

Instead, the company was demoing the projector on a portable projection screen which featured a pair of flat speakers. What makes this projection screen so special is that it folds flat, so not only is it easy to store and travel with, but thanks to its unusual design, it can be used virtually anywhere. The screen itself uses a special material to allow for improved image quality in bright light for LCOS and LED lit DLP projector which in general aren't very bright. We were also surprised by how loud the flat speakers were, as they were only about one centimeter thick, yet managed to produce some very clear audio, despite the fairly noisy show floor. There wasn't much bass to speak of, but the audio was more than good enough for something like a video presentation, although it's not really what you'd want to use for watching a movie on. With a US$139 MSRP the mobile projection screen is also quite affordable and although we don't know the exact screen size, we'd estimate it at somewhere around 32-inches, i.e. much larger than your average notebook screen.

IT Show 2012 Promotions: HP Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionshp/15160.html

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

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Besides their printers, HP is also popular with their laptops and desktop PCs. If you are looking for some great promotions on their new laptop, ultrabooks or all-in-one PCs, you may want to pop by their booth on level 4, booth 8150, 8245 and 8428. HP Folio13

The HP ENVY14 Spectre claims to be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first premium Ultrabook with multi-surface lightweight and scratch-resistant glass. It features a 14-inch screen in a 13.3-inch body, and high-definition (HD) HP Radiance Display combined with Beats Audio to give you superb entertainment experience. It is packed with high-end hardware components and boasts up to 9.5 hours of battery life for long hours of usage. Retail price: S$1,999 IT Show price: TBC The HP Folio13 is not only stylish, but it is also slim at 0.75inch and portable at 1.5kg. It incorporates the latest Intel Core processors, which include Intel Rapid Start technology that gets your system up and running almost instantly, HP CoolSense technology that can detect where you are and automatically adjust your notebook to optimal cooling

HP Omni27

levels. The HP Folio13 also boasts long battery life of up to 9.25 hours that is more than sufficient to last you the entire day before the need to recharge. Retail price: S$1,499 IT Show price: TBC HP ENVY14 Spectre

The HP Omni27 is designed with features including Beats Audio, Blu-Ray disc drive and TV tuner which make it an ideal multimedia machine. It is the first non-touch HP PC to feature HPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Magic Canvas software, which allows the desktop to expand horizontally and accommodate the photos, videos and applications that users need. The HP Omni27 offers multi-core processors, advanced HD graphics and 1TB of storage for powerful performance. Retail price: S$2,499 IT Show price: TBC

March 8th, 2012

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Booth location: Level 4, Booth 8150, 8245 and 8428

Pacific & Jason Fedder, General Manager of Data Centre and Connected Systems Group, Intel Asia Pacific & PRC

Xeon E5 (Romley-EP) Launch: Interview with Intel APAC team

Q1: Can you enlighten the users & ecosystem that the rolling out of the Intel® Xeon® processor E5 platform is smooth, and is Intel confident that the ecosystem is in full support?

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/xeon-e5-romley-ep-launchinterview-with-intel-apac-team/15154.html March 8th, 2012

A1: We announced at IDF last September that we had hit our production commitment for Intel® Xeon® E5 processors of being in production in the second half of 2011, and were able to provide production units to cloud and supercomputing customers under an early ship program. Hence we have met all of our commitments to the market.

Finally, the wait seems to have been worthwhile - Intel is today launching its new generation Socket 2011 dual CPU Xeon E5-2600 platform based on the Sandy Bridge architecture. Here we talk to Intel's regional honchos about some of the opportunities and challenges Intel faces. Xeon E5 is one of the most complex microprocessors Intel, or anyone else, has ever designed - 8 cores with 20 MB L3 cache, four DDR3-1600 memory channels, 40 PCIe v3 plus 4 v2 lanes, and of course two high-speed QPI links, and all that in a pair, covering a wide range of frequency and power targets from ULV thin blade servers to highpowered superworkstations and HPC nodes. So, unlike the even larger-die Xeon E7 parts, which are specifically focused at 4-socket and above servers, the E5 series design had to cover a much greater product deployment span. The number of new features, like AVX - which you already saw in desktop Sandy Bridge, but now with enough memory bandwidth to back it up - then integrated PCIe v3 with a third lower overall I/O latency, augmented with Direct I/O to receive I/O data directly into the cache instead of memory loops, is staggering. And, despite around 10% lower average per-core frequency compared to the same TDP Westmere predecessors, the new features and more balanced overall design at the system level give the new platform gives between 30% and 80% performance boost, depending on the application. Here we chat, in sunny Hong Kong, with the regional men in charge of the new platform:

The support by the ecosystem is apparent in a sense that we are tracking 400 design wins around the world that will come to market across a broad range of applications. From traditional data center servers, to powerful workstations, to storage solutions, to Telco solutions we expect leading IT system providers from across the globe to select Intel® Xeon® processor E5-2600/1600 product family as the heart of their next generation solutions. We already have shipped hundreds of thousands of production units since Q3’11 and expect that many vendors will be making announcements starting today about the availability of platforms based on the Xeon processor E5-2600/1600 product families.

Q2, What are the usages for Intel® Xeon® processor E5 family in other new markets such as storage controllers, switches, HPC and high end gaming systems? A2: Within the 400 design wins for Intel® Xeon® processor E5 family, over 100 are in the communications infrastructure market segments. These communications designs include wireless / cellular systems, network security appliances, network media processing appliances, and routers. Intel provides unique features specifically targeting communications systems including higher reliability, 7 year manufacturing life, and higher temperature ratings. These vendors include Cisco, Dell, EMC, Hitachi, HP, Huawei, IBM, Oracle, Quanta, etc. For HPC, features such as Intel® Integrated I/O (can up to triple the movement of data into and out of the processor so data can be made available faster than ever) with PCI Express 3.0, Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (Intel® AVX) are ideal for demanding I/O usages from HPC applications. For instance, Intel® AVX increases floating point operations per clock up to 2X2 for technical, financial, scientific & content creation applications. These instructions double the size of the register used to process the instruction up to 256 bits allowing the CPU to do more work every clock cycle. Customers who have already taken advantage of these new Xeon E5 features include Infowrap, face.com, Kakadu Software, NHN and KISTI.

VR-Zone interview with David McCloskey, Director of Product Marketing and Business Operations, Intel Asia

For high-end gaming – Intel® Core™ i7 Extreme Processor is best positioned to address the high-end gaming market.

March 8th, 2012

Q3: Can you provide some comparisons on Intel® Xeon® processor E5 family versus AMD Opteron 6200 (Interlagos)? A3: Intel® Xeon® processor E5-2600 product family offers significant performance leadership in addition to superior I/O capabilities that improve the flexibility and responsiveness of IT infrastructure via faster, higher capacity I/O interconnects. Some of our OEM systems from Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, IBM and Oracle also established impressive benchmarks with more than 15 new dual socket x86 world records. These new server processors deliver up to 80 percent improved performance compared to the prior generation. New Intel® Integrated I/O with PCI Express 3.0 can up to triple the movement of data into and out of the processor so information can be made available faster than ever to support data-hungry applications. It also provides best data center performance per watt with over 50 percent gain on SPECpower_ssj2008 plus extends platform power control with Intel® Node Manager and Intel® Data Center Manager. These capabilities in addition to continued superior energy efficiency with Intel Xeon products leads us to believe that a Xeon processor E5-2600 product family based platform will offer the best total cost of ownership compared to an Opteron based platform.

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manageability of clouds will lead to greater benefits to IT more quickly. We are translating the engagements we have with organizations like the Open Data Center Alliance into solutions that address IT pain points. The Intel® Cloud Builders program brings together over 50 leading technology partners who provide IT with reference architectures, or recipes, to make it easier to deploy and optimize cloud infrastructure. Customers already benefited from Intel’s cloud solution include Korea Telecom, TCC technology, a commercial managed hosting and data centre service provider in Thailand and CloudEx Inc in PRC.

IT Show 2012 Promotions: PROLiNK Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionsprolink/15159.html March 8th, 2012

Check out the great offers from PROLiNK by Fida International at this IT Show 2012. Their booth can be located on Level 6, Hall 603, booth number 6108, and their star products include the WNR1004 Wireless-N Green Pocket AP/ Router, PCML-5307G Wireless Multimedia Laser Desktop Combo and PKB-3811U illuminated keyboard. PROLiNK WNR1004 Wireless-N Green Pocket AP/ Router

Q4, What is your opinion on the growth of cloud in APAC and PRC? What Intel is doing in these markets to drive cloud adoption? Can you name some design wins/customer testimonials? A4: Global data centre IP traffic is forecasted to grow 33% annually through 2015, which is forecasted to more than triple the number of Cloud servers by 2015. In APAC & PRC, the growth is also phenomenal. Intel is taking a leading role to accelerate open standards for cloud to help achieve the 2015 vision and is enabling the broadest ecosystem of open solutions from leading systems and solutions providers to make it easier to deploy clouds. No one company can bring this vision to life alone. Intel is proud to be actively engaged in multiple organizations and standards groups to accelerate the development of cloud standards that lead to more open, interoperable solutions. Intel serves as the technical advisor to the Open Data Center Alliance, a group of >300 global IT who define IT requirements for cloud. Intel is also a founding member of the Open Compute Project, governing member of the Open Virtualization Alliance, and significant contributor to OpenStack. We believe that accelerating standards development for interoperability, security, and

The PROLiNK WNR1004 Wireless-N Green Pocket AP/ Router is compact in size which makes it suitable for travellers. It can function in router/ AP/ client mode, and features 300mbps (high speed) portable router. The WND1004 is also incorporates energy-saving feature that can auto-adjust power consumption based on usage. Retail price: S$59 IT Show price: S$45 PROLiNK PCML-5307G Desktop Combo

Wireless

Multimedia

Laser

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Seen on display at CeBIT, the XPC Z77R5 mini-PC barebone features a typical looking and sized XPC chassis with dimensions of 32.5 x 21.5 x 19.8 cm (DxWxH). It houses an Intel Z77 chipset mainboard ready for Ivy Bridge and is of course backward compatible with existing LGA1155 Sandy Bridge processors.

Comes in three beautiful and stylish colours, the PROLiNK PCML-5307G Wireless Multimedia Laser Desktop Combo has a slim design with multimedia and Internet hot keys. The mouse can be toggled from 800/1600cpi and comes with back/ forward buttons. Retail price: S$39 Booth location: Level 6, Hall 603, booth 6108

Shuttle displays Z77equipped XPC Z77R5 barebone at CeBIT Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/shuttle-displays-z77-equipped-xpcz77r5-barebone-at-cebit/15158.html March 8th, 2012

The following expansion slots are available in the XPC Z77R5; one PCI-E 3.0 x16, a PCI-E 2.0 x4 and two mini-PCIe slots. The chassis can accommodate a 5.25-inch device (most commonly an optical drive) and a couple internal+exposed 3.5-inch devices such as HDDs/SSDs or multi-card readers. Connectivity wise, there are a couple SATA 6Gb/s ports inside while externally is an eSATA port, 8-channel HD audio, six USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit ethernet, HDMI and DVI.

While certainly not as popular these days as they were going back seven years or more, Shuttle is still polishing off its XPC line of small form factor rigs from time to time with updated units and its latest jumps on the Z77 bandwagon. While certainly not as popular these days as they were going back seven years or more, Shuttle is still polishing off its XPC line of small form factor rigs from time to time with updated units and its latest jumps on the Z77 bandwagon.

The system's power is supplied via a 500W unit with 80 Plus Bronze efficiency. Shuttle has not yet revealed availability and pricing info on the XPC Z77R5.

March 8th, 2012

Toshiba gearing up for Ivy Bridge + Kepler in 17.3-inch 3D Qosmio X870 laptop Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/toshiba-gearing-up-for-ivy-bridge-kepler-in-17.3-inch-3d-qosmio-x870-laptop/15157.html March 8th, 2012

A new gaming weapon reminiscing of Alienware's design cues is on the horizon from Toshiba under its Qosmio series, the X870. While now unveiled, all that is waiting for its arrival in store shelves is the availibity of Intel's next-gen Ivy Bridge processors and an NVIDIA (Kepler) GeForce GPU with 3GB of GDDR5 memory on tap. A new gaming weapon reminiscing of Alienware's design cues is on the horizon from Toshiba under its Qosmio series, the X870. While now unveiled, all that is waiting for its arrival in store shelves is the availibity of Intel's next-gen Ivy Bridge processors and an NVIDIA (Kepler) GeForce GPU with 3GB of GDDR5 memory on tap.

The Qosmio X870 is a 17.3-inch sized gaming notebook with its TruBrite NVIDIA 3D Vision-ready display running a 1920 x 1080 res. Its storage array is said to be a 2TB SSD+HDD hybrid arrangement and it will sport HarmonKardon speakers and a Blu-ray drive.

ECS to offer Z77 on a budget with Z77H2-A3 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ecs-to-offer-z77-on-a-budget-withz77h2-a3/15156.html March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Details are out on yet another Z77 based board coming to market; the Z77H2-A3 from ECS which caters to the more budget focused crowd. A couple "Black Extreme" series boards in the Z77H2-AX and Z77H2-A2X were spotted from the vendor at CeBIT yesterday, but the Z77H2-A3 is trimmed down in features and price to nestle into the sub-$150 bracket. Details are out on yet another Z77 based board coming to market; the Z77H2-A3 from ECS which caters to the more budget focused crowd. A couple "Black Extreme" series boards in the Z77H2-AX and Z77H2-A2X were spotted from the vendor at CeBIT yesterday, but the Z77H2-A3 is trimmed down in features and price to nestle into the sub-$150 bracket. While all the connectivity and overclocking functions native to the Z77 chipset remain in place, this board is only designed to accommodate single graphics cards and its CPU socket is powered by a simple 6-phase VRM. There are four DDR3 slots residing on the board despite the lesser more narrow dimensions of the PCB at 305 x 210 mm.

The expansion slot array comes in the form of a single PCIE 3.0 x16 slot, four PCI-E x1 and two legacy PCI slots. When reflecting on the Z77 chipset's characteristics, remaining intact on the Z77H2-A3 are a couple SATA 6Gbps ports, four SATA 3Gbps ports, 8-channel HD audio, Gigabit ethernet four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear I/O and two via motherboard headers) and display connectivity via D-Sub and DVI/HDMI. ECS has implemented a UEFI graphical BIOS for this board along with its EZ-Charger feature for boosted USB device charging to your Apple device or otherwise. All in all, not too shabby if the pricing is indeed low enough when it hits shelves.

Notebook vendors to intro cheaper Ultrabook alternatives Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/notebook-vendors-to-intro-cheaperultrabook-alternatives/15155.html

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

March 8th, 2012

A report from Digitimes suggests the still quite exxy Ultrabook market is about to see some stiff competition that will attract folks who don't mind a small trade-off in some areas to retain Ultrabook slenderness while pocketing a good chunk of change.

SanDisk is making its usual appearance at the IT Show 2012 with some great promotions on their products such as the SanDisk Memory Vault, Extreme SDXC UHS-I Card and Cruzer Edge USB Flash Drive. You can find their products at many of the resellers booths on level 3, 4 and 6.

SanDisk Memory Vault

Where all "Ultrabooks" are confined to a specification governed by Intel that comprises more exxy attributes like metal unibody chassis', hollow hinges and SSDs, Taiwanbased notebook vendors are looking to launch "Ultrabooklike" notebooks which will retain the same compact, slim dimensions but cut corners / costs where a lot of consumers aren't so fussed.

The SanDisk Memory Vault is a photo album that claims to be capable of storing images for up to 100 years in one reliable location. This product is a first in a new category of devices from SanDisk built for long-term data preservation. The technology also incorporates key elements of advanced solid-state storage into the Memory Vault that ensures that the quality of your photos and videos remain the same as they are stored in the Memory Vault. Best of all, the SanDisk Memory Vault features a sleek, metallic, ruggedized design that ensures the device is able to withstand external wear and tear while looking good at the same time. Doing away with the metal unibody chassis' will already drop prices by a decent amount and 7mm-thick HDDs are now available for vendors to pack in as viable cost-effective alternatives. Not only this, but it was made widely known just recently that Intel is delaying its mobile range of Ivy Bridge processors until June and the current Sandy Bridge Ultrabooks are still way too exxy.

Retail price: S$129 (16GB) IT Show price: S$78 (16GB) SanDisk Extreme SDXC UHS-I Card

So while these Ultrabook alternatives may not conform to Intel's Ultrabook requirements, you could soon be walking away with a slim ultrabook-sized lappy for around US $600.

IT Show 2012 Promotions: SanDisk Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionssandisk/15153.html

March 8th, 2012

The SanDisk Extreme SDXC UHS-I card is ideal for videography and photography enthusiasts who want to capture Full high defintion (HD) videos (and even 3D videos) and high-resolution photos. It features up to 45MB/ sec read/write speeds which allows photographers to offload an hour-long Full HD video in five minutes or a batch of 500 high-resolution photos in as little as one minute. With a UHS Speed Class 1 rating, the SanDisk Extreme SDXC surpasses the recording requirements of demanding video use cases, allowing users to record anything from home movies to highquality 3D footage.

Published by: VR-Zone

(Active Notebook), 6811 (Reddotphoto), 8418 (Harvey Norman), 6519 (Artwork photo), 6503 (AD Industries)

Experience the Ultimate Speed with Kingston, at the IT Show 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/experience-the-ultimate-speed-withkingston-at-the-it-show-2012/15152.html March 8th, 2012

Retail price: S$439 (128GB) / S$219 (64GB) IT Show price: S$280 (128GB) / S$138 (64GB) SanDisk Cruzer Edge USB Flash Drive

The SanDisk Cruzer Edge USB Flash Drive is compact and features a stylish slider design that lets you carry your data conveniently wherever you go. It comes with SanDisk’s SecureAccess software that keeps your data secure even if you lose the Flash Drive, and also secure online backup (up to 2GB) provides additional protection against data loss. Retail price: S$24 (16GB) IT Show price: S$16 (16GB) IT Show Sure Win Lucky Dip Promotion For High Performance Products (8GB and above), customers will be entitled to a “Sure Win Lucky Dip” and stand a chance to win: 1st Prize: Nikon D5100 DSLR 2nd Prize: Olympus Pen 2 Camera 3rd Prize: Samsung Galaxy Tab 7” Other prizes include: Mini Card Case / Metallic Card Case / Light Bulb / Torch / Lenspen / Environmental Bag Customers who purchase SanDisk’s High Capacity Products (16GB and above) will also be entitled to a free lanyard in addition to being eligible for the lucky draw. Booth location: 6859 (Cybermind), 8338 (Multimedia Integration), 6641 and 6611 (Direction), 6111 (Kao Yap), 6101 (Newstead), 6711 (AAAs), 6405 (Perdure), 6302 (Best Bargain Computer), 6241 and 6501 (Sprint Cass), 3038

Don't miss the Kingston's “Experience the Ultimate Speed with Kingston” activity at the upcoming Singapore IT Show 2012 at Suntec City (Kingston’s Redemption Booth: No. 6435, Level 6). Read on for details.

Memory manufacturer Kingston is holding an exciting activity, “Experience the Ultimate Speed with Kingston”, at the IT Show 2012. Besides their range of DRAM and Flash memory products, the company is also offering attractive promotions and generous prizes on site. Consumers who buy a Kingston product will be entitled to join the activities including lucky draws and instant-win prizes. Promotion I – Lucky Draw Buy any Kingston product at IT Show 2012 and get a lucky draw chance to win more than 1,200 prizes, including the grand prize of Kingston Wi-Drive 16GB with Apple iPhone 4S 16GB, Kingston 20-inch carry-on luggage, S$50 worth of Takashimaya Voucher, and more. Promotion II – Instant Prizes Buy one Kingston product and get one free prize immediately. Purchase any Kingston HyperX and branded memory module, and you get a Kingston Redhead Penholder home; Purchase any Kingston SSDNow products, and get a Kingston Thermal Mug; Purchase Kingston Wi-Drive, and get a Kingston Redhead Stress Ball. Moreover, a Kingston limited 2012 Calendar will be provided for those who purchase S$100 or more worth of Kingston products. Promotion III – Capture the Beauty of Kingston During IT Show 2012 from 8 to 11 March, join the “Capture the Beauty of Kingston” campaign and you stand to win a Kingston Wi-Drive home. Visit Kingston’s booth (booth no. 6435) and take photos of Kingston pretty show girls with Kingston products, and then upload one photo to Kingston Facebook Fan’s Page 25

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

(www.facebook.com/KingstonBlogFansClub.en) to join the contest. The contestant whose photo gets the most “Like” can win an amazing prize - Kingston Wi-Drive 16GB! The winner will be announced on Kingston Facebook Fan’s Page on 14 March. Don’t forget to invite all your friends to “Like” your post, and you could be the lucky winner to take a Wi-Drive home. Location: Suntec City, Level 6, Kingston’s Redemption Booth: no.6435 Wi-Drive is the best device to connect you and your friends. For more information about Wi-Drive, please visit: http:// www.kingston.com/en/usb/wireless.

MSI Z77A-GD65 Quick Preview Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-z77a-gd65-quickpreview/15138.html March 8th, 2012

There aren't any real surprises when looking at the bundled accessories. We have user manuals and a installation guide, driver CD, I/O panel, single SLi connector, four SATA cables, front panel connectors, a set of wires to connect a digital multimeter to the voltage read points and finally a officiallooking certificate detailing the range of stress tests the board components have passed.

With CeBIT getting underway in Germany, manufacturers are taking the wraps off of their Z77 motherboards. MSI are preparing to release their boards, one of which is the Z77AGD65 which we are going to preview today. We still have some time remaining before the official launch of the Z77 platform (April 8th) and new Intel CPU's (April 29th). However that's not stopping motherboard manufacturers from showing off their ranges of Z77 boards. Now that CeBIT is underway, every company will be proudly displaying their wares. One of the boards to come into the lab is the MSI Z77A-GD65. It is, of course, a Z77 motherboard supporting processors compatible with Socket 1155. That means the whole LGA1155 Sandy Bridge range and more importantly, 3rd generation 22nm Core i7 desktop processors due in the not too distant future. First up we check out the retail packaging. The design is nearly identical to the company's X79 range with its "Military Class III" components being the prominent theme. The back of the box is chock full of the featured technologies of the board.

The board itself looks good and features MSI's iconic blue on black theme. The layout is generally sound although an extra fan header to complement the single one at the bottom of the board would be nice. The PCIe slot layout is fine, with at least one 1x slot available even in a triple GPU setup. We also have a total of eight SATA ports, four of which are 3GB/ s with the other four supporting 6GB/s. Taking a look at some of the controller chips, we have a gigabit Intel 82579V chip taking care of a single LAN port with audio support provided by a standard Realtek ALC898 controller. The two extra SATA ports are controlled by a ASMedia ASM1061 supporting SATA 6GB/s. There is a board header for a firewire connector that is controlled by a VIA VT6315N chip. There is no need for a supplementary USB 3.0 chip as it is now integrated into the Panther Point PCH, which the board offers up to four such ports.

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Retail price: S$169 IT Show price: S$79 Belkin LiveAction Camera Remote

IT Show 2012 Promotions: Belkin Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/it-show-2012-promotionsbelkin/15151.html March 8th, 2012

With the Belkin LiveAction Camera Remote, you can activate your iPhone or iPod Touch camera shutter from up to 9.1 metres away, wirelessly. It has two button controls which let you instantly switch between photo and video functions, and you can also use the detachable camera stand to prop up your device and then slide it back onto the remote to create the ultimate pocket-sized camera kit. Retail price: S$79 IT Show price: S$59

Belkin has a wide range of products from accessories for your phones, tablets tonetworking devices. If you're dropping by their booth (Level 6, booth number 6121) at the IT Show 2012, be sure to check out their star products - Belkin Keyboard Folio, Belkin LiveAction Camera Remote, and Belkin Galaxy 10.1-inch Keyboard Folio.

Belkin Galaxy 10.1-inch Keyboard Folio

Belkin Keyboard Folio

Designed for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, this Belkin Keyboard Folio connects via Bluetooth wireless, and offers adjustable angles for viewing and typing as well as a unique tri-fold design tucks keyboard away to keep screen protected. The Belkin Keyboard Folio offers built-in computerstyle keyboard with tactile, well-spaced TruType keys. It also comes with function-specific keys for copying and pasting text, moderating volume and controlling music. The Keyboard Folio can easily pair with the Apple iPad through Bluetooth, and boasts 60 hours of active battery life and 2,000 hours standby battery life.

Retail price: S$129 IT Show price: S$99

March 8th, 2012

Sapphire wants to bring Vapor-X to the CPU cooler market

Published by: VR-Zone

base of the cooler, Sapphire is using a vapor chamber onto which the heatpipes are attached.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sapphire-wants-to-bring-vapor-x-tothe-cpu-cooler-market/15150.html March 8th, 2012

It's funny how one product can lead to a new and quite different product and in the case of Sapphire the company feels that it's Vapor-X graphics card coolers have been so popular that it's highly likely that we'll see CPU coolers using the Vapor-X technology from the company. As such the company was demoing a new cooler at CeBIT which is very likely to go into mass production sometime in the near future. It's funny how one product can lead to a new and quite different product and in the case of Sapphire the company feels that it's Vapor-X graphics card coolers have been so popular that it's highly likely that we'll see CPU coolers using the Vapor-X technology from the company. As such the company was demoing a new cooler at CeBIT which is very likely to go into mass production sometime in the near future. At first sight the prototype Vapor-X cooler doesn't look all that different from your average over-sized CPU cooler, in fact, it could easily be mistaken for a cooler from someone like Cooler Master or Thermal Take. There are four fairly average heatpipes running from the base of the cooler to the fins on the heatsinks and there are a pair of 120mm fans and various bits of plastic shrouding to make the cooler look funky.

It's not an entirely unique idea, as Asetek created something similar some years ago, although in their case the vapor chamber was directly connected to the heatpipes and it was far too sensitive as to how the cooler was installed. What sapphire has managed to do by using a sealed vapor chamber is to create a cooler that is less sensitive to which direction it's installed while still being able to draw the heat away quickly from the vapor chamber with the help of the heatpipes as secondary cooling setup. It'll be interesting so see how well this cooler performs compared to competing solutions that rely solely on heatpipes, once Sapphire brings it to retail.

NVIDIA Finalizes CARMA, Its Tegra 3 + Quadro Development Kit Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-finalizes-carma-its-tegra-3-quadro-development-kit/15094.html March 8th, 2012

Last November, NVIDIA announced CUDA on ARM during the unveiling of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, which is powered by combination of ARM based Tegra 3 SOC and the CUDA GPUs (prelude of Project Denver). Today, the company launched a developer kit based on this combination named CARMA. In 2013, NVIDIA plans to launch a desktop, notebook and more importantly, a server chip based on the Project Denver, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first custom CPU based on the in-house 64-bit ARMcompliant architecture.

However, none of this would make the new Sapphire cooler all that different from what's already out there and if you're keyed into what Sapphire's Vapor-X technology is, you'll notice that we so far have omitted a crucial part, the vapor chamber. Rather than using a standard metal plat for the

In order to allow developers to build the applications for the new chip, which will combine multiple ARM cores (allegedly) with 256 CUDA cores - NVIDIA has rolled out a development kit which combines the NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip, featuring five ARM Cortex-A9 CPU cores with a Quadro 1000M GPU. The kit is manufactured by SECO, and is consisted out of Quadmo747-X/T30 daughterboard, NVIDIA Quadro 1000M MXM board (very similar to one 28

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

used by HP in their revolutionary upgradable workstation), and the motherboard, also built by SECO. The specifications are as follows: • NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A9 processor with 2GB SOC Memory • NVIDIA Quadro 1000M GPU with 96 Cores and 2GB GPU Memory • 270 Single Precision GFLOPS, 135 Double Precision GFLOPS •

4x PCIe Gen1 link connecting processor to GPU

•

Gigabit Ethernet Network Port

•

Direct attach storage support with SATA port

•

HDMI and DisplayPort display connectivity

The board was in development for quite some time and the company decided to do a contest in order to get the name for the part. Daniel Holt came up with the name CARMA (CUDA meets ARM) and won one of the first parts that will go off the line. The price for the development kit isn’t known at current point in time, but you can expect to be a typical low volume part, with the price in upper XXX to a very low XXXX figure (we’d wager between $800 and $1200).

We highly doubt that there's any reason whatsoever to make a graphics card with 6GB's of GDDR5 memory on a 384bit wide bus, but hey, someone's going to buy it, as more is always better, right? Beyond sporting an insane amount of onboard memory, Sapphire has also designed a different looking cooler and shroud for these cards as you can see in the pictures.

Sapphire demos 6GB Radeon HD 7970 card at CeBIT, might be the next Toxic card Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sapphire-demos-6gb-radeonhd-7970-card-at-cebit-might-be-the-next-toxic-card/15149.html March 8th, 2012

One of the most frustrating things when you're at a trade show isn't the crowds, the noise of even the bad lighting when you're trying to take pictures, but actually the Perspex used to cover the hardware, so apologies for the fairly poor pictures of Sapphire's otherwise utterly and totally over the top graphics cards. For whatever reason, Sapphire decided to demo a pair of Radeon HD 7970 cards with 6GB of memory each at CeBIT and the company is considering going with these cards for its next Toxic branded model. One of the most frustrating things when you're at a trade show isn't the crowds, the noise of even the bad lighting when you're trying to take pictures, but actually the Perspex used to cover the hardware, so apologies for the fairly poor pictures of Sapphire's otherwise utterly and totally over the top graphics cards. For whatever reason, Sapphire decided to demo a pair of Radeon HD 7970 cards with 6GB of memory each at CeBIT and the company is considering going with these cards for its next Toxic branded model.

On the top edge of the cards is a re-designed BIOS switch, which is now a push button with a nice blue LED in it. The cards also feature a few diagnostics LEDs spread across the top edge of the card. The power input is via a pair of 8pin power connectors, so overclockers should hopefully be satisfied as well. Sapphire is expecting a GPU core clock of 1200MHz or more when these cards eventually appear in retail. We can only apologise for the quality of the pictures, but sadly, Sapphire didn't have a card in the back for us to look at.

March 8th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

March 12th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Thermaltake's Level 10 M mouse goes to 11 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/thermaltake-s-level-10-m-mousegoes-to-11/15220.html March 12th, 2012

Last week at CeBIT, Thermaltake officially unveiled the Level 10 M mouse which the company co-designed with BMW Designworks USA to much fanfare and the feature laden mouse does stand out from the crowd in more than one way. Sadly Thermaltake wasn't ready for hands on time, but we did at least manage to snap a couple of shots of the new mouse. Last week at CeBIT, Thermaltake officially unveiled the Level 10 M mouse which the company co-designed with BMW Designworks USA to much fanfare and the feature laden mouse does stand out from the crowd in more than one way. Sadly Thermaltake wasn't ready for hands on time, but we did at least manage to snap a couple of shots of the new mouse. That said, the mouse has been designed to keep your palm nice and cool thanks to an air vent on the left hand side of the mouse. Just below the air vent is a Ttesports logo which glows when the mouse is in use. The top of the mouse is as far as we can tell adjustable five degrees to the left or the right to allow for a more comfortable fit depending on your preference.

At 147x67.5x39mm (DxWxH) it's quite a chunky mouse, albeit with a fairly low profile despite its looks. It's both deeper and wider than your average Logitech gaming mouse, but it stands over half a centimetre less tall. The unusual split-level design with an aluminium base makes the Level 10 M quite eye catching, although according to Thermaltake it's there for more than looks, as it's meant to help dissipate heat, although we're not entirely sure from what.

March 12th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Thermaltake didn't announce a price or availability, but we'll follow up with more details as and when we know more.

NASA shows off Angry Birds in space Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nasa-shows-off-angry-birds-inspace/15219.html March 12th, 2012

Rovio and NASA astronauts have announced a new space version of the popular Angry Birds game, with one flight engineer explaining some space physics with the help of some very upset feathered friends. Rovio and NASA astronauts have announced a new space version of the popular Angry Birds game, with one flight engineer explaining some space physics with the help of some very upset feathered friends. Besides the regular mouse buttons and the scroll wheel the Level 10 M also has five additional buttons that are programmable and there's 128kB of on board memory for storing up to five different profiles. The default DPI settings are setting to 800, 1600, 3200 and 5000 DPI, but the mouse can go all the way up to 8200 DPI, currently the highest on offer, but we heard that several of Thermaltake's competitors are already working on mice that are capable of 8200 DPI.

The game developer made an ingenious deal with the US space agency to promote the launch of Angry Birds Space, which will feature traditional bird-flinging action in the gravity-free realm of space, with the gravitational pull of various planetary bodies affecting gameplay. Don Pettit, a flight engineer for NASA, demonstrated some of the principles behind the game in the weightless environment of the International Space Station, where somehow he got his hands on a green balloon (becoming a badly-drawn pig), two eggs, and a little Angry Birds plushie.

"This collaboration began with a simple Twitter exchange about birds and pigs in space, and it has grown into a tremendous outreach and education opportunity," said David Weaver, associate administrator for communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Games are fun and entertaining, but they also can be inspirational and informative. This ongoing collaboration with Rovio and Angry Birds is an exciting way to get people engaged with NASA's missions of exploration and discovery, and get students energized about future careers in science and technology." The game features 60 levels, new Angry Bird characters, new superpowers, and new gameplay elements. Additional levels will be added for free over time and even more can be purchased within the game.

Thermaltake will be offering the Level 10 M in three different colours, black, white and "military" green and judging by the three models on display at the show, the white model is glossy. The USB cable is also attached in a rather unusual way which you can just see in one of the pictures above. Sadly

Angry Birds Space will be available for iOS, Android, Macs, and PCs on 22 March.

March 12th, 2012

A quick look at Gigabyte's mainstream 7-series boards

Published by: VR-Zone

features for Gigabyte, as it still includes support for SLI and CrossFireX among other things.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/a-quick-look-at-gigabyte-smainstream-7-series-boards/15217.html March 12th, 2012

We were fortunate enough to get a preview of Gigabyte's high-end 7-series chipset motherboards ahead of CeBIT, but it turned out that the company had plenty more on offer at CeBIT. As such, here's a fairly quick run-down of the new models on display at the show, as there are far too many products for us to cover them all in detail. We were fortunate enough to get a preview of Gigabyte's high-end 7-series chipset motherboards ahead of CeBIT, but it turned out that the company had plenty more on offer at CeBIT. As such, here's a fairly quick run-down of the new models on display at the show, as there are far too many products for us to cover them all in detail.

Moving down a step we are down to the blue PCB level and we find the Z77-D3H. Although the board has a pair of x16 PCI Express slots, the second slot only has four lanes of bandwidth via the chipset. As will all of Gigabyte's new ATX boards, an mSATA slot is present for SSD caching. What's surprising here though is that instead of using a VLI USB 3.0 hub, Gigabyte has added an Etron USB 3.0 host controller for the two extra rear USB 3.0 ports, for a total of six where two are via a pin header.

First up we have the Z77X-D3H, the little brother to the Z77X-UD3H, although the boards aren't as similar as you'd think at first. For starters there are no eSATA ports on the Z77X-D3H, instead these ports are now internal SATA ports which makes a lot more sense for 99 percent of users. The PWM design and the heatsinks are somewhat simpler in terms of design and there's no 2oz copper PCB here. There's no DisplayPort connector on this board either, but otherwise it's a fairly well rounded board and we have a feeling this will be one of the more popular models in terms of price vs.

March 12th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone March 12th, 2012

Next up we have the Z77MX-D3H which is a mATX Z77 chipset based board. Here we have three x16 PCI Express slots of which the first two operate in dual x8 and the third being connected to the chipset via four lanes of bandwidth. There's really nothing out of the ordinary about this board, but it looks like a nice affordable board for a higherend mATX gaming system as it offers SLI and CrossFireX support.

Blizzard has announced that it will be axing the playerversus-player (PvP) mode from its upcoming hack-and-slash game Diablo III in order to keep it on track for its intended launch date. Blizzard has announced that it will be axing the playerversus-player (PvP) mode from its upcoming hack-and-slash game Diablo III in order to keep it on track for its intended launch date. Jay Wilson, Game Director for Diablo III, said that the company realised the “the PvP game and systems aren't yet living up to our standards.” Blizzard will therefore delay the PvP Arena system and launch it as a patch some time after the game goes live. Wilson said that the company decided it was better to launch the game without PvP than to delay the entire thing, which gamers have been eagerly awaiting for many years. He hoped that players would be consoled by the fact that the rest of the game has plenty to offer. When PvP finally lands, likely several months after release, it will feature multiple Arena maps with themed locations and layouts, PvP achievements, and a matchmaking system. Blizzard said it wants to make its Arenas “brutal, bloody, fast-paced, and awesome.” It is a shame that after more than a decade in production it has to delay this feature in order to deliver on that aim.

The little brother to the Z77MX-D3H is the Z77M-D3H which is a peculiar board as unlike all of Gigabyte's other Z77 motherboards, this one doesn't have a switchable slot layout and as such there's no SLI support on this board. You do get a PCI slot though and the second x16 slot offers four lanes of bandwidth via the chipset and the board does as such support CrossFireX. At the rear of the board you end up with a pair of USB 2.0 ports less and 5.1-channal audio instead of 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out for the Z77MXD3H.

Blizzard axes Diablo III PvP to meet launch date Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/blizzard-axes-diablo-iii-pvp-to-meetlaunch-date/15218.html

This announcement might also go a long way to explaining a comment made by a Blizzard community manager last month, where customers were warned to lower their expectations of the game. Wilson stepped in at the time and reassured everyone that the game was in tip top shape and

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players should have high expectations, but players are going to wonder if this was what Bashiok was referring to. The fact that Blizzard chopped 600 jobs at the beginning of the month does not help the situation either. It promised that these losses won't affect game production, but it's hard for gamers not to join the dots between all these recent messups at the company. The removal of the PvP element of the game to meet the launch date plans suggests that the game's arrival is imminent. This adds some credibility behind the leaked release date of 17 April featured on Amazon.

Apple iPad 3 pre-orders delayed Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-ipad-3-pre-ordersdelayed/15216.html

Published by: VR-Zone

Apple took a new approach to the launch of the iPad 3 by scheduling a single worldwide date. This meant that stock needed to be available in multiple countries and could not be kept in reserve if demand went off the charts. We imagine the company regrets this decision now. DisplaySearch predicted last week that Apple could face supply issues due to the new retina display, which many manufacturers are having trouble producing. The fact that delays have arisen so quickly raises some worrying questions for the new iPad, which many investors see as a pivotal product that will show if the company can continue its astronomical success after the passing of Steve Jobs last year. While this is problematic for Apple, it also shows that there is still strong demand for new versions of its popular iPad range. Whether or not sales can surpass that of the iPad 2 remains to be seen.

March 12th, 2012

Apple has been forced to delay the release of its iPad 3 to many people who pre-ordered it after demand skyrocketed past supply.

Video Reveals How to Enable Hidden, DLC-only Character in Mass Effect 3 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/video-reveals-how-to-enable-hiddendlc-only-character-in-mass-effect-3/15207.html March 12th, 2012

Apple has been forced to delay the release of its iPad 3 to many people who pre-ordered it after demand skyrocketed past supply. The “new iPad,” as it is officially known, goes on sale this Friday, 16 March, but the earliest many customers who opted for a pre-order will get it is 19 March, with consumers in some countries facing longer delays of up to three weeks. Many customers decided to pre-order to avoid the extensive queues outside Apple stores on launch day. Apple promised that those who pre-ordered would get their device shipped to them on the day it goes on sale, but now that has changed and customers will undoubtedly be angry.

Recently, producers of Mass Effect 3 gave out statements that it is not true that they’ve deliberately disabled a “DLConly” character inside the game. A short video debunked those defensive claims…again. Without any doubt, Mass Effect 3 is one of most controversial games that came out in the past couple of years. This is not due to the content which is inside the game which would cause mainstream media to spasm - but rather due to the content which was deliberately left out. The decision to make a key character in the game accessible as a DLC-only (DownLoadable Content) caused quite a backlash and even a boycott from several reputable gaming journalists and media. Additional issues for BioWare and EA were premature ejaculation i.e. publication of SDPS i.e. "Standard Defensive PR Statements" where game producers claimed that character was a part of DLC pack and is not located on the DVD. Unfortunately for BioWare's credibility and EA as a publisher, that too turned to be untrue. In a simple one minute video, an angry gamer showed how to enable the character. Thus, if you have a PC, you're all good. If you have a console - tough luck. Instructions for those that are too unpatient to watch the video: 1. Open Coalesced.bin with this http://wenchy.net/me3coalesced-utility

March 12th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

2. Search for this: MemberValidCID=22, MemberAvailablePlotLabel=IsSelectableProthean, 3. Replace with this: MemberAvailablePlotLabel=,

MemberValidCID=,

4. That's it. Javik the Prothean is now unlocked. "From Ashes" not required.

Samsung offers Norton Mobile Security to select GALAXY smartphone users Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-offers-norton-mobilesecurity-to-select-galaxy-smartphone-users/15210.html March 12th, 2012

Without proper protection, your personal data on your mobile device can be compromised via malicious attacks, as much as your PC or laptop. Samsung GALAXY users can have protection on their Android smartphones with the Norton Mobile Security software which is offered on Samsung App store.

- Remote Lock — Lets you remotely lock your lost or stolen phone via the Internet or SMS to keep critical data safe and block unauthorized access. - Remote Wipe — Lets you remotely erase the data on your phone via SMS, blocking access to your private information. In addition, your phone is instantly locked if its SIM card is removed or replaced, so it can’t be used with another SIM card. - Anti-malware — Scans all files and application updates downloaded to your mobile phone and automatically detects and removes threats without slowing you down. - SD Card Scanning — Gives you the option of automatically scanning SD (Secure Digital) memory cards for threats when you plug them into mobile phone. - Automatic LiveUpdate — Automatically downloads and installs security updates keeping you a step ahead of cybercriminals.

Unitcom to retail 14inch LesanceNB S3431/L ultrabook in Japan on 24 March Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/unitcom-to-retail-14-inch-lesancenbs3431l-ultrabook-in-japan-on-24-march/15212.html March 12th, 2012

Unitcom, Japanese operator of small computer chain stores, will be retailing the new LesanceNB S3431/L Ultrabook on 24 March. Measuring 19mm thin, the Ultrabook will be priced at an attractive 59,980 yen (approximately US$730).

Korean electronics company, Samsung, will offer Norton Mobile Security to select GALAXY smartphone users worldwide. The full-featured, complimentary 90-day subscription of Norton Mobile Security in multiple languages will be offered to Samsung GALAXY users through Samsung Apps (www.samsungapps.com). The security software can be downloaded from the ‘Utility’ category in Samsung Apps or by entering ‘Norton Mobile Security’ into the search query at the Samsung Apps. It also supports all Samsung GALAXY Android smartphones, including Galaxy S2 and is available in nine languages, including Korean, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese languages; a one-year license costs S$19.90. The Norton Mobile Security offers powerful anti-malware protection and anti-theft features that helps to safeguard user's personal data from loss, theft and other malicious threats. Features include:- Remote Locate — Shows you the location of your smartphone so you can find if it’s lost or stolen.

UnitCom Inc. will be retailing their new 14-inch "LesanceNB S3431/L" in Japan on 24 March, at an unbeatable price of 59,980 yen (approximately US$730). The LesanceNB S3431/L measures 19mm thin and boasts seven-second rapid recovery from sleep mode. To commemorate this sale, there will be a special campaign: Pre-orders will be given exclusives such as a value pack containing a router and web 6

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camera at low prices, and purchase-with-purchase offer of OFfice Personal 2010 at a low price The LesanceNB S3431/L is equipped with Intel Core i5-2467M (1.60GHz with built-in video capabilities), Intel HM65 Express Chipset, 4GB memory, 64GB SSD+500 GB hybrid HDD, 14-inch wide LCD display (1,366 Ă&#x2014; 768), and is preinstalled with Windows 7 Home Premium OS (SP1, can select 32bit or 64bit). The Ultrabook also comes with an SD / Memory Stick card reader, three USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, mini D-Sub15 pin, IEEE LAN 802.11b/g/n, 1.3-megapixel web camera, and voice input/output. It weighs 1.64kg and the Lithium-ion battery offers about five hours of usage.

A few more details out on Alienware M17x R4 gaming notebook Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/a-few-more-details-out-onalienware-m17x-r4-gaming-notebook/15215.html March 12th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

We're still no closer to obtaining a definitive release date, only that it is most probable to arrive sometime during Q2.

GTX 580 pricing lowers as GTX 680 launch nears Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gtx-580-pricing-lowers-as-gtx-680launch-nears/15214.html March 12th, 2012

With the GTX 680 now getting all the attention at the top end from the green team as it nears launch, to help deal with the clearing of current inventories there appears to be a noticable price drop taking place on the current flagship GF110-based GTX 580. With the GTX 680 now getting all the attention at the top end from the green team as it nears launch, to help deal with the clearing of current inventories there appears to be a noticable price drop taking place on the current flagship GF110-based GTX 580.

More info is out on Alienware's next invasion of gaming notebooks, particularly pertaining to the upcoming M17x R4 this time thanks to a source tied in very closely with Dell. More info is out on Alienware's next invasion of gaming notebooks, particularly pertaining to the upcoming M17x R4 this time thanks to a source tied in very closely with Dell. The M17x R4 is a 17.4-inch sized laptop and is said to arrive with three display options available - HD+ (1600 x 900), Full HD (1920 x 1080) and Full HD with 3D capabilities. Further is the claim of eDP (embedded DisplayPort) being used for this gaming notebook's LCD communication. Several European price-aggregators including Geizhals.at are quick to show that the reduction in price on the GTX 580 is significant - as low as 339.8 EUR which makes the 1.5GB version even cheaper than the HD 7950 and thus improving on its price-performance ratio. Meanwhile, the 3GB versions are now being offered at similar pricing to the HD 7950. Putting things into further perspective, the GTX 570 starts at 249 EUR.

Seagate preps 7200rpm, 9mm thick 500GB USB 3.0 FreeAgent HDD The Alienware M17x R4 will be packed with an Ivy Bridge based processor and its discrete GPU options will comprise a Radeon HD 7970M and a couple of NVIDIA choices; the GeForce GTX 660M or GTX 675M. There was also a mention by the source of it launching with two color schemes - black and red.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/seagate-preps-7200rpm-9mmthick-500gb-usb-3.0-freeagent-hdd/15213.html March 12th, 2012

March 12th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Revealed through European channels ahead of its official release, details of an upcoming addition to Seagate's FreeAgent GoFlex range of portable HDDs have been shared online and it looks like quite the sleek, well featured little drive. Revealed through European channels ahead of its official release, details of an upcoming addition to Seagate's FreeAgent GoFlex range of portable HDDs have been shared online and it looks like quite the sleek, well featured little drive.

The 500GB FreeAgent GoFlex Slim drive would make an ideal storage partner to go with your Ultrabook thanks to its tidy, slim dimensions (124x78x9mm - yes, just 9mm thick) and weighing in at a mere 160g. It's not just the size that is alluring however, it sports a decent 7200rpm 2.5-inch drive and features USB 3.0 connectivity to make good use of the extra performance on offer. The drive is yet to hit retail but is expected to come in at about €129 (US $169).

Singapore NBA2K12 fans can win the chance to meet basketball legend Michael Jordan Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/singapore-nba2k12-fans-can-winthe-chance-to-meet-basketball-legend-michael-jordan/15211.html March 12th, 2012

2K Sports, a label of Take Two Interactive, has announced the start of the “Meet Michael Jordan contest” for fans of the NBA2K series in Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea. Gamers who owns a legit copy of NBA2K12 simply need to register for a chance to win the opportunity of a lifetime to meet His Airness himself, Michael Jordan, at the last Charlotte Bobcats game of the NBA2011-12 season. Three winners and their guests (one per winner) will be picked and get the opportunity to fly to North Carolina, USA on an all expenses paid trip, to meet Michael Jordan and watch the Bobcat Charlottes play against the NY Knicks on 26 April PST. Registration is open at www.meetmichaeljordan.com and closes on the 9th of April 2012. The contest is exclusive to Asia, whereby anyone who owns a copy of NBA2K12 in Singapore could win the chance to meet basketball legend Michael Jordan.

White Nokia Lumia 800 comes to Singapore Are you a basketball fan? 2K Sports have announced a contest that is exclusive to Asia, whereby gamers who owns a copy of NBA2K12 in Singapore could stand to win a chance to meet basketball legend Michael Jordan.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/white-nokia-lumia-800-comes-tosingapore/15209.html March 12th, 2012

Aside from the black, fuchsia and cyan flavors that are currently available in the market, Nokia has introduced the white version of the Lumia 800. The white Windows Phone is now available in Singapore.

March 12th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

The Lumia 800 Windows Phone features the uniquely curved 3.7-inch AMOLED ClearBlack screen with touch buttons below the display. Powered by a 1.4GHz single core MSM8255 processor, the phone features an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with Carl Zeiss optics and LED flash, high definition video playback, 16GB internal user memory and 25GB free SkyDrive storage for storing images and music. At its official launch in Singapore in December last year, Nokia announces the Lumia 800 in fuchsia, cyan and black finish. Today, the company has unveiled the sleek white version which claims to offer the best social and Internet performance. Retaining the qualities of the Lumia 800, the white Nokia Lumia 800 is available now at Nokia Stores at a S$775 (before operator subsidies) and through all three operators with attractive data plans.

The Showgirls @ IT Show 2012, Part II Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-showgirls--it-show-2012-partii/15192.html March 12th, 2012

And if you can't get enough of the show girls pics, more for you in this second part of The Showgirls @ IT Show 2012. (Photo credit: AS1 from vrforums).

The babes at HWM booth

A sweet-smiling showgirl for A.C Ryan

Make it two of them... 9

March 12th, 2012

Are you looking for some Kingston products?

Published by: VR-Zone

ASRock's X79 Extreme11 has a very fitting name Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asrock-s-x79-extreme11-has-a-veryfitting-name/15206.html March 12th, 2012

We've seen a fair few motherboards during CeBIT, but none of them were as insane as ASRock's new X79 Extreme11, as the company appears to have gone out of its way to create the most feature packed motherboard you could imagine and then some. We've seen a fair few motherboards during CeBIT, but none of them were as insane as ASRock's new X79 Extreme11, as the company appears to have gone out of its way to create the most feature packed motherboard you could imagine and then some. Unlike Gigabyte that went with Intel's C606 chipset for its X79S-UD5, ASRock has stuck it out with the X79 chipset for the X79 Extreme11, but the company has still managed to add SAS support thanks to the inclusion of an LSI SAS2308 controller. The upside of this move means that you're looking at real hardware RAID support, something the Intel C606 doesn't offer. On top of that the LSI controller support SAS/SATA 6Gbps and it has its own memory for caching, something you only see on higher-end RAID cards 10

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Published by: VR-Zone

these days. The downside is of course the extra cost, as LSI RAID cards with eight SAS ports are anything but cheap.

Just above the LSI controller and the chipset you'll see a pair of PLX PEX 8747 PCI Express 3.0 bridge chips which enables the board to offer full quad x16 PCI Express 3.0 support. The downside is that it makes for a really complex board design and there might be some potential issues with this kind of layout, least not by the fact that the PEX 8747 chips run quite hot. As such ASRock is working on a very large heatsink for the X79 Extreme 11 and this is also why the two x8 PCI Express slots are missing retention clips for addin cards. The smaller chip between the PLX bridges appears to be some kind of power regulation IC.

At bottom left hand side corner you'll find another PLX bridge chip, this time a PCI Express 2.0 chip which handles the peripheral chipsets, as the LSI SAS controller is most likely using up a good four lanes of PCI Express bandwidth from the chipset. This means that peripheral chipsets like USB 3.0 etc. will be going through the PLX bridge which could potentially lead to lower performance, but it's something that we'd have to test to be sure about.

Next to the PLX bridge is a Creative Sound Core3D which should be covered by a similar ”fake” heatsink as Creative uses on its latest sound cards. We also got some clarification from ASRock as to why its sound cards are limited to only certain motherboards and slots. If you had a look at the pictures of the Creative cards we posted some time back, you'll have noticed that Creative uses a pair of chips on its cards, whereas ASRock – as well as Gigabyte on its G1 series of boards – uses a single chip. The reason for this is that the Sound Core3D uses the same audio interface as the Intel HD audio codecs which isn't PCI Express and as such Creative is fitting a bridge chip on its cards that allow the Sound Core3D to work as a PCI Express device. To keep with the theme of an all-out board ASRock has also kitted out the X79 Extreme11 with eight DIMM slots, a 16+2 PWM design, a pair of 8-pin 12V power connectors as well as a pair of Molex connectors for extra power to the PCI Express slots. You also get a pair of four port USB 3.0 host controllers from TI for a total of four rear ports and four ports via pin headers. The board also sports two eSATA ports and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports.

What we're really wondering though is how much this board is going to cost and if there's anyone that'll be willing to pay for it. There's no doubt that ASRock has created an interesting conversation piece, but somehow we feel that they've gone too far with this board, as it's likely going to cost more than any sane person is going to be willing to pay for an X79 motherboard. We've got a lot more motherboards from CeBIT coming, so just bare with us for a little bit for some more previews of what to expect in the comming months.

March 12th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Ivy Bridge vs Sandy Bridge vs Sandy Bridge-E @ 4.7GHz Preview Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ivy-bridge-vs-sandy-bridge-vssandy-bridge-e--4.7ghz-preview/15202.html March 12th, 2012

Intel's Core i7-3770K (ES) vs i7-2600K vs i7-3960X, nuff said! We have also included a brief USB 3.0 controller shootout inside, involving the new Z77 (Panther Point) Native USB implementation and other popular solutions. Prior Reading Disclaimer / Warning: The Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K (recent engineering sample) results might or might not be indicative of final retail performance, and is not supported or sanctioned by Intel and their partners . As such, we will refrain from making judgements or opinions.

3DMark 11 Physics Test (http://www.futuremark.com) • Rigid body physics simulation with a large number of objects • Scales linearly with core count and frequency • Test conducted with HD 7970

All test setups were equipped with 16GB of 2133MHz CL9 modules and both LGA1155 processors ran on a Z77 motherboard (brand and model not featured on our site so far). CPU water cooled with Corsair H100, 1.34v linpack and prime stable @ 4.7GHz

Euler3D (http://www.caselab.okstate.edu/research/ euler3dbenchmark.html) • AGARD 445.6 aeroelastic test wing (computational fluid dynamics) • Does not scale very well with adding processors. • Does not scale linearly with processor clock speed. • Floating point intensive workload

Benchmarks: Cinebench R11.5 cinebench.html)

(http://www.maxon.net/downloads/

• Based on CINEMA 4D • Shows near linear scaling with CPU clock speed. • Performs a fair amount of floating point operations. LuxMark 2.0 (http://www.luxrender.net/wiki/LuxMark) 12

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Published by: VR-Zone

• Rendering engine based on SLG2 with Metropolis Light Transport, Multiple Importance Sampling, Image reconstruction done on the GPU, etc; • Test conducted with ~2,000,000 triangles (Complex Room) setting

x264 FHD Benchmark 1.01 (http://forums.guru3d.com/ showthread.php?p=4189734) • Created by Atak Snajpera • Based on x264 free software codec UCBench 2011 http://anrieff.net/ucbench

• Encode 1080p test sequence • Supports SSE 4.1, SSE4.2, AVX

• RAR password cracker • AES/SHA-1 units for decryption and support for SSE4/ XOP instruction sets • Scales with clock speed and cores

Xbox 720 will not have a disc drive wPrime 2.07 1024M http://www.wprime.net/

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/xbox-720-will-not-have-a-discdrive/15205.html March 12th, 2012

• Recursive call of Newton's method for estimating functions • Scales with core count, clock speed and memory latency • FP heavy

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console will not feature a disc drive, which suggests that digital downloads are the way to go, a reality which could cause devastation to already struggling brick-and-mortar game stores. Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console will not feature a disc drive, which suggests that digital downloads are the way to go, a reality which could cause devastation to already struggling brick-and-mortar game stores. Gaming news site MCV cited sources close to the Redmond, Washington-based company, who revealed that they had to agree to a strict non-disclosure agreement. Not that this 13

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has stopped them spilling the beans, but it suggests that Microsoft is planning some exciting features for its rival to Nintendo's Wii U. The console, due at the end of 2013, is expected to come with a solid-state card storage of some kind, but with no disc drive the Xbox 720 presents a few challenges. For example, users will not be able to play old Xbox games that are on a disc, assuming Microsoft intends any backwards-compatibility at all. With the Wii U allowing Wii games to be played this will be a major setback for Microsoft.

Published by: VR-Zone

Solar flares have been firing from the Sun all week, causing concern for some space weather forecasters, and despite signs of the storm easing down on Thursday, it is back to intense levels today. Despite the threat to technology and the chants of some doomsday groups, scientists believe that these storms pose no threat to people. The effect of the storm on our planet's magnetic field caused high frequency radio communications from Africa to Australia to black out for a two-hour period. Scientists have not yet identified any other damage caused by the storm, but there were significant worries about the potential for it to knock out electrical grids, destroy satellite chips, and upset GPS tracking. Some airlines also rerouted flights as a precaution.

Another problem is how users will actually buy their games. While many, if not most, gamers have internet access now, some may still suffer with slow download speeds, which would make downloading several gigabytes of a game incredibly frustrating. Add to that the fact that some ISPs charge fees when users go over a certain download limit every month and it could be a bad idea for Microsoft to ditch the old-fashioned game disc option. A bigger problem for the wider gaming industry is that this will make it difficult for game shops to survive. GAME in the UK is already facing the possibility of closing its hundreds of stores. Having no games to sell will ensure that others follow suit. Either way it is an interesting possibility and could certainly make the Xbox 720 unique compared to its rivals. Microsoft refused to confirm the rumour, saying only that is is looking for new ways to â&#x20AC;&#x153;defy the lifecycle conventionâ&#x20AC;? that existing consoles face.

Solar storm hits Earth today, could damage electrics Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/solar-storm-hits-earth-today-coulddamage-electrics/15204.html March 12th, 2012

A solar storm has rocked the Earth today, with the potential to cause damage and disruption to electrical systems.

Last month the UK warned of the threat of rogue nations launching nuclear weapons into space, which would have a similarly disastrous effect upon technology. There were also warnings about the effects of solar flares, prompting calls for replacements of delicate chips on satellites and other essential technology. To get an idea of the potential damage a solar storm can do, there was a significant one in 1989 which knocked out the power grid in Quebec, Canada, resulting in six million people having no power. Another solar flare fired off late on Thursday and scientists are currently analysing when it will hit Earth. It is not yet clear if it will cause any damage to electrical equipment here. Solar flares and storms are a natural part of the Sun's 11year cycle, which is expected to peak next year. We will likely see stronger and more frequent activity from the Sun in the build-up to that. 14

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Image Credit: NASA

$35 Raspberry Pi computer delayed due to manufacturing mess-up

Published by: VR-Zone

Could the MeMO 370T be the rumored Google-ASUS 7-inch tablet? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/could-the-memo-370t-be-therumored-google-asus-7-inch-tablet-/15199.html March 12th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/-35-raspberry-pi-computer-delayeddue-to-manufacturing-mess-up/15203.html March 12th, 2012

Even though Apple has announced their new iPad tablet, the Android camp has been spreading the news of a 7-inch tablet, reportedly a Google tablet manufactured by ASUS. The $35 Raspberry Pi computer has been delayed due to a mistake in the manufacturing process which saw the wrong networking jack soldered onto the circuit board. The $35 Raspberry Pi computer has been delayed due to a mistake in the manufacturing process which saw the wrong networking jack soldered onto the circuit board. The credit-card sized computer, which features just the bare essentials, went on sale at the end of February, but the company behind it revealed that the first shipment of the device won't be able to connect to a computer network due to the mess-up with the networking jack. The problem arose in the Chinese factory that Raspberry Pi is outsourcing production to in order to keep down costs.

The incident would not be such a disaster were it not for the fact that the networking jack is the only thing that distinguishes this particular model from the other one Raspberry Pi is selling, effectively turning the model B device into a model A. An even bigger problem for the company going forward is that it is facing supply issues for the proper networking jack, which means further delays for the sold-out cheap as chips computer, which has met with a positive reception by many sectors of society.

The MeMO 370T made its appearance during the Nvidia keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012, as well as at ASUS booth. But thereafter, it has kept a low profile from other activities including the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Reportedly to be priced at US$249, the MeMO 370T features a 7-inch display and incorporates Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor. Its sibling, MeMO 171 has been announced to launch on 5 March (have anyone seen it yet?). With recent news of Google and ASUS to jointly launch a 7-inch tablet - priced between US$199 to US$249 and preinstalled with Google Android 4.x operating system. From our reliable sources, the Google-ASUS tablet would be the MeMO 370T, and scheduled to launch end of April or May this year. This is because Computex will be in June and at that time, ASUS will be showcasing more tablets.

Super Talent prepare RAIDDrive upStream PCIe SSD for consumers Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/super-talent-prepare-raiddriveupstream-pcie-ssd-for-consumers/15200.html March 12th, 2012

Super Talent displayed a new PCI-e based flash storage system at CeBIT that it plans to release to market by the end 15

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Published by: VR-Zone

of April. Dubbed the RAIDDrive upStream, it promises to deliver superior performance to that of conventional SSDs but will cost less than existing PCI-e products from the company. Super Talent displayed a new PCI-e based flash storage system at CeBIT that it plans to release to market by the end of April. Dubbed the RAIDDrive upStream, it promises to deliver superior performance to that of conventional SSDs but will cost less than existing PCI-e products from the company. The RAIDDrive UpStream is Sandforce-driven with the implementation of four storage drives in an abstract RAID group. It uses the PCIe 1.1 x8 interface for connectivity and is capable of pushing out sequential speeds as high as 1GB/ s read and 900MB/sec write rates. The slide also points to June 3rd for the arrival of certain other Core i5 models, while dual-core Core i3 and Pentium Ivy Bridge models are slated for "Holiday". Intel's coinciding 7-series chipset motherboards (Z77, Z75, H77 & B75) will also be released to market on April 29th, with enterprise level Q77 and Q75 Express chipset boards to follow in June.

Microsoft's Patch Tuesday to roll in six new updates Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-s-patch-tuesday-to-roll-insix-new-updates/15196.html March 12th, 2012

Super Talent said that the RAIDDrive UpStream is aimed more toward the consumer rather than at the enterprise level thanks to the more aggressive pricing that will put it in line with the likes of OCZ's RevoDrive X2. It will become available in capacities of 220GB, 460GB and 960GB. We'll be sure to share out pricing info with you all on these super quick PCI-e based SSDs from Super Talent as soon as possible.

New slide confirms April 29th launch date for Ivy Bridge

Microsoft is gearing up for another Patch Tuesday next week which will comprise six new updates - one rated as being 'Critical', four that are 'Important' and one 'Moderate'. Microsoft is gearing up for another Patch Tuesday next week which will comprise six new updates - one rated as being 'Critical', four that are 'Important' and one 'Moderate'.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/new-slide-confirms-april-29thlaunch-date-for-ivy-bridge/15198.html March 12th, 2012

A newly leaked slide on Intel's Ivy Bridge launch schedule has hit the web which puts any previous uncertainty to rest in terms of when exactly the first wave of chips will hit retail. A newly leaked slide on Intel's Ivy Bridge launch schedule has hit the web which puts any previous uncertainty to rest in terms of when exactly the first wave of chips will hit retail.

The patches are to resolve seven vulnerabilities that potentially allow remote code execution or DoS (Denial of Service) attacks. The software affected includes several versions of Microsoft Windows up to and including Windows 7, Visual Studio and Expression Design.

As also indicated in recent reports, that day does indeed look to be April 29th with a bunch of Core i7 and i5 desktop models hitting retail at this time.

March 12th, 2012

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OCZ demos the Vertex 4 at CeBIT Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ocz-demos-the-vertex-4-atcebit/15195.html March 12th, 2012

Last week OCZ announced that it was going to be showing off its Indilinx Everest 2 based Vertex 4 SSD at CeBIT and the company did indeed have a couple of units up and running at the show. What we're not so sure about is the so called industry leading performance that the press release was talking about, but it's by no means a sloth. Last week OCZ announced that it was going to be showing off its Indilinx Everest 2 based Vertex 4 SSD at CeBIT and the company did indeed have a couple of units up and running at the show. What we're not so sure about is the so called industry leading performance that the press release was talking about, but it's by no means a sloth.

Apparently we can expect capacities of up to 2TB once the Vertex 4 arrives, but apart from that OCZ didn't say much about the Vertex 4. Just a note on the performance figures, the drives at the show have been benchmarking straight for a few days by now and as such what we're looking at isn't peak performance numbers from IOMeter, but rather the kind of performance you'd see from the drive after it has been in use for some time.

Razer unveils Goliathus eSports edition mouse mat, beginning with Team Liquid Edition Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/razer-unveils-goliathus-e-sportsedition-mouse-mat-beginning-with-team-liquid-edition/15194.html March 12th, 2012

OCZ claims preliminary performance numbers of up to 90,000 IOPS or 500MB/s and although the company didn't say, we presume these are read performance figures. To back up those claims, the company was also running live IOMeter demos where the drives were hitting about 85k IOPS, something that might be able to be improved with newer firmware revisions.

The Razer Goliathus mouse mat was launched mid last year, and today, the gaming peripheral company has unveiled the e-Sports edition. And the first team mat to be made available for purchase is the Team Liquid edition.

IOMeter was also reporting read speeds of about 330-335MB/s, quite a way off from OCZ's claims, but it's worth keeping in mind that the Everest 2 controller doesn't rely on data compression like SandForce based controllers, which means that the Vertex 4 could in fact be vastly faster for those working with a lot of incompressible data like video.

The Razer Goliathus e-Sports edition mouse mat is designed to meet the expectations of world's top professional gamers, and features anti-fraying stitched frame for extended durability. It features the speed-enhancing surface that 17

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offers fast responsiveness and precision control for almost all kinds of playstyles and mouse sensitivitiy. The Team Liquid edition is the first team mat to be made available for purchase and each of the e-Sports edition mouse mat sports the iconic logos and colors of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top e-Sports teams.

Garena kicks off largest Malaysian e-Sports Tournament - Heroes of Newerth National Championship 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/garena-kicks-off-largestmalaysian-e-sports-tournament--heroes-of-newerth-nationalchampionship-2012/15193.html March 12th, 2012

if you're staying in Malaysia and is an avid gamer of Heroes of Newerth real-time strategy (RTS) game, you can take part in the National Championship which will be commencing next month, featuring over RM500,000 worth in cash prizes.

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a RM10,000 winner-takes-all final, and the weakest links being eliminated at each passing stage. In collaboration with the highly anticipated and successful Garena Malaysia Carnival, the grand finals will be held in December, where the finalists will meet for the total grand prize money of RM340,000. The crowned champion will take home RM300,000 prize money, while the second and third placing will be presented with RM30,000 and RM10,000 respectively.

The Showgirls @ IT Show 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-showgirls--itshow-2012/15191.html March 12th, 2012

What's IT Show without the show girls? Well, worry not. Here are some pictures that are being taken at the IT Show 2012. (Photo credit: AS1 from vrforums)

Garena has announced the largest official Malaysian eSports tournament this year, the Heroes of Newerth National Championship 2012, which features over RM500,000 in cash prizes. Exclusively for Malaysians, the tournament will kick off in April 2012. Registration for the tournament will be opened to players of every league, and the victors of each qualifier tournament are blocked from participating in subsequent events. Even the vanquished would stand a chance to make a comeback in later qualifiers. Qualifiers will be played over the course of eight months whereby the events will be hosted in six different states in Malaysia â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Perak, Johor and Sarawak. An online tournament will also be held in conjunction with the events to accommodate the various participating teams who will be competing for a RM160,000 cash pool; a total of 16 different qualifiers with

The gorgeous ladies at the Razer booth

March 12th, 2012

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The gals from Avira security software

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Gaikai bring cloud-based streaming MMO game to your browser Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/warner-bros.-interactiveentertainment-and-gaikai-bring-cloud-based-streaming-mmo-game-toyour-browser/15190.html March 12th, 2012

A year ago, cloud-based gaming service Gaikai went live, with the promise of quality gaming and no need for installation of software or upgrade your PC. Gaikai has recently announced an agreement with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring The Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online to your web browser

Are you looking to buy a spy equipment? These lovely ladies could give you some recommendations

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Gaikai have collaborated to launch the world's first cloud-Based streaming massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) to the players without the need for any download or installation. Players across North America can stream The Lord of The Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online directly from each gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own website via a simple one-step registration process. This would provide instant access to try the full version free-to-play games on their web browser. The Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online are two of the most popular premium free-to-play games on the market today, featuring an innovative hybrid pricing model that allows players to play for free, purchase elements from the in-game store, or subscribe to get VIP access to the gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s content.

Chat with Intel's David McKloskey on Ultrabooks Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/chat-with-intel-s-david-mckloskeyon-ultrabooks/15189.html

March 12th, 2012 March 12th, 2012

The other day when we did the Xeon E5 interview with the Intel's David McCloskey (Director of Product Marketing and Business Operations), we took the opportunity to ask him a bit about the Ultrabooks.

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expect more than 75 Ultrabook designs to be available or in development in 2012. 3, We are in the transition of Sandy bridge/IVB rollout - what is Intel's recommendation for users who want to buy an UTB now, shall they go with SNB UTB or wait for IVB to come out As always, I'd say that if you need an Ultrabook now, or any computer for that matter, then buy it now. Moore's Law means there will always be new innovations coming around corner.

AFOX shows off single slot Radeon HD 7850 at CeBIT Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/afox-shows-off-single-slot-radeonhd-7850-at-cebit/15188.html March 12th, 2012

1, What are the challenges & opportunities for delivering the UTB platform, in terms of delivering the best combination of performance, size & power, etc? Maybe highlight what you're doing in perfecting the UTB component supply? I'll start with the opportunities and saying we've been pleasantly surprised by how well the Ultrabooks have been received in the industry. If you think about the fact that we only unveiled the Ultrabook concept to the world at Computex last year, we've come a very long way---to a point in which 2012 is being talked about in the press as the year of the Ultrabook.

It can't be easy being a tier three graphics card maker, but AFOX out of Hong Kong showed off a custom made Radeon HD 7850 card at CeBIT. The card is the first single slot Radeon HD 7850 card we've seen so far and despite this, AFOX has managed to squeeze in four display connectors. It can't be easy being a tier three graphics card maker, but AFOX out of Hong Kong showed off a custom made Radeon HD 7850 card at CeBIT. The card is the first single slot Radeon HD 7850 card we've seen so far and despite this, AFOX has managed to squeeze in four display connectors.

But, by the same token, we've only just begun---Ultrabooks will come in three phases and we've only seen the first iteration as yet. The most significant changes are ahead of us---at CES this year we talked about Ultrabooks with touch and voice recognition for example. Our 22nm process technology enables silicon with great power/performance optimization, which means as we intro and ramp Ivy Bridge into Ultrabooks beginning in Q2 it will deliver a step function in processor graphics, as well as allowing for great all-around performance in thinner form factors. The biggest challenge for the industry is to continue to deliver more and more in the Ultrabook experience while continuing to make them increasingly more affordable and hence mainstream. Part of that involves direct investment via the Ultrabook fund but the larger part will come from working with customers and the industry to innovate. 2, How are you working with vendors in the region to ramp UTB, how do you see your partners are supporting it versus the launch of your regular notebook platform? Vendors globally have rallied their support to design, launch, and ramp Ultrabooks. APAC and PRC OEMs and ODMs have broadly embraced the category as demonstrated by their products. In addition we have accelerated our investments in the ecosystem to drive innovation and supply availability of critical components. Our partners are ramping Ultrabooks in line with their segmentation and pricing strategies for their broader notebook lineups. Already more than 15 models are available from such including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, Samsung and Toshiba. We

The AF7850-1024D5S1 as the card is awkwardly called also differs in terms of its overall specification compared to AMD's reference cards. For one, the GPU is clocked at 900MHz rather than 860MHz, a fairly modest overclock, but still a peculiar move considering the single slot the design. As the model name gives away, AFOX halved the graphics memory to 1GB and underclocked it by 75MHz (300MHz effectively) for an effective clock speed of 4.5GHz compared to 4.8GHz.

March 12th, 2012

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been upgraded with an AMD E450 APU whereas Zotac is still using the older E350. The Elite sports two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a DisplayPort and HDMI connector, an eSATA port, Gigabit Ethernet, a memory card reader, audio jacks and built in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi.

There's room for an internal 2.5-inch drive and there's a single SO-DIMM slot for memory. We have to say that the Manli Elite has a much nicer looking enclosure than the ZBOX mini's, in part due to the lack of the brightly coloured circles used by Zotac in its design. Manli is also offering an optional media center remote with the Elite and preconfigured models with 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive will also be available in selected markets.

Gigabyte's whitebox Android tablet is powered by Nvidia What's more impressive though is that AFOX has managed to squeeze in a dual-link DVI port, an HDMI port, a DisplayPort and a mini DisplayPory connector. We're not entirely sold on the cooling design, as we have a feeling that the fairly modest fan is going to be quite noisy, but either which way, the card is an impressive attempt at doing something different.

Manli gets back into the tiny PC market with the Elite Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/manli-gets-back-into-the-tiny-pcmarket-with-the-elite/15187.html March 12th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-s-whitebox-android-tabletis-powered-by-nvidia/15186.html March 12th, 2012

We're not entirely sure what's going on within Gigabyte, but currently it's ODM aka "whitebox" department has much more impressive tablet than its notebook division. That said, the GN-TB100 as the tablet is known as should at least arrive somewhere in retail, although under a different brand so it might take some figuring out as to who will be selling it. We're not entirely sure what's going on within Gigabyte, but currently it's ODM aka "whitebox" department has much more impressive tablet than its notebook division. That said, the GN-TB100 as the tablet is known as should at least arrive somewhere in retail, although under a different brand so it might take some figuring out as to who will be selling it.

Manli – one of several companies that is part of the PC Partner group out of Hong Kong – was showing off its latest mini PC at CeBIT and it's simply called the Manli Elite. It's similar to Zotac's ZBOX mini systems, but with a different design and upgraded hardware. In fact, it appears to be the same motherboard in both the Manli Elite and Zotac's ZBOX mini AD10, but the Elite have 21

March 12th, 2012

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Gigabyte claims that the 4,100mAh battery pack is good for up to 10.5h of 720p video playback. The GN-TB100 will come with either Android 3.2 or 4.0 and Gigabyte will provide a desktop sync application with the tablet. Overall the tablet felt pretty good in the hand and although Gigabyte's claim of it being extremely thin at 12mm is a bit exaggerated, it's not too heavy at 750g. It's a surprisingly good product considering it's Gigabyte's first real attempt at an Android tablet and vastly superior to the notebook divisions Windows tablet.

Cooler Master unveils the Silencio 650 at CeBIT The GN-TB100 isn't a cutting edge tablet as such, but it features a 10.1-inch screen with 1280x800 resolution with four-point multi-touch support. A dual core Nvidia Tegra 2 SoC clocked at 1GHz has been paired up with 1GB of memory to make up the core of the GN-TB100. There will be options for 16 or 32GB of flash storage, but this will be down to Gigabyte's partners to choose and might not be available in all markets.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/cooler-master-unveils-thesilencio-650-at-cebit/15185.html March 12th, 2012

Besides an onslaught of new motherboards, the other big thing at CeBIT this year appears to be new chassis. Cooler Master had a few new models on display – of which a few were current models in new colours – but one that caught our eye was the Siliencio 650 which has some rather interesting features of which one is unique to this case as far as we're aware. Besides an onslaught of new motherboards, the other big thing at CeBIT this year appears to be new chassis. Cooler Master had a few new models on display – of which a few were current models in new colours – but one that caught our eye was the Siliencio 650 which has some rather interesting features of which one is unique to this case as far as we're aware.

The GN-TB100 will also come with a 5Megapixel rear camera and a 2Megapixel front camera. It has a microSD and a SIM card slot – for optional 3G connectivity – hidden behind a flap next the mini HDMI connector. We were also surprised to see a mini USB port rather than the now much more popular micro USB connector. There's also 802.11b/g/n WipFu, Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR, an FM radio, a GPS, G-sensor, gyroscope, digital compass, light sensor and of course a headset jack.

March 12th, 2012

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removed to allow for longer graphics cards. Due to the fact that someone had attached a plate from what appears to be an AMD motherboard, we're not entirely sure how many drive bays are on offer and it almost appears as if Cooler Master was trying to hide something here.

Unlike the previous Silencio models, the 650 doesn't have any padding at the rear of the door, instead Cooler Master has swapped the plastic door for a solid slab of aluminium which should help reduce the noise to a degree. Behind the door is a pair of 5.25-inch drive bays, a hot-swappable bay and an easily removable fan filter which hides a pair of 120mm fans.

Overall the internal design is pretty much what we've come to expect from Cooler Master with a 7+1 rear slot layout, a single rear 120mm fan and a bottom mounted PSU. The interesting stuff as well as one real head scratcher takes place on the top of the chassis. Underneath a sliding cover, Cooler Master has fitted two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports as well as a pair of audio jacks and an SD cards slot and of course the power and reset buttons, so nothing really out of the ordinary here, but we do like the inclusion of the SD card reader which seems to become increasingly common on new chassis from Cooler Master.

Whoever built the demo system didn't seem to be aware of a product called cable ties, but disregarding the rats nest inside the Silencio 650 we have a typical Cooler Master design with two separate drive cages of which one can be 23

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If you look just below the USB 3.0 ports you'll see two slides, the one to the left controls the fan speed and again isn't anything really unusual, but the second switch had a lot of people guessing. Yours truly on the other hand figured it out within seconds. What you're looking it as a boot drive selector via a hardware switch. Normally you'd have to go into the BIOS to switch boot drive, but in this case it's just a matter of sliding the switch from one position to the other. It might not be the ideal solution for everyone, but it's a quick and easy way to switch between operating systems.

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there are still some companies that bother making cases for those that wants something that blocks out at least some of the noise that computers can produce. Sadly we can't tell you when the Silencio 650 will be available, nor were we given an indication on pricing.

What we didn't get though was the top mounted air vent, as it appears as if a fan can be mounted here, but for some reason the engineers thought it would be a good idea to add a sliding door here so the air vent could be closed. This makes about as much sense as having a convertible car that you never open the roof on. At least this time around Cooler Master added noise insulating padding to both side panels of the chassis.

Overall the Silencio 650 looks like a decent case and it's worth keeping in mind that model on display at CeBIT was a prototype and not the final product. It's also good to see that 24

March 14th, 2012

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VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Star Wars: The Old Republic free to play this weekend Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/star-wars-the-old-republic-free-toplay-this-weekend/15248.html March 14th, 2012

Get out your lightsabers and blasters, because Star Wars: The Old Republic, BioWare's first foray into the world on MMORPGs, will be free to play this weekend.

Tesco will not honour sales after 50 pound iPad offer blunder Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/tesco-will-not-honour-salesafter-50-pound-ipad-offer-blunder/15247.html March 14th, 2012

This is unlikely to happen, however, as Tesco has already blamed the situation on an IT error. It said it would cancel all of the purchases in question and refund any money paid. This is not the first time Tesco has made a mistake like this. In January 2011 a glitch saw 36 cans of lager go on sale for £11, resulting in the store calling the police to keep order as the shop was crowded with people looking for bargain beer. A similar problem in October saw Terry's Chocolate Oranges retail for a mere £0.29. As the shops slogan goes, “Every little helps.” Unfortunately offering an unbeatable deal in error and then taking it away does not help at all.

Supermarket chain Tesco has refused to honour sales of Apple's popular iPad tablet after it accidentally listed the price on its website for £49.99 rather than £499.99. Supermarket chain Tesco has refused to honour sales of Apple's popular iPad tablet after it accidentally listed the price on its website for £49.99 rather than £499.99.

Teen wins Intel award for breast cancer research Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/teen-wins-intel-award-for-breastcancer-research/15246.html March 14th, 2012

Tesco Direct made the pricing blunder on its website for the iPad Wi-Fi 4G 64GB black model and only spotted the error after numerous sales went through. Customers thought it was their lucky day, with many scrambling to purchase the tablet computer for a tenth of its retail cost. News spread like wildfire across the internet, eventually crashing the Tesco website as everyone tried to grab what they thought was a bargain. While this is an obvious error it is still a mistake on the part of Tesco, not its customers, so it's understandable why many feel it should honour the price.

A US teenager has won the top prize of $100,000 from the Intel Science Talent Search competition for his groundbreaking research on breast cancer, which could revolutionise treatment. A US teenager has won the top prize of $100,000 from the Intel Science Talent Search competition for his groundbreaking research on breast cancer, which could revolutionise treatment. 17-year-old Nithin Tumma, from Fort Gratiot, Michigan, was awarded the prestigious first place honours from the 1

March 14th, 2012

Intel Foundation after he discovered that certain proteins in cancer cells could be inhibited to slow their growth and decrease their malignancy. The potential benefits of this finding include the development of a more direct, targeted, effective and less toxic treatment for breast cancer, a goal that many scientists have been working on for some time.

Tumma is first in his class of 332, is a varsity tennis player and does volunteer work for the Port Huron Museum, where he initiated a restoration program for historical and cultural landmarks, showing that his contributions to society extend beyond his scientific research. Tumma was not the only teen to win awards. Andrew Sushko and Mimi Yen, both also 17, won second and third place respectively for their developments in tiny motors and the study of the evolution and genetics of microscopic worms.

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stores past midnight like M1, so do save the hassle of queueing.

Giada's Uni-box is a splitlevel computer Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/giada-s-uni-box-is-a-split-levelcomputer/15244.html March 14th, 2012

We saw a preview of Giada's Uni-box just ahead of CeBIT and at the show we got a couple of minutes of hands on time with it and there's a reason for the unusually two-tone chassis design, as the Uni-box is made up from two different PCBs. In fact, the main motherboard was never intended for the Uni-box and as such we're looking at something of a biproduct here that worked out to be an interesting product in its own right. We saw a preview of Giada's Uni-box just ahead of CeBIT and at the show we got a couple of minutes of hands on time with it and there's a reason for the unusually two-tone chassis design, as the Uni-box is made up from two different PCBs. In fact, the main motherboard was never intended for the Uni-box and as such we're looking at something of a biproduct here that worked out to be an interesting product in its own right.

“We invest in America’s future when we recognize the innovative achievements of our nation’s brightest young minds,” said Paul Otellini, President and CEO of Intel. “Hands-on experience with math and science, such as that required of Intel Science Talent Search finalists, encourages young people to think critically, solve problems and understand the world around them. Rather than simply memorizing facts and formulas, or repeating experiments with known outcomes, this competition engages students in an exciting way and provides a deeper level of understanding in such important but challenging subjects.”

SingTel and StarHub announce new iPad to retail in stores on 16 March Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/singtel-and-starhub-announce-newipad-to-retail-in-stores-on-16-march/15245.html March 14th, 2012

With M1 Limited announcing yesterday that the new iPad will hit the stores on 16 March, it is only expected that the other two telecommunication companies, SingTel and StarHub, would follow shortly with their own announcements. However, both SingTel and StarHub will not have the iPad launch at their retail

Giada will offer the Uni-box with a range of CPU options, although the base option which is likely to be the most common one includes a Celeron 857 which isn't exactly a performance CPU. That said, Core i3, i5 and i7 options will be available, although as you might've guessed, the Uni-box uses mobile CPUs which are relatively costly.

March 14th, 2012

The two halves of the Uni-box are connected via a PCI Express interface and that is how it's possible to have things like the DisplayPort and DVI connector on the lower half of the Uni-box. The interesting thing here though is the fact that Giada also sells the motherboard on its own and it's called the NI-HM65T. The motherboard measures a mere 120x128mm and it sports a single SO-DIMM slot, one mSATA slot and a half-size mini PCI Express slot.

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NTT Docomo unveils SH-06D NERV special edition Android smartphone Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ntt-docomo-unveils-sh-06d-nervspecial-edition-android-smartphone/15242.html March 14th, 2012

NTT Docomo in Japan has unveiled the special edition Android smartphone that will launch in June, in conjunction with the "Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo" movie. The SH-06D NERV will be showcased at the NOTTV booth at the Anime Expo 2012 (held at Makuhari Messe in Japan) during the weekend, 31 March and 1 April.

To the right of the motherboard is an extension PCB that Giada will offer that adds additional USB ports, a second HDMI port, a DisplayPort, headset jacks and a couple of SATA ports. The company can also make custom PCBs for system integrators for the NI-HM65T and we might be seeing a wide range of devices based on this motherboard in the future from various companies. We were told that the original concept for the motherboard was some kind of media player/streaming TV service STB for China, but we weren't told what that product is called, only that it was codeveloped with Intel.

The "Eva mobile" was extremely well received when it was first launched in 2009. And this year, NTT Docomo has come up with the second "NEXT series SH-06D NERV" special edition phone, manufactured by Sharp, and will be launched in conjunction with the movie "Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo" in June. The Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo is a Japanese animated film directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and Hideaki Anno, and is the third of four movies released in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy, based on the original anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. The SH-06D NERV special edition model reproduces the view of the world in the movie with the same concept of "government paramilitary organization NERV". The body 3

March 14th, 2012

design, built-in content, as well as user interface are made to reflect the world of "Evangelion", and is supervised by the color studio production company. The picture that has been released only shows the the rear panel of the phone the NERV logo, as well as the FeliCa mark. (FeliCa is the contactless RFID smart card system used in Japan). Details on pre-orders and other information have yet to be released.

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Next up we have the very odd looking TD-W8968 which is an all-in-one ADSL2+ modem, router and 802.11b/g/n WiFi access point with a USB 2.0 port for printer or storage/ media sharing. We’re not sold on the looks, but the TP-Link representative we spoke to said that it had been popular with its customers.

The price is rumored to be slightly higher than the original Sharp SH-06D, though the special edition smartphone will only be available in limited quantity. The SH-06D NERV will be showcased at the NOTTV booth at the Anime Expo 2012 (held at Makuhari Messe in Japan) during the weekend, on 31 March and 1 April.

TP-Link shows off new line of routers and more at CeBIT Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/tp-link-shows-off-new-line-ofrouters-and-more-at-cebit/15241.html March 14th, 2012

Routers may not be the most exciting piece of hardware around, but TP-Link has come up with some new designs that look a lot more attractive than its current range of products. Besides improved looks, the company has also added much improved performance to some of its upcoming models. TP-Link has a bit of an odd mix of new products and starting at the bottom of sorts we have the TL-MR3040 which is a new portable router that has a built in battery which can be used to either power a USB 3G modem, or charge USB devices. It only sports 150Mbps Wi-Fi, but there’s at least a WAN port as well as a USB port, so it can be used to share a wired hotel connection as well as operate as a 3G router.

The next device is a new venture for TP-Link in some ways, as the TD-VG3631 offers all the functionality of the TD-W8968, but adds a second USB 2.0 port and more importantly, it’s a VoIP gateway with two FXS ports and one FXO port which allows for regular phones to be attached to it so they can be used with VoIP services. The TD-VG3631 features a more business like design, although we’re once again not sure we think it’s an improvement.

March 14th, 2012

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The difference between the models are fairly minor, as the TL-WDR3600 is a 300/300Mbps router, whereas the TLWDR4300 adds 450Mbps support on the 5GHz band and finally the TL-WDR4900 offers speeds of up to 450Mbps on both bands. The company is also offering similar models with built in ADSL2+ modems, but we didn’t catch the model names on those. The final new product on display was the TL-NS210, TPLink’s first NAS which features a 1.2GHz Marvell processor, space for two hard drives, three USB 2.0 ports with the front port offering direct copying of files via a button and a Gigabit Ethernet port. On the software side the TL-NS210 offers a built in web server as well as the regular media and file sharing features you’d expect from a NAS. Moving on we got three new routers in the same series that all sports the same design and this time around TP-Link has done a much better job, albeit our pictures aren’t the best thanks to a lot of reflections in the Perspex that was shielding the routers from the visitors at the show. The new models are called the TL-WDR3600, TL-WDR4300 and TL-WDR4900 and all three models sport simultaneous dual-band 802.11n support, two USB 2.0 ports and a full set of Gigabit Ethernet ports on both the LAN and WAN side.

When we quizzed TP-Link about 802.11ac products the company said it will be offering them in due time, but it’s early days yet and they feel that it’s more important to focus on its current range of products. We have a feeling it might not be that long to wait before we see the first 802.11ac devices in the market, but it’s likely that the cost will be fairly high at the start and as such people will stick with 802.11n for quite a while still.

March 14th, 2012

Boston's Hardcore LSS 200 blade server is oil cooled Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/boston-s-hardcore-lss-200-bladeserver-is-oil-cooled/15240.html March 14th, 2012

We’ve seen a fair few whacky cooling solutions over the years, but a server cooled by mineral oil is a new one to us, even though it’s hardly a new idea in itself. Boston was demoing a small unit of its Hardcore LSS 200 blade server solution at CeBIT which uses custom made enclosures for the slim-line Super Micro blade motherboards, but things are a lot more complex than that.

Published by: VR-Zone

and then cooled by an external cooling system outside of the building. In fact, the heat could actually be extracted and used to heat other parts of the building. Apparently there’s an 80 percent energy saving – in terms of cooling costs – and a 40 percent cost saving – again in terms of cooling cost – to use a system like this over a traditional air cooled server room. There are of course some major drawbacks of this otherwise superior cooling solution, as for one it’s difficult to clean the components inside the blades, although as each blade is hotswappable, this isn’t a concern for the customer. Then it’s the fact that each rack will be heavier than an air cooled rack thanks to the oil and extra plumbing needed, so current server rooms are often unsuitable for retrofitting for this type of cooling. Finally it’s quite a complex install due to the plumbing requirements for the coolant, again making this an unsuitable technology in many current installations.

The idea behind the Hardcore LSS 200 is that current server rooms are anything but ideal, as they rely on large open spaces with cool air being blown in at floor level and vented out at ceiling level, not exactly and elegant solution and it’s hard to get the cool air to reach the servers in the racks. The Hardcore LSS 200 on the other hand means that there’s no need for the air conditioning and on top of that, the server can be packed much denser.

However, for a new server room installation, especially in hot and humid countries where a lot more energy is required to cool down and potentially dehumidify the air; this is an excellent solution in the right circumstances. We should mention that the technology was developed by LiquidBlade and not Boston, but Boston has the competence to build installations based on the technology and the Hardcore LSS 200 is a custom solution from Boston based on LiquidBlade’s technology. Just on case our poor description of how it works wasn’t clear enough, have a look at the video and you’ll get a clearer idea of what the advantages of this technology are.

Why you ask? It’s because each blade is connected to what can only be described as a plumbing system for the mineral oil, where cool oil enters each of the blades in a rack and is then being circulated by a small pump inside the blade. The hot oil exits the blade and the oil from all of the blades are extracted out of the server room via a pipeline system

OCZ Octane 512GB SSD Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ocz-octane-512gb-ssdreview/15238.html

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Published by: VR-Zone

• Max Read: up to 480MB/s • Max Write: up to 330MB/s • Random Write 4KB: 26,000 IOPS • Random Read 4KB: 35,000 IOPS

It was a year ago when OCZ decided to acquire Indilinx, a major designer and manufacturer of SSD drive controllers, revealing the company’s medium-to-long term business plan to focus a large percentage of their operations on the SSD drives market. Today we are going to examine the fruits of that merger by testing and reviewing the Octane, the first Indilinx-based drive which found its way into our labs after Indilinx was acquired by OCZ. It was a year ago when OCZ decided to acquire Indilinx, a major designer and manufacturer of SSD drive controllers, revealing the company’s medium-to-long term business plan to focus a large percentage of their operations on the SSD drives market. Today we are going to examine the fruits of that merger by testing and reviewing the Octane, the first Indilinx-based drive which found its way into our labs after Indilinx was acquired by OCZ. Manufacturer features and specifications • Available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities • Interface: SATA 6Gbps / Backwards Compatible 3Gbps • 512MB Onboard Cache • Indilinx Infused™ • TRIM Support • Background Garbage Collection Support • Boot Time Reduction Optimization

NCSoft reveals pre-order details for Guild Wars 2 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ncsoft-reveals-pre-order-details-forguild-wars-2/15236.html March 14th, 2012

NCSoft has revealed details of its pre-order offers for the Limited Collector's Edition, Digital Edition and Digitial Deluxe Edition of its highly-anticipated Guild Wars 2 massively multiplayer online role-playing game. NCSoft has revealed details of its pre-order offers for the Limited Collector's Edition, Digital Edition and Digitial Deluxe Edition of its highly-anticipated Guild Wars 2 massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Anyone who pre-orders will get a guaranteed entry into all beta weekend events, a three-day headstart when the game launches, and a Hero's Band in-game item, which offers +2 to a variety of stats. The Digital Edition will feature just the core game and will thus be considerably cheaper than other offerings.

• AES and Automatic Encryption • SMART Support • Proprietary Indilinx Ndurance™ Technology • Low-Latency Seek Time: 0.06ms Read; 0.09ms Write • Slim 2.5" Design • 99.8 (L) x 69.63 (W) x 9.3 mm (H)

The Digital Deluxe Edition will feature the game and a number of bonus in-game items, such as the Summon Mistfire Wolf Elite Skill, Rytlock Miniature, Golem Banker, Chalice of Glory (which gives a one-time boost to Glory for PvP gear), and a Tome of Influence (giving a one-time boost to influence for guild features).

• Lightweight: 83g • Operating Temp: 0°C ~ 70°C • Ambient Temp: 0°C ~ 55°C • Storage Temp: -45°C ~ +85°C • Low Power Consumption: 1.98W active,1.15W standby • Shock Resistant up to 1500G • RAID Support • MTBF: 1,250,000 hours • 3-Year Warranty • Compatible with Windows XP, Vista, 7 (32/64 bit), Linux, Mac OSX

512GB Max Performance

The Limited Collector's Edition includes all of the above and some real-life items, such as a 10-inch statue of Rytlock, a 112-page “making of” book, a custom art frame, an art portfolio with five prints, and a soundtrack CD.

March 14th, 2012

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All of this does not come cheap though, as the current price tag is £129.99 ($205). Prices for the digital versions were not revealed, but they should be considerably cheaper, given there won't be any physical product to ship. Users also need to take into consideration the lack of subscription fees compared to other MMOs. Players can begin pre-ordering the game on 10 April.

Marketing firm causes outrage over using homeless as wireless hotspots Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/marketing-firm-causes-outrage-overusing-homeless-as-wireless-hotspots/15235.html March 14th, 2012

A marketing firm has caused controversy over the hiring of homeless people to carry mobile Wi-Fi devices at an internet conference in return for small donations. A marketing firm has caused controversy over the hiring of homeless people to carry mobile Wi-Fi devices at an internet conference in return for small donations. BBH Labs gave 13 volunteers from a homeless shelter Wi-Fi devices, business cards, and a t-shirt bearing their name and a message, such as: “I'm Clarence, a 4G Hotspot.” The volunteers got $20 a day for their work and were allowed to keep any donations made by those who attended the conference. BBH Labs called its Homeless Hotspots project a “charitable experiment,” but with such paltry payments and the objectification of fellow human beings it is not surprising that some were dismayed by the idea. Some onlookers labelled the marketing move as “exploitive,” with one person describing it as something from a “darkly satirical science-fiction dystopia.” Others pointed to the huge divide between the haves and have-nots at the events, with many touting their expensive devices and connecting to the free Wi-Fi offered by the homeless volunteers.

The phrasing on the t-shirts alone drew considerable criticism, as it made the homeless people into objects, like a piece of furniture or an electronic device that can be cast aside. Some saw humour in the event, joking that their Wi-Fi hotspots kept wandering out of range of their devices, thus ruining their trades. Others thought the idea was ingenious, as it raised questions about how we treat homeless people. One person highlighted how it made them question their feelings about those living in shelters or on the streets. Many of the volunteers themselves had no problems with the project either, with one calling it “an honest day of work and pay.” Source and Image Credit: New York Times

NVIDIA Adds Windows 8 to its Drivers Stack Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-adds-windows-8-to-itsdrivers-stack/15232.html March 14th, 2012

After AMD released its Catalyst beta drivers for Windows 8 Consumer Preview, we didn’t have to wait on NVIDIA for too long: the company added Windows 8 to its regular driver update portfolio. Windows 8 Consumer Preview is turning to be the most popular beta program yet, with over a million downloads in the first 24 hours. It will be interesting to see can Microsoft reach 10-15 million downloads in the first month, but in order for that to happen - the companies need to offer new drivers. AMD was the first company out the door to offer a beta version of its Catalyst drivers for Windows 8 Consumer Preview, but NVIDIA came out with a very interesting 8

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Published by: VR-Zone

release today; as of today, the company added Windows 8 to its driver stack. This means that every new release of drivers for GeForce and Quadro boards will be simultaneously launched for both the actual Windows 7/Vista and the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

According to Bryan Del Rizzo, NV PR, the drivers are just a quick update to 295.73 drivers, adding support for Blacklight: Retribution. You can read more about it on the official GeForce page.

Yahoo sues Facebook over alleged patent infringement Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/yahoo-sues-facebook-over-allegedpatent-infringement/15234.html March 14th, 2012

Yahoo has sued social networking giant Facebook over the alleged infringement of 10 of its patents. The patents in question relate to messaging, news feed generation, social commenting, advertising display, preventing click fraud and privacy controls, which targets a number of important features in Facebook's service. "Facebook's entire social network model, which allows users to create profiles and connect with, among other things, persons and businesses, is based on Yahoo's patented social networking technology,” Yahoo claimed. Facebook responded by describing the lawsuit as puzzling, since Yahoo has not made any attempts to settle out of court. It said it was disappointed that a longtime business partner resorted to litigation. Interestingly it never denied the allegations.

The case follows recent announcements by Facebook of a plan to go public later this year for a whopping $5 billion. The timing is particularly significant as Yahoo also sued Google before it went public in 2004. Google settled with a transfer of 2.7 million shares, a move which Facebook could also do, though analysts believe it will be more difficult to get money from the social network. Yahoo is facing mounting financial difficulty as it struggles to remain relevant in a digital age where rivals are quickly advancing new technology and services, leaving the once dominant internet portal in the dark. Layoffs and a board reshuffle have failed to rescue the company and even a payout from Facebook will only be a temporary boost until the company starts attracting customers again.

ARM announces "world's most energy-efficient" processor Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/arm-announces-world-s-mostenergy-efficient-processor/15233.html March 14th, 2012

The 32-bit processor uses just 9µA/MHz on a low-cost 90nm LP process, a third of the energy used by existing 8-bit or 16bit processors, while providing a huge boost to performance. The chip is aimed at devices like home appliances, medical monitoring, metering, lighting, and motor control devices, areas that are increasingly becoming known as “the Internet of Things.” All of these can benefit from the low-cost, lowpower, and high performance offered by the new Cortex chip.

March 14th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

When considering the purchase of a PC chassis, cases from well known Taiwanese manufacturer Lian Li will often come up for consideration. They offer a whole range of models covering everything from the smallest mini ITX cases to huge full tower cases and everywhere in between. Of course Lian Li offer a variety of Micro ATX cases for different target markets. Here for review we have the PCV600F, the primary design goal of which is to fit the largest components available into the smallest possible case while keeping compromises to a minimum. It is available in the black color we have here as well as silver or red.

The CPU also comes with a number of new features, such as a single-cycle IO to speed access to GPIO and peripherals, improved debug and trace capability, and a twostage pipeline to reduce the number of cycles per instruction and improve Flash accesses, which further reduces power consumption. The Cortex-M0+ employs a model that is particularly suitable for the C programming language and it features binary compatibility with existing Cortex-M0 processors tools and RTOS. It is also compatible with other ARM software for Cortex processors. Freescale and NXP Semiconductor have already agreed to licence the Cortex-M0+ processor, and considering the fact that 50 companies licensed the previous Cortex-M0 processor, we can likely expect to see many other firms show their support.

Lian Li PC-V600F Case Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lian-li-pc-v600f-casereview/15201.html March 14th, 2012

The PC-V600F is compact even by mATX case standards. Looking at the dimensions, a height of just 390mm is as small as it is reasonably possible to make a mATX case without major compromise. At just 190mm wide it's also thinner than you'd expect, so much so that there isn't space at the back for a standard 12cm exhaust fan. Lian Li presumably opted not to use a 80mm fan for noise reasons. The PC-V600F may be small for a mATX case, yet it can take an oversized PSU, a very long dual or triple slot graphics card and up to five 3.5" and two 2.5" drives within its compact frame. Specifications Model Case Type Dimensions

Lian Li have long been held in high regard in the field of PC case manufacturing. The PC-V600F mATX chassis we have for review is the latest incarnation of their popular PC-V600 series, although it bears little resemblance to the original. This lovely looking little case promises a nice blend of features and a compact size. Let's see if it can meet our high expectations. Introduction

Front Bezel Material Color Side Panel Body Material Net Weight 5.25" Drive Bay (External) 3.5" Drive Bay (External) HDD Bay

PC-V600F Mini Tower Chassis (W) 190mm x (H) 390mm x (D) 470mm Aluminum Black / Silver / Red / Black ( Internal Black ) Aluminum Aluminum 5 KG 2 None 3.5â&#x20AC;? HDD (Sata hot swap) x 5 / 2.5â&#x20AC;? HDD x 2 10

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Expansion Slot Motherboard System Fan (Front) System Fan (Top) System Fan (Rear) I/O Ports Maximum Compatibility

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4 Micro-ATX / Mini-ITX 120mm LED Fan x 2 140mm Fan x 1 None USB 3.0 x 2 / eSATA x1 / HD Audio VGA Card length: 370mm PSU length: 240mm

Four small rubber feets at the bottom to keep the box grounded during a user-induced earthquake..

CPU cooler height: 150mm

ASUS Xonar Essence One Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-xonar-essence-onereview/14935.html March 14th, 2012

In a market flooded with muddy onboard audio codecs and laughable "multi-core" DSP effects devoid of actual audio fidelity, ASUS is thankfully one of those companies who have invested quality engineering with the intent of the faithful reproduction of PC audio. Today we take a look at their flagship S$699 sound card - the Xonar Essence One USB DAC & headphone amplifier.

On top of the Essense One, we see the iconic gold "Chime of Tiger" totem which also appears on the other Xonar family of sound cards.

Aesthetics and Connectivity The Xonar Essence One has a brushed metal faceplate with blue LED indicators, silver push buttons (power, upsampling, input selection and mute) and large rheostats/ knobs (headphone and speaker volume) at the front. There is also a 1/4" headphone out jack which when plugged can still be driven simultaneously with the speakers.

Blue LEDs when switched on. Note that it does take up a considerable amount of space on most desks (261.33 x 230 x 60.65 mm).

At the back, we see a variety of input and output options. Besides the usual RCA L/R outputs to connect to 2.0/2.1 speakers, the box also includes balanced XLR connectors which allows for extended cabling distances. In additional to the computer USB input, there is the capability to handle Coxial S/PDIF and TOSLINK digital links. A 115/230v voltage selection switch (why no auto switching?) is also present and the Xonar One takes a ubiquitous C14 power inlet. 11

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Accessories and documentation included with the DAC (USB cable not in picture). Being positioned as an audiophile class product, ASUS could have bundled a thicker power cord with a better AWG rating as audio purists will testify the effects of resistance on the "energy" of the sound output.

Elecom unveils the TKPBL042BK Projection Keyboard in Japan

When connecting the device to a host over USB it will operate as a USB HID keyboard while simultaneously getting a battery recharge.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/elecom-unveils-the-tk-pbl042bkprojection-keyboard-in-japan/15231.html March 14th, 2012

A Japanese company by the name of Elecom is one of the first out the gate to introduce a projection keyboard to market. The TK-PBL042BK wireless projection keyboard simply requires nothing more than a flat surface and its host to carry either USB or Bluetooth connectivity, which means iOS and Android will natively support it. A Japanese company by the name of Elecom is one of the first out the gate to introduce a projection keyboard to market. The TK-PBL042BK wireless projection keyboard simply requires nothing more than a flat surface and its host to carry either USB or Bluetooth connectivity, which means iOS and Android will natively support it.

The device itself measures only 38.0 x 29.0 x 75.0 mm and weighs in at a mere 77g without the rechargeable battery (said to provide up to two hours of continuous use).

March 14th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

The source has indicated that the K-PBL042BK will arrive in early April. Elecom has priced it at 28,875 JPY which works out to around US $352.

The final stable build of Firefox 11 arrives today Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-final-stable-build-of-firefox-11arrives-today/15230.html March 14th, 2012

Little more than two months after Mozilla's final build of its "Firefox 10" web browser came out, the official stable version of FireFox 11 is now right on our doorstep with the launch taking place a little later today. Little more than two months after Mozilla's final build of its "Firefox 10" web browser came out, the official stable version of FireFox 11 is now right on our doorstep with the launch taking place a little later today. The final build of FireFox 11 will bring with it a fair chunk of new features and performance improvements including support for the SPDY protocol, meaning that all pages are loaded on SSL with SPDY resulting in speedier and more secure attributes. Some other additions include built-in migration tools to make it much easier to port bookmarks and preferences across from Google's Chrome browser, a new Add-On Synchronization tool allowing users to synchronize addons between sync'd PCs, a stack of more useful developeroriented tools and last but certainly not least, the inclusion of Adobe Flash support on devices running Android 2.3 and earlier. Mozilla has said that Flash support will arrive for Android 3.0+ running devices in a later release. Keep an eye out here for the stable build of Firefox 11 folks. It will likely pop up within the next 8 hours or so.

Sola joins the ranks in Sony Xperia family Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sola-joins-the-ranks-in-sony-xperiafamily/15228.html March 14th, 2012

The new Sony Xperia sola claims to incorporate the company's proprietary technology to offer users premium entertainment they want. It features a unique "floating touch" navigation that allows users to browse the web, and their home screens by hovering their finger above the screen, without actually touching it. The smartphone is also NFCenabled and comes with two NFC Xperia SmartTags in the box, which can be personalized with up to 10 commands. Powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor, the Xperia sola sports a crisp 3.7-inch Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine, xLOUD and 3D surround sound audio technology to deliver superb multimedia experiences. It also comes with fast capture that allows the phone's built-in camera to activate from sleep in just over a second with a single key press. Comes in black, white and red, the Sony Xperia sola will be available in Q2 this year, initially with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. And upgradeable to Android 4.0 ICS during summer 2012. Pricing details not available at press time.

Apple's new iPads run a higher bill of materials, offer better value Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-s-new-ipads-run-a-higher-billof-materials-offer-better-value/15229.html March 14th, 2012

It's been revealed that Apple's bill of materials (BOM) on the 'new iPad' is heftier than some may have previously thought; this despite Apple keeping its latest range of tablets at the same respective price points as their predecessors. It's been revealed that Apple's bill of materials (BOM) on the 'new iPad' is heftier than some may have previously thought; this despite Apple keeping its latest range of tablets at the same respective price points as their predecessors.

The Sony Xperia S was announced in Singapore last week, and today, the company has introduced the new addition to the Xperia range of smartphones - the Xperia sola. The Android smartphone features "floating touch" navigation for web browsing without touching the screen, Near Field Communication (NFC) to launch apps and other actions via Xperia SmartTags, and sports a Reality Display with Mobile Bravia engine for brilliant image display.

The 16GB 4G version of the latest iPad is estimated to be US $310 which is substantially higher than the 16GB iPad 2 (US $270). The biggest factor in the higher cost of build would inevitably be due to the higher res (2048 x 1536) screen, estimated to come in at about US $70 alone (about $20 higher than the iPad 2's). Then there's other factors like the bulkier battery (US $8 higher), the US $5 dearer camera and the A5X processor at US $28 (close to double that of the A4 used in the first-gen iPad).

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The lower margins as a result of the increased BOM equate to a 6% dip from 57% for the original iPad to 51% on the new model. So if you're thinking iPad pricing is still way too inflated, at least you can rest assured if you pick up a thirdgen model you're literally getting better bang for your buck versus its predecessors.

M1 Singapore to offer new iPad on 16 March Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/m1-singapore-to-offer-new-ipadon-16-march/15227.html March 14th, 2012

The new iPad was unveiled last week, which features a high resolution Retina Display, A5X processor, 5-megapixel iSight camera and supports 4G LTE. Singapore telecommunication company, M1 Limited, has announced that the mobile device will retail in M1 stores on 16 March, this week.

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Square Enix will release the game outside of Japan or even an English version of it.

Sony Singapore introduces Alpha 57 with 12fps continuous shooting and Full HD 50p recording Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-singapore-introduces-alpha-57with-12fps-continuous-shooting-and-full-hd-50p-recording/15225.html March 14th, 2012

Sony Singapore has announced the Alpha SLT-A57, the successor to the Alpha SLT-A55, which boasts 12fps continuous shooting and Full HD 50p (PAL) recording. The SLT-A57 will be retailing in Singapore next month.

Final Fantasy III comes to Android, only in Japan though Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/final-fantasy-iii-comes-to-androidonly-in-japan-though/15226.html March 14th, 2012

Final Fantasy fans would love this piece of news: Square Enix's Final Fantasy III has come to Android devices. But the bad news is, the game is only available for Japan Android users.

Square Enix had launched their Android games marketplace app late last year, which is available only in Japan, with games including Dragon Quest, Crystal Defenders and Final Fantasy. Well, it looks like Final Fantasy III has now come to the Android Marketplace, but unfortunately, users outside of Japan would not be able to get the game. The Final Fantasy III for Android is retailing for 1,400 "points" through Square Enix's convoluted pricing system, which works out to 1,470 yen (approximately US$18). There is no word as to whether

The mid-range Sony Alpha SLT-A55 digital SLR camera has garnered favorable reviews, and today, the company has unveiled its successor, the Alpha SLT-A57 that is built with enhanced features and performance. The Alpha SLT-A57 incorporates Translucent Mirror Technology which directs incoming light to the CMOS image sensor and the AF sensor at the same time, achieving full continuous autofocus during both still and video recording. You capture exactly what you see on screen, with the new high-resolution Tru-Finder which offers a wide viewing angle and 100% field of view; and allows for efficient framing, focusing and real-time preview. Combined with the 16.1-megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor and the latest BIONZ engine, the SLT-A57 claims to reproduce superb images with low noise across a wide ISO 100-16,000 range. The digital SLR camera also boasts high-speed 12 frames per second shooting with full-time continuous autofocus (in Tele-zoom Continuous Advance Priority AE mode), and full high definition 50p (PAL) video with full P/A/S/M control. For those of you who are looking to get the Sony Alpha SLT-A57, it will be available in Asia Pacific at all Sony stores and authorised outlets from April 2012. Pricing details to be released closer to retail.

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HP unveils new Pavilion notebook PCs with stylish designs and enhanced features Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hp-unveils-new-pavilion-notebookpcs-with-stylish-designs-and-enhanced-features/15224.html March 14th, 2012

HP has a new Mosaic design approach, an extension to its MUSE (materials, usability, sensory appeal and experience) design philosophy, which focuses on improved usability and aesthetics to users. The Mosaic design was applied to the new range of Pavilion dv-series and Pavilion g-series of laptops that were announced today.

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Comes in three color options â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sparkling black, winter blue and ruby red; the g-series claim to offer enhanced audio experience with both design and functional elements. It has a chrome strip that borders the speaker which also serves as a visual cue for audio, while the exposed speaker bar provides better sound projection. The new HP Pavilion g4 and g6 will be available in Asia Pacific from 8 April with a starting price of approximately US$499 and US $529 respectively.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade now available for Samsung GALAXY S II Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/android-4.0-ice-cream-sandwichupgrade-now-available-for-samsung-galaxy-s-ii/15223.html March 14th, 2012

HP Pavilion dv-series

Samsung GALAXY S II owners rejoice! The Korean electronics manufacturer has announced that the Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) upgrade is now available for the GALAXY S II smartphone.

The new HP Pavilion dv4, dv6 and dv7 sport an infinity waterfall edge, tapered chassis, slim top view and metal finish on select models. Available in licorice black or carmine red for the dv4, and midnight black for the dv6 and dv7 models, the dv-series come with soft-touch bottom panel and are easy to hold. For the Pavilion dv6 and dv7, the exposed speaker bar is integrated with the display, and magnifies the dv seriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Beats Audio experience by projecting audio directly towards the user. The re-designed HP Pavilion dv4, dv6 and dv7 will be available in Asia Pacific from 8 April with a starting price of approximately US$699, US$749 and US$849 respectively. HP Pavilion g-series

The redesigned HP Pavilion g4 and g6 feature curved, beveled edges with a bowl-shape keyboard deck and textured touchpad with bowl-set curvature which looked distinct.

Even though Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich came to the Samsung GALAXY Nexus first, the company has promised that the upgrade will be made available for selected GALAXY smartphones such as the popular GALAXY S II. Well, the wait is finally over. Today, Samsung Korea announced Android 4.0 ICS software upgrade for GALAXY S II, starting in Europe - Poland, Hungary, and Sweden; as well as Korea and slowly rolling out to other markets. On top of that, Android 4.0 ICS software upgrade will also be made available for the GALAXY Note, GALAXY SII LTE, GALAXY R, GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus, 7.7, 8.9 and 10.1 soon. Samsung will also provide Android 2.3 Gingerbread firmware upgrades for the GALAXY S, GALAXY Tab 7, GALAXY S Plus, GALAXY S SCL(Super Clear LCD), and GALAXY W from end of March. The upgrades include

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features such as Face Unlock, Snapshot, Photo Editor and others.

Valueplus shows off the TizzBird Stick N1 at CeBIT Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/valueplus-shows-off-the-tizzbirdstick-n1-at-cebit/15222.html March 14th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

we're not sure it's the most intuitive UI out there. That said, it beats the budget Android media players from China that lacks any kind of UI at all. The Stick N1 supports HDMI 1.4 and will play just about any video and audio formats you throw at it, including Blu-ray, although we're not sure about 3D content. You can also use the standard Android UI and the Stick N1 supports user installed apps, although this is apparently only via the TizzBird Appstore.

Once in a while you run into the oddest companies at trade shows and although Korean Valueplus isn't that odd in itself, as it's a manufacturer of a wide range of Android powered media players, but its retail branding which is TizzBird, is rather odd. Still, the company has some interesting products and its latest addition is the Stick N1, an HDMI adapter that turns your dumb TV into a smart TV. Once in a while you run into the oddest companies at trade shows and although Korean Valueplus isn't that odd in itself, as it's a manufacturer of a wide range of Android powered media players, but its retail branding which is TizzBird, is rather odd. Still, the company has some interesting products and its latest addition is the Stick N1, an HDMI adapter that turns your dumb TV into a smart TV.

Other software features include support for NFS, Samba and uPnP and Flash support. Valueplus will also offer an iPhone and Android app that allows you to use your smartphone as the remote control for the TizzBird Stick N1. It's the most retail ready product of its kind we've seen so far, but we have a feeling that there will be a lot of competition in this market space this year with several other players working on getting their products out onto the market. Price wise the Stick N1 should cost around US$150 (S$185) when it launches later this year.

Synology to launch updated 4-bay NAS products, draws less power The TizzBird Stick N1 sports a Cortex-A5 based ARM SoC from Telechips which operates at 1GHz which has been paired up with 4GB of internal NAND flash and 2GB of RAM in a fairly small dongle that slots into the HDMI port of your TV. The dongle also has a USB 2.0 port for external storage devices or wireless keyboards and mice, a micro USB port for power, a micro SD card slot and integrated 802.11n WiFi. The company is also contemplating adding support for an RF remote, but this wasn't ready at the show.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/synology-to-launch-updated-4-baynas-products-draws-less-power/15221.html March 14th, 2012

At CeBIT, Synology was demoing a pair of new NAS products, both being 4-bay units with a fairly similar external design, but the internal hardware is quite different between the two models. The company has not only revised the internals, but the two new models share the new redesigned enclosure as well which looks similar to the DS212 series, albeit larger due to the additional drive bays. At CeBIT, Synology was demoing a pair of new NAS products, both being 4-bay units with a fairly similar external design, but the internal hardware is quite different between the two models. The company has not only revised the internals, but the two new models share the new redesigned enclosure as well which looks similar to the DS212 series, albeit larger due to the additional drive bays.

Valueplus has created a custom UI on top of Android 4.0 for the Stick N1 and it was all very smooth in operation, although 16

March 14th, 2012

The two new models are the DS412 and the DS412+ and common features includes a front USB 2.0 port, two rear USB 3.0 ports and a rear eSATA port. The DS412 sports a single Gigabit Ethernet port whereas the DS412+ sports a pair of ports. Both models also sport a pair of rear fans and Synology informed us that the new fans feature failover support, so in case one of the fans would fail, the speed of the second fan will increase to help cool the NAS box until the failed fan can be replaced.

Published by: VR-Zone

The new NAS design is quite attractive, in as much as a NAS can be attractive, but we'd expect these two new models to be fairly pricey considering the hardware inside them. Sadly we don't know the exact launch date, but both models should arrive in the next couple of months.

The DS412 is Synology's most power efficient 4-bay NAS to date, as it draws a mere 3W in idle thanks to in part a new PowerPC based CPU. The DS412+ is intended for more advanced usage scenarios and sports an Intel Atom processor, most likely the D2500, but the company merely informed us it was one of the new models without going into details as the DS412+ hasn't been officially announced as yet.

March 18th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

3DMark 11 Xtreme Score: 6243

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 SLI Performance Preview Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-geforce-gtx-680-sliperformance-preview/15273.html March 18th, 2012

What happens when you pair two Kepler GK104 boards together when you get them from the stores next weekend? We take an exclusive preview... Disclaimer: Test results might or might not be indicative of final retail performance, and is not supported or sanctioned by NVIDIA and their partners. As such, we will refrain from making judgements or opinions. 3DMark 11 Entry Score: 22878

That's all for now. We hope to show you more benchmarks especially in overclocked, 3-way or 4-way configurations when we get the cards officially next week. Original Source: Chinese VR-Zone

Mystery solved - Haswell expected to up the graphics ante further again Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/mystery-solved--haswell-expectedto-up-the-graphics-ante-further-again/15272.html March 18th, 2012

3DMark 11 Performance Score: 16860

So, after all the guesses, it seems to be true: Intel will continue its rapid integrated 3-D graphics improvement into Haswell generation , with more GT3 options across both desktop and mobile - including UltraBook - markets. Further cause for Nvidia to worry on the entry level discrete segment... Remember all the polemics over the Net, whether Haswell will offer the same substantial performance jump in 3D from the Ivy Bridge, as Ivy Bridge is expected to give compared to the Sandy Bridge, or if it will just be a smaller incremental upgrade? Well, both are right... how? There are three distinct die choices here, it seems: one is the ULV focused dual core Ultrabook option but with up to GT3 graphics. The other is a mainstream desktop and mobile choice with 4 cores and GT2 graphics, just a bit faster than the best Ivy Bridge graphics - we're talking 20% to 50% extra GPU performance here. Then, there is the 'king of the hill', the 4 core CPU plus GT3 GPU die with graphics further double as fast as the GT2, i.e. well over twice, possibly thrice, the Ivy Bridge speed. 1

March 18th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

In summary, interesting times ahead this and next year... and that's even before we've seen the Ivy Bridge! Now, this die is likely to have a very very fancy extra external cache option on a multi chip module too. Wait a second, aside from IBM Power7 superserver processors and such, why would anyone want to have a L4 cache, maybe even an eDRAM based one? The answer could be in sharing the system memory bandwidth resources between a powerful quad core CPU, what Haswell surely will be, and a powerful GPU with compute capabilities too. To avoid such contention, having an additional large cache, implemented in a fashion similar to dedicated 'backside cache buses' seen on the old Pentium III processors many years ago, helps satisfy more CPU memory requests in that cache, leaving more memory bandwidth for the GPU. An exciting optional capability would be to designate a portion of that large cache as a 'scratchpad' memory for GPU compute and graphics usage - most high end GPUs do rely on internal directly addressable scratchpad memory besides the caches for such purpose. How this extra cache connection would be implemented, we don't know yet - but it definitely makes no sense to put it on the usual DDR3 memory bus, since it would add lots of unwelcome extra latency there. But, since the 4 core CPU plus GT3 desktop and mobile graphics die will be different than the standard 4 core plus GT2 graphics die, yet they all share the same socket - it makes sense to implement the extra L4 cache bus on the bigger die, and keep that L4 cache connection to the MCM multi chip substrate without it being seen by the system at all. As widely talked about, Haswell will be the first Intel mainstream CPU in a few years, after the Westmere low end DC part with graphics die, to bring back MCM packaging into the general desktop and mobile PC realm. So, the standard parts will have an option of integrating the PCH I/O bridge to the same package, saving quite a bit of board wiring and real estate for ultra-compact mobile computing - and I don't mean just UltraBooks here. Talking about the UltraBooks, having GT3-class graphics inside a Haswell UltraBook is definitely going to help the cause of true 3-D capable ultrathin Intel platforms, without resorting to additional discrete graphics. It doesn't help companies like Nvidia, who seemingly lost a big chunk of its Apple future Ivy Bridge MacBook Air GPU deployment, as GT3 Haswell would likely obliterate that market in the long run. Of course, GT3 graphics on an UltraBook doesn't need L4 cache and such enhancements, since only two CPU cores will not compete much with it for the memory bandwidth.

New Intel Xeon E5 to offer ultra-dense high speed compute solutions - right from Intel itself Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/new-intel-xeon-e5-to-offer-ultradense-high-speed-compute-solutions--right-from-intel-itself/15271.html March 18th, 2012

The freshly launched Xeon E5 does break all the performance records in 2 socket X86 space, as seen by our Lennard's server review as well. However, compute density is critical to win large scale HPC contracts too. What did Intel develop to fit all this stuff into the smallest space, without compromising the performance? The Socket 2011 'Sandy Bridge EP' Intel Xeon E5 processors are fast, with 8 cores, 20 MB L3 cache, and plenty of memory and I/O resources to boot. They also inherit a large installed base of previous generation Xeons across the whole range of workstations and servers, from mini blades to supercomputers. However, for the evaluation of high performance computing project platforms, especially medium to large supercomputers, the power and the density achievable play a big role too. We can't do much about the power here - the larger 416 mm2 dies required to fit all the features do take their toll, with the fastest server part, the E5-2690, spec'ed at 135W TDP at 2.9 GHz plus Turbo, of course. The density can be worked on, though - just figure out how to squeeze four memory channels as well as all those QPI and PCIe v3 lanes coming out of each CPU to the smallest possible dual socket board layout, then engineer the cooling and power feed, not to mention the interconnect between the boards, to squeeze many dozens of those into each 42U or similarly tall compute rack. Here's Intel's solution - look how compact it feels compared to a typical high-end PC mainboard:

On the desktop side, Nvidia and AMD entry level discrete graphics are definitely to be badly affected by this evolution, and lots of it is to be felt with the Ivy Bridge already. The midrange and high end GPU segments should go on as usual, though.

March 18th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Hell is very real, kids. A small, half width 6.4 inch by 17.7 inch board contains it all - two CPUs with full bandwidth memory, three full x16 PCIe v3 slots, I/O riser connections for storage, as well as a combination of dual GigE plus Connect-X Infiniband QDR (40 Gbps) or FDR (56 Gbps) high speed interconnect. Quite impressive, isn't it? Now, two of these boards can easily fit into one 1U rackmount server chasis, and of course, depending how much space you need for other hardware, up to 40 of course could fit into a standard 42U rack. So, up to 80 high speed dual CPU servers, each with ~360 GFLOPs dual precision FP peak performance and up to 256 GB ECC RAM, in just one rack - or nearly 30 TFLOPs single rack cluster if you like it counted that way. Do keep in mind that, with at least 400W per node, such cluster would also need a good 30 kW of power at the peak usage... but at least you can pack them tight.

Xbox 360 Review: The Darkness II Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/xbox-360-review-the-darknessii/15259.html March 18th, 2012

"The Darkness 2" is the sequel to the first-person shooter game that was launched in 2007. And the plot continues from the main protagonist, Jackie Estacado, who is struggling with the power of the Darkness and the death of his girlfriend. So is the "The Darkness 2" as good as the first one? Read on.

The Darkness II was released by Digital Extremes and 2K Games earlier this year for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Building on the success of its predecessor in 2007, The Darkness II continues the story of Jackie Estacado and his struggle with the demonic entity residing within him, known as The Darkness. It has been two years since Jackie Estacado helplessly witnessed the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Jenny, by the don of the New York mafia. Formerly a hitman with aforementioned mafia, he was targeted for assassination by the head of the criminal organization. The attempts on his life and the subsequent murder of his beloved Jenny unknowingly awakened an ancient unholy power deep within him, the Darkness. Visually, they are a pair of tentacles that talk and they grant him immense strength, regeneration and other supernatural abilities at a grave price. With every life he took, he became perilously closer to losing control of himself to them, or raher The Darkness. The Darkness II begins when Jackie (the new don of the criminal organization) and his gang are assaulted at a restaurant. Grievously wounded in the surprise attack, Jackie gives in to the temptations of The Darkness and allows it to aid him in battle. You take control of Jackie, now imbued with the unholy abilities of The Darkness, as you attempt to fight your way out of the ambush. The game centers on Jackie as the main protagonist this time, as compared to the previous installment of the game that focuses on his personal vendetta to avenge his deceased partner. The Darkness II deals with his struggles to keep himself in control while using his them at the same time to stop a cult hellbent on stealing them from him. The story unfolds with the help of flashbacks, hallucinations and narration from Jackie. They may appear bewildering and confusing initially, but the mystery slowly and artfully unravels as the game progresses. The story stays fresh thanks to Jackieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s raw emotions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; grief, regret, and anguish. You will feel keen to press on, wanting to find out more about why you are being attacked, what the antagonist wants to do with your powers, and what plans does The Darkness have in store. Here's the game trailer of The Darkness II:-

Using mobile phones while pregnant could make children hyperactive Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/using-mobile-phones-whilepregnant-could-make-children-hyperactive/15269.html

March 18th, 2012 March 18th, 2012

Women who use mobile phones while pregnant could end up with hyperactive children, according to a recent study. Professor Hugh Taylor of Yale University led a team of scientists studying the effects of radiation from mobile phones on the development of unborn babies' brains, revealing some unsettling findings. As part of the tests pregnant mice were exposed to an active mobile phone, resulting in offspring that suffered from hyperactivity, anxiety and poor memory. Those who were not exposed to this radiation were not affected in this way.

Of course, since the study involved tests on mice, it cannot be taken as conclusive when it comes to the effects of mobile phone radiation on human mothers and children, but the scientists believe that the results are likely to be the same. Taylor claims that the effects are so strong that that it might explain a growing rise in cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, Professor Eric Taylor of King's College London refuted the claims that mobiles were linked to rising levels of ADHD in children, so the jury is not necessarily out on whether or not mobile phones are causing damage to our kids.

Sega to release Dreamcast titles in HD for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sega-to-release-dreamcast-titles-inhd-for-xbox-live-and-playstation-network/15268.html March 18th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Sega is resurrecting some of its old Dreamcast titles by making high-definition versions of the games for the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Sega is resurrecting some of its old Dreamcast titles by making high-definition versions of the games for the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Ben Harborne, Associate Digital Brand Manager of Sega, revealed that the company may be re-releasing two classic Dreamcast games, Shenmue and Skies of Arcadia. The games are two of the most popular and most often requested, and while Harborne was reluctant to give a firm “yes” or “no” regarding their re-release, it seems increasingly likely that we will see these, and possibly other Dreamcast titles, on Xbox and PlayStation 3 consoles soon enough.

Sega previously confirmed a re-release of the Dreamcast skater title Jet Set Radio for the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Windows for this Summer, suggesting it plans to go through its back catalogue of Dreamcast titles and bring them back from the dead. The Dreamcast was Sega's last forray into the world of game consoles, releasing in 1998 to stiff competition from Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox, and Nintendo's GameCube. The system was the first of the sixth generation consoles to launch and contained internet connectivity, but the company could not keep up with the competition and decided to pull the product in 2001. Since then it has gained a cult status amongst gamers, so it's not surprising to see high demand for re-issues of its popular titles.

Bethesda planning Elder Scrolls MMO announcement in May Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/bethesda-planning-elder-scrollsmmo-announcement-in-may/15267.html

March 18th, 2012 March 18th, 2012

Bethesda is rumoured to be working on a massively multiplayer online (MMO) version of its popular Elder Scrolls role-playing games, with a formal announcement expected in May. Bethesda is rumoured to be working on a massively multiplayer online (MMO) version of its popular Elder Scrolls role-playing games, with a formal announcement expected in May. According to an anonymous industry source cited by Tom's Guide, Bethesda and ZeniMax Online Studios have teamed up for Elder Scrolls Online, a title that has been speculated about for years, following the success of the latest game in the series, Skyrim. The source claims that the game will be set in the world's “Second Era,” hundreds of years before the time period of the existing Elder Scrolls franchise.

Published by: VR-Zone

Fewer Apple fans flock to stores as new iPad goes on sale Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/fewer-apple-fans-flock-to-stores-asnew-ipad-goes-on-sale/15266.html March 18th, 2012

Queues for Apple's third generation iPad were not as big as those for the iPad 2 last year, suggesting potentially weaker sales for the Cupertino, California-based company. Queues for Apple's third generation iPad were not as big as those for the iPad 2 last year, suggesting potentially weaker sales for the Cupertino, California-based company. Apple's store in Regent Street, London saw over 600 people line up for the iPad 2's launch, but that number has dwindled to roughly 400 people for today's launch of the so-called “new iPad.” While this does not necessarily account for interest in the device across the world, it will be a worrying figure for investors and for Apple's new CEO, Tim Cook, who took over from Steve Jobs last year. However, a study by Dynamo PR, which interviewed those standing in the queue, found that 63 percent of those waiting to buy the latest iPad were PC owners, up from 44 percent last year and just 25 percent two years ago for the launch of the initial iPad.

Gameplay will involve three playable factions related to three different animals: a lion, dragon, and bird of prey. Whether or not these are merely emblems or possible pet creatures is not yet known. The game studio is expected to announce the game in May, followed by some gameplay footage shown at E3 and Quakecon later in the year. It seems unlikely that the game will launch this year, unless Bethesda has been working on this secretly for a long time. Late 2013 is much more likely. It is not clear how this might affect the possibility of future single-player games in the Elder Scrolls series, but by setting it long before the current games it frees things up for Bethesda to continue to add a sequel to Skyrim.

This is significant, as it means that more PC users are considering tablet computers as either a replacement for or a complementary system to their desktop or laptop computers. Apple said last week that it is planning a postPC future, and while it is unlikely that PCs will got he way of the dodo, there are clearly more alternative devices being bought than ever.

March 18th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Other findings in the report showed that a whopping 88 percent of those in line were men, while the average age was 26, supporting the public perception of technology enthusiasts as being young males. Some people queued for unholy amounts of time. For example, one man managed to secure a prominent place at the front by waiting for an insane 141 hours. Say what we will about Apple fanbois, but that's dedication. “The surprising difference in this year’s iPad launch compared to other years is the actual number of people queuing,” said Paul Cockerton, co-founder of Dynamo PR. “It’s significantly less than previous years. Whether that means pre-orders have been more successful, or selling in other retail stores takes some of this burden only Apple would be able to answer.”

Samsung NX20 leaked, catches up to competition

Sadly the 3-inch VGA resolution AMOLED display doesn't appear to have been updated from the NX10/11, but Samsung has at least done a side swivel display, much like the one on its EX1 compact. There's no word on whether or not Samsung has made any changes to the EVF, something a lot of it competitors have made vast improvements to over the past year.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-nx20-leaked-catches-upto-competition/15265.html March 18th, 2012

It's easy to forget that Samsung is a player in the interchangeable lens camera market as so far the company hasn't really impressed with its NX series of cameras. Now its upcoming NX20 model has leaked and it looks like Samsung has managed to catch up with most of its competitors, but if the preliminary specs are correct, not really overtaken anyone. It's easy to forget that Samsung is a player in the interchangeable lens camera market as so far the company hasn't really impressed with its NX series of cameras. Now its upcoming NX20 model has leaked and it looks like Samsung has managed to catch up with most of its competitors, but if the preliminary specs are correct, not really overtaken anyone. The NX20 is said to be slightly larger than the current NX10/11 models with an improved grip which can be clearly seen in the pictures. Samsung has kitted out the NX20 with a 20.3Megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor and the camera has an improved ISO range of 100-12800. The NX20 can also shoot 8fps and it has a max shutter speed of 1/6000 (up from 1/4000 for the NX11).

Other features include built in Wi-Fi, i-Function 2.0, a built in flash, a hot-shoe for Samsung flashguns and a dedicated video button. The NX20 supports 1080p video, although it's not clear at what frame rates it'll be able to record video. As for the exact launch date and pricing, we're going to have to wait a while longer as this information hasn't leaked as yet. Source: Focusmedia (in Dutch)

Cooler Master gets back into the watercooling business with Eisberg range Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/cooler-master-gets-back-into-thewatercooling-business-with-eisberg-range/15264.html March 18th, 2012

It's been quite a few years since we last saw a watercooling solution in retail from Cooler Master, despite the company demoing various solutions over the past two years at all the major trade shows. Now the company has finally decided 6

March 18th, 2012

to make a return to the watercooling business, initially in Europe only with its new Eisberg series of coolers. It's been quite a few years since we last saw a watercooling solution in retail from Cooler Master, despite the company demoing various solutions over the past two years at all the major trade shows. Now the company has finally decided to make a return to the watercooling business, initially in Europe only with its new Eisberg series of coolers.

Published by: VR-Zone

120 which should retail at around €120 that takes a single 120mm fan and the Eisberg 240 which will retail for around €140 and feature a larger dual fan radiator for a pair of 120mm fans.

Cooler Master isn't likely to launch the Eisberg series in the APAC region but the company is working on a different solution for the APAC market that we sadly can't write about at the moment, but it's based on what Cooler Master showed off at Computex last year. We don't know when this solution will launch, but it's being evaluated by Cooler Master for a not too distant launch as far as we're aware. The pump is actually made by German Eheim which normally produces pumps for aquariums and it features ceramic bearings which suggest that it should have a long life span. Unlike sealed unit watercoolers from its competitors, Cooler Master has allowed for the liquid to be topped up and the pump contains a small reservoir unlike many competing solutions. The tubing is of a softer more flexible type than used by Asetek, but Cooler Master has fitted metal coils to the outside of the hoses that increases the rigidity of the hoses.

Cooler Master demoed Elite 120 mini-ITX chassis at CeBIT Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/cooler-master-demoed-elite-120mini-itx-chassis-at-cebit/15263.html March 18th, 2012

With several recently announced monster cases – or Ultra Towers as Cooler Master prefers – such as the Cosmos II, the company was demoing its first high-end mini-ITX chassis at CeBIT last week, the Elite 120. The cube shaped case doesn't really stand out from the crowd in terms of design, in fact it looks a lot like some of Silver Stone's mATX cubes, but Cooler Master has done a pretty decent job on small chassis.

Initially Cooler Master will be offering two different SKUs, the Eisberg 120 which should retail at around Initially Cooler Master will be offering two different SKUs, the Eisberg

March 18th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

REVIEW: PROLiNK Wireless Pan/Tilt IP Camera Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/review-prolink-wireless-pantilt-ipcamera/14993.html March 18th, 2012

Internet Protocol (IP) cameras were for the longest time expensive, especially if it had pan and tilt functionality. Things have changed and you can now purchase an IP Camera that uses either a Wired or a Wireless network connection and includes pan & tilt. Let's take a look at just how easy it is to setup, configure and deploy the PROLiNK Wireless Pan/Tilt IP Camera (PIC1003WP).

The front of the Elite 120 is made from Aluminium and plastic and Cooler Master has gone for a fairly simple, but appealing design. A single USB 3.0 port as well as two USB 2.0 ports and a pair of audio jacks are found on the right and left sides of the front, with a 5.25-inch drive bay taking up the top part of the case.

Internally you get three 3.5-inch bays of which two can be converted into no less than six 2.5-inch bays for SSDs. There's also a front mounted 120mm fan and the Elite 120 takes a standard ATX PSU. Around the back you'll find a pair of expansion slots which means that you can use dualwidth graphics cards with the Elite 120. No word on pricing or availability, but we can see this being a popular choice for SFF gaming rigs when it arrives.

The PROLiNK PIC1003WP Wireless IP Camera with Pan Tilt (IP Camera) is not new, that is, there are many other manufacturers making such devices. This is especially true for CCTV (Close Circuit TeleVision) cameras. In the early days such cameras were wired and you had to use customised hardware to interface and control the cameras.

One of the other problems associated with IP cameras is accessing them over the Internet through all the technicalities like, firewalls and routers. There is a way to resolve this but it comes at a price. PROLiNKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IP Camera is a simple plug and play even through your router and firewall. PROLiNK achieves this by magically managing all the connection settings which is tied to a unique camera id. This is almost like RIMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s BlackBerry Messenger ID and even WhatsApp. Each of those applications keeps a unique number for your device. By managing only the unique device ID and a password you can basically connect to the IP Camera using a web browser or mobile device running Android 2.2 or Apple iOS.

March 18th, 2012

If you really need to manage the IP Camera LiveView software for scheduling and managing the settings you will need Windows as the Active X controls are not available in Mac OS. That should be easily rectified with software like Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac. Run the included CD-ROM to install LiveView and LivePlay and have access to the Adobe Acrobat PDF manual. The installation is straightforward and requires only input to move along with the default settings.

Published by: VR-Zone

D-Link has announced their premium app, mydlink+ that is designed for iPad and Android tablets. The app allows users to view high quality footage as long as they have Wi-Fi or 3G access. You can save the snapshots to the tablet, switch between different cameras with the built-in monitoring dashboard, and see four feeds on the same screen (1 live view, 3 snapshots). The app is available to download from iTunes and Android Market. D-Link All-in-One Mobile Companion (DIR-505)

D-Link launches new app for iPad and Android Tablet, and all-in-one mobile companion router Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/d-link-launches-new-app-for-ipadand-android-tablet-and-all-in-one-mobile-companion-router/15261.html March 18th, 2012

D-Link has announced their new mydlink+ app for the Apple iPad and Android tablet devices that allows users to monitor up to four network cameras in your home or office. On top of that, the company also introduced their latest DIR-505 mobile companion router that claims to offer instant WiFi access, convenient file sync, USB sharing, and device charging wherever you go.

For the busy mobile road warriors, the D-Link All-inOne Mobile Companion (DIR-505) is all they need to get wireless access, wherever an existing network is available. The portable device also offers USB sharing features for users to share videos, music and photos from an external hard drive or thumb drive to the iPad, iPhone or Android devices. The DIR-505 is smaller than a standard mouse, with easy one-touch Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) that provides quick setup. With the free SharePort Cloud app for both Android and iOS devices, you can access videos, music and photos from anywhere. The All-in-One Mobile Companion also comes with a USB port for sharing content from a USB storage device (or charging smartphones), as well as an Ethernet Port that enables users to easily connect to an existing network in a conference room or hotel room. The D-Link All-in-One Mobile Companion DIR-505 will be available in Q3 2012. Pricing details to be announced closer to retail date.

March 18th, 2012

Motorola unveils white version of MotoLuxe Android phone Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/motorola-unveils-white-version-ofmotoluxe-android-phone/15260.html March 18th, 2012

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Once in a while you run into a company you've never heard of that has a product that makes you wonder why noone thought of it before. AIO is such a company, although speaking to a representative of the company at CeBIT, it turns out their heritage is from a defunct case maker and the product in question is its Myriad chassis. Once in a while you run into a company you've never heard of that has a product that makes you wonder why noone thought of it before. AIO is such a company, although speaking to a representative of the company at CeBIT, it turns out their heritage is from a defunct case maker and the product in question is its Myriad chassis.

The Motorola Motoluxe (also known as XT615) is a mid-ranged Android smartphone that was announced in January this year. It was initially launched in black finish, but recently, the company has come up with a white version of the Motoluxe.

It looks like in recent months, many flagship smartphones have launched a white version, which offers users another choice if they don't like the original finish. The origin of a white phone traced back to the Apple iPhone, and after that, we have also seen the white Xperia arc S, Lumia 900 and the Droid Razr. The Motorola Motoluxe (also known as XT615) was first launched in black, and recently the white version has popped up in the market; price-wise, it is similar to the original black Motoluxe. From the above picture, the white finish is mainly at the rear and both sides of the phone. For those who are interested, the Motoluxe is powered by 800MHz processor and 512MB RAM (with 1GB ROM). It features a 4-inch FWVGA LCD display, 8megapixel rear and 3-megapixel fron cameras, runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and Moto Switch UI. Unfortunately, the mid-range phone is available only in some countries, and in China, it is priced at around 2335 yuan (or US$370).

AIO Group shows off mATX case with built in RAID

The Myriad is anything but your average chassis, as this mATX case has no less than seven hot-swappable hard drive bays behind a heavy door. But as nice as the hot swappable drive bays are, the fact that five of them are connected to a port multiplier makes this a truly unique product. It allows for the creation of a soft RAID without the need of a RAID controller in the system, as all five drives are connected to a single SATA connector on the motherboard. The port multiplier allows for RAID 0, 1, 3, 5 and 10.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/aio-group-shows-off-matx-casewith-built-in-raid/15258.html March 18th, 2012

March 18th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

WD finally launches My Book Thunderbolt Duo, is cheaper than competition Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/wd-finally-launches-my-bookthunderbolt-duo-is-cheaper-than-competition/15257.html March 18th, 2012

Thunderbolt devices are finally starting to trickle out into the market, albeit most of them so far have been storage devices and Western Digital's new My Book Thunderbolt Duo is no different in this regard. However, where WD has managed to excel compared to its competitors in terms of pricing. The only minor complaint is the fact that AIO decided to use trays for the drives which makes the hot-swapping kind of awkward as you have to remove the drive from the tray and screw the new drive back in before you can swap out a faulty drive. Other features of the chassis includes a single 5.25inch drive, another internal 3.5-inch bay and a 2.5-inc bay, as well as a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports and a pair of audio jacks on the front, all accessible without having to open the door.

Thunderbolt devices are finally starting to trickle out into the market, albeit most of them so far have been storage devices and Western Digital's new My Book Thunderbolt Duo is no different in this regard. However, where WD has managed to excel compared to its competitors in terms of pricing. The My Book Thunderbolt Duo is available in either 4TB or 6TB, although currently only the 4TB model is available from WD's website. WD has gone for a more expensive setup with support for Thunderbolt in and out ports at the rear of the My Book Thunderbolt Duo which allows for daisy chaining of drives for improved performance. As with previous My Book products from WD, the My Book Thunderbolt Duo has user upgradeable drives.

Internally there's space for five expansion cards with plastic retention clips and the case comes pre-fitted with a 120mm fan. We're not so keen on the top mounted PSU, but as this is a mATX chassis it's not a massive deal breaker. AIO claims that the Myriad can handle four 350mm add-in cards, albeit these would only be single slot cards of course. The finishing of the chassis also caught our attention, as it's quite different from what we've seen from other manufacturers. Overall, this is an unusual little chassis, but sadly it only appears to be available in Europe for the time being.

March 18th, 2012

WD doesn't provide any performance figures for the My Book Thunderbolt Duo on its website, but Engadget posted from figures showing off four daisy chained My Book Thunderbolt Duo drives with a read speed of 690MB/s and a write speed of 530MB/s. As such the write speed is slightly slower than what LaCie claims for its 2big with Thunderbolt interface which manages a write speed of 596MB/s when four drives are daisy chained, but the read performance is to WD's advantage as LaCie only manages 670MB/s.

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Where the My Book Thunderbolt Duo really shines though is when it comes to the purchase price, as the 4TB is priced at US$599.99, $50 cheaper than LaCie's similar offering and the 6TB model comes in at US$699.99, a whole $100 cheaper than LaCie's equivalent. It's disappointing that neither company supplies a Thunderbolt cable with their device, but at US$49 a pop, we can sort of understand why.

Apple's new iPad already torn down, contains some news Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-s-new-ipad-already-torndown-contains-some-news/15256.html March 18th, 2012

Trust iFixit to send a member of their team to Australia just so they could be the first to tear down Apple's new iPad. Although much is already known about the new hardware, iFixit's teardown did reveal some interesting design changes that give us some interesting revelations of potential future products from Apple. Trust iFixit to send a member of their team to Australia just so they could be the first to tear down Apple's new iPad. Although much is already known about the new hardware, iFixit's teardown did reveal some interesting design changes that give us some interesting revelations of potential future products from Apple. 12

March 18th, 2012

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As it goes, most mobile devices that use ARM processors â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with the exception of some of the Tegra 3 based tablets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; use an SoC with support for a PoP package for the DRAM and this was also the case with past iPad's from Apple. However, the new A5X SoC has reverted from this and gone back to a more traditional approach with the DRAM mounted on the same PCB as the rest of the components. Although it's not entirely clear as to what kind of packaging Apple is using for the A5X, it's clear that we're looking at a larger chip and it's obviously running a fair bit hotter than the A5, judging by the heat spreader on the chip.

Electronic Arts has announced the open beta of its upcoming Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances free-toplay massively multiplayer online (MMO) strategy game.

The new iPad appears to use a standard dual-channel memory configuration with a pair of 512MB Elpida LPDDR2 DRAM chips. The network chip has of course been upgraded to the same BCM4330 as the iPhone 4S and beyond dual-band Wi-Fi support it also offers Bluetooth 4.0 + HS connectivity and an FM transceiver. The 3G/4G modem is Qualcomm's MDM9600 which is pretty much par for the course when it comes to 3G/LTE modem solutions at the moment.

Players will be able to harvest resources, form alliances, and engage in epic battles, pretty much all the things that can be done in a standard Command & Conquer title.

The change to a new package for the A5X SoC suggests that Apple might be trying out some new hardware designs inside the new iPad and considering the rumours that Apple are working on an ARM powered MacBook Air, this isn't too farfetched. The simple reason for this is that a larger device wouldn't need to use such a highly integrated PCB as a phone and moving away from a PoP package has some other advantages, such as the ability to improve the cooling of the SoC. We'll see how things evolve, but as far as what Apple is planning for the future, no-one knows but Apple itself.

EA launches beta of free-toplay Command & Conquer MMO strategy game Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ea-launches-beta-of-free-to-playcommand--conquer-mmo-strategy-game/15255.html March 18th, 2012

Electronic Arts has announced the open beta of its upcoming Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances free-toplay massively multiplayer online (MMO) strategy game.

The game, developed by EA's Phenomic studio is the latest addition to the company's Play4Free portfolio, which includes other games like Battlefield Heroes, Battleforge, Need For Speed World, and Lord of Ultima. The game employs the popular Command & Conquer strategy franchise and takes advantage of quickly growing browser-based online gameplay. The game will also launch on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets and users can switch back and forth between their devices, creating a unique cross-platform experience.

The beta can be accessed for free by anyone across the globe today and the final product will be free to play, though like most other free to play games some restrictions or in-game purchases may be applicable.

Nokia confirms iPad tablet rival in the works Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nokia-confirms-ipad-tablet-rival-inthe-works/15254.html March 18th, 2012

Nokia has confirmed that it is working on a tablet computer of its own, marking the once dominant mobile phone company's first competition with the Apple iPad and myriad of Android tablets. Nokia has confirmed that it is working on a tablet computer of its own, marking the once dominant mobile phone company's first competition with the Apple iPad and myriad of Android tablets. The firm's head of design, Marko Ahtisaari, revealed to a Finnish magazine that he is spending a third of his time developing the new tablet computer, which has long been rumoured as a major project for the struggling company. Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, said that the tablet category has always interested the company, but that if it was to enter 13

March 18th, 2012

that market it wanted to employ a different approach to the existing offers. This is important, as the tablet sector is already saturated with many rival products, most of which are very similar.

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of the loosely-organised Anonymous group, but more official channels for the group have denied involvement. Unfortunately for over 26,000 people that distancing has come too late, as they already installed the software and are now potentially at risk of hidden malware.

Nokia's PR team refused to confirm the announcement, but suggested that it was watching the tablet market “with interest.” The rumours over Nokia's tablet suggest that it will employ Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system, marking a new stage in its partnership with the software giant. While Windows Phone 7 has failed to match the might of iOS or Android, many have high hopes for Windows 8, which will be employed on PCs, smartphones and tablets. Nokia's tablet computer is expected to launch towards the end of the year.

Thousands download Anonymous hackers virusriddled OS Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/thousands-download-anonymoushackers-virus-riddled-os/15253.html March 18th, 2012

Hacktivist group Anonymous claims that an operating system erroneously linked to its members has infected thousands of computers with malware. Hacktivist group Anonymous claims that an operating system erroneously linked to its members has infected thousands of computers with malware.

The people behind the software claim it is not infected with viruses, but they also claim that there is no such thing as a virus in the world of open source software, a rather questionable statement that suggests their denial might be a matter of pedantry. Security firms are testing the software to see if it poses any risk. It is probably wise not to use it (or to uninstall it) until its safety has been verified by an independent source. Source Forge has removed the software for now until it is certain it is not a security risk.

MMD introduces Philips CLine Blade 2 monitor Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/mmd-introduces-philips-c-lineblade-2-monitor/15252.html March 18th, 2012

MMD, a wholly-owned company of TPV through brand license agreement with Philips, have announced the new Philips C-Line Blade 2 monitor that features an ultraslim 12.5mm display, IPS display technology that claims to deliver superior images and color reproduction.

The 1.5GB Ubuntu-based OS, known as Anonymous OS, was circulated on software website Source Forge with the expressed aim of checking the security of webpages for “education purposes.” It was allegedly created by members

March 18th, 2012

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The 22.3-megapixel Canon 5D Mark III was unveiled just two weeks ago, with improved features such as 36 x 24mm full-frame CMOS sensor, ISO sensitivity of 100 25,600 (expandable up to L:50, H1:51,200, new DIGIC 5+ processor, and continuous shooting speeds of up to 6 fps at full resolution. Today, Canon Singapore has released the pricing and availability of the EOS 5D Mark III digital SLR camera.

Samsung unveils new products at South East Asia, Oceania and Taiwan Forum Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-unveils-new-products-atsouth-east-asia-oceania-and-taiwan-forum/15250.html March 18th, 2012

The Philips Blade 2 monitor (239C4QHSB) sports a stylish, ultra-slim design with IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology that can deliver exceptional desktop experience for consumers. Measuring 12.5mm in depth, it claims to be one of the slimmest desktop displays on the market. Available in classy black or elegant white, the Blade 2 is equipped with a 23-inch IPS display that delivers vivid and life-like images when viewed even from obscured angles. It also features a SmartContrast ratio of 20,000,000:1 and comes with dual HDMI ports and a VGA (Analog) connection.

At the South East Asia, Oceania and Taiwan Forum, Samsung has unveiled their new line of products for 2012, with the vision of delivering connectivity and content across all their devices - TVs, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, digital cameras and home appliances. Samsung ES8000 LED TV

Canon Singapore reveals price and availability of EOS 5D Mark III Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-singapore-reveals-price-andavailability-of-eos-5d-mark-iii/15251.html March 18th, 2012

The highly-anticipated EOS 5D Mark III was officially launched two weeks ago, and today, Canon Singapore has unveiled the pricing and availability of the digital SLR camera. Read on.

The Samsung ES8000 Smart LED TV sports a new metallic U-shape stand that gives a unique, minimalistic design. It claims to offer crisp images in both 2D and 3D. It features Micro Dimming Ultimate technology that can analyze the picture and optimize the LED backlight and video signal in real time. This provides 20 percent increase in brightness, richer colors and higher contrast ratios. The technology also helps to eliminate the "halo" effect and image distortion associated with diffused light. The Smart TV also features Smart Content, Smart Interaction and Smart Evolution. Smart Content allows users to share photos, memories and memos with loved ones from the TV to the cloud to smart devices. You can also access wide offerings of movies, TV shows and streaming videos via Samsung Apps, while Samsung Smart Hub provides multi-tasking between apps simultaneously. The 55-inch Samsung ES8000 LED TV will be available End March 2012 at S$6,499. 15

March 18th, 2012

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Samsung WB850F

The Samsung WB850F has an ultra-compact body and boasts a 21x optical zoom, and 16.2-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor technology that can reduce image noise and distortion, even in low light conditions. The camera also features 3-inch VGA AMOLED screen, Wi-Fi direct that lets users link the WB850F to a phone or tablet for photo sharing, and Auto Backup function that enables user to transfer images to the PC without having to carry around cables. The Samsung WB850F is available in Black from April 2012. Samsung GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) and GALAXY Tab 2 (10.1)

The Samsung Series 9 claims to be the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thinnest and most compact laptop in the market. Thanks to the company's MaxScreen technology that minimize bezel size, it features a vivid 15-inch display fitted into a stylish 14-inch chassis. The Series laptop measures 14.9mm thin and weighs 1.59kg, which claims to be almost 50 percent more compact than other 15-inch thin and light. Incorporating Intel Core i7 processor and Samsung SSD, the notebook powers up in just 9.8 seconds and wakes in only 1.4 seconds. The Samsung Series 9 will be available in Q2 2012.

ASUS HD7850 DirectCU II TOP Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-hd7850-directcu-ii-topreview/15243.html March 18th, 2012

Samsung has announced the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) and GALAXY Tab 2 (10.1) tablets which are powered by a 1GHz dual core processor, and runs Google Android 4.0 ICS operating system. Available in 3G and Wi-Fi versions, the 7-inch model is designed for personal on-the-go, while the 10.1-inch model is suited for home and family. Both the GALAXY Tab 2 will be available in Q2 2012, in 16GB.

Earlier this month we reviewed the (paper launched) reference AMD Radeon HD 7850, which shares the same PCB as the higher end HD 7870. Back then we also felt that the stock performance was lackluster and our review sample had almost zero overclockability. Coming to stores next week, ASUS's custom pre-overclocked HD7850 offering actually punches above its weight and impressed us. Read on to find out why! Built with AMD Southern Island's 'Pitcairn Pro' GPU, ASUS HD7850 DirectCU II TOP 2GB (HD7850-DC2T-2GD5) is a dual slot card with their much heralded "DirectCU II" direct contact heatpipe cooler.

Samsung Series 9 Notebook

March 18th, 2012

At first glance from the front, the dual fan ASUS card looks similar size wise to the reference HD7850 blower design.

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The PCB is actually 8-inches length wise but the protuding part of the cooler extends it to 10.5-inches. We feel that there is a missed opportunity here to serve users of space constrained enclosures since the rated TDP of the HD 7850 at 130W is not very high anyway and can make do with a smaller cooling system. A 6-pin PCIe extension cable is preinstalled as the release catch on the card is obstructed by the cooler.

But when we turn the cards around, we see that the ASUS card actually uses a significantly cut down version of the reference PCB.

Accessories - the mandatory driver CD and instruction manual, a CrossfireX bridge and a DVI to analog convertor

No changes at the display outputs so six monitor Eyefinity can be achieved with pair of mini-DP, a single HDMI and a DVI-D port.

March 18th, 2012

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Quick refresher - the HD 7850 has 16 'Graphics Core Next' compute units (almost half that of the big daddy HD 7970), with 1024 Stream processors, 32 ROPs and a GDDR5 256bit memory bus. ASUS pre-overclocked their card to 975MHz on the core and 1250MHz on the memory, a decent increase of 115MHz (13.4%) and 50MHz (4%) respectively. As with all the new 28nm based cards launching this year, the HD 7850 has PCIe 3.0 support, which helps in transfer bandwidth constrained scenarios like HD video encoding and will work with the current Intel Sandy Bridge-E and the upcoming Ivy Bridge platforms.

The Leica MP film camera (body alone) is priced at NT $360,000 (or US$12,185), and every limited edition unit will be engraved with the serial number, which could be regarded as a value of a collection of traditional film cameras, and is available for pre-order. Comes in Leica's original wood-made box, the camera features a copper and zinc-alloy body, while the the upper and lower lids are military grey, which resembles the Leica M2 Grey film camera that was launched in 1960. The Leica MP also uses "Vulcanite" leather that was on the Leica M8.2. Another special feature is the engravings of "MP100 - XXX" on the top camera shoe, the chinse words "Exciting Hundred 1912 - 2011", and Taiwan's national flower, the plum blossom. Such a limited edition Leica MP camera would surely appeal to collectors.

Leica launches limited edition MP cameras to commemorate Taiwan's centenary establishment Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/leica-launches-limited-edition-mpcameras-to-commemorate-taiwan-s-centenary-establishment/15249.html March 18th, 2012

To commemorate Taiwan's centenary establishment (from 1912), Leica has launched the limited edition Leica MP cameras in the country, and apparently, only 100 units.

March 18th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

from her tyranny. To do so, mercenaries have to be hired, locations emptied of enemy troops, and funds “acquired” to hire more guns and buy more gear. As a means to an end, the storyline works. The wide varieties of maps – ranging from towns to mines to even a water pumping station – mean players gain a believable feel to the convenientlysquare island. These varied, salad-y areas are chock-full of littered objects that breathe life into Arulco, such as NPC’s who cower at your gun-toting approach, or children who follow obliviously with their saviours. For a simple island, Arulco is rich in varied landscapes, a diced salad of jungle, desert, and suburban neglect.

Gracing the launch event include Taiwanese model and actress, Tiffany Hsu.

The neat touches add colour and also give players a sense of progression and permanence. Dead NPCs stay dead, their half-looted houses still hosting the remnants of whatever trash you chose not to take during a previous rampage. Enemies who re-take positions are smarter, covering previous loopholes and forcing players to work around them in a different manner. A pleasant day/night cycle also adds some interesting spice to battles. Depending on how you equip mercenaries, the time of day and their surroundings affects how well they hide. Having the glaring opposite type of camouflage might even give penalties!

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action PC Game Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/jagged-alliance-back-in-action-pcgame-review/15208.html March 18th, 2012

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action marks a return and a remake of the hit title from the late 1990’s. Boasting updates to bring it more in-line with the current generation, is this quiet title release worth your money and game time? Flip on past the break to find out. I enjoy four-course meals. These tend to have the sort of length that dinner conversation is witty without becoming stale. They also give me a solid amount of food to chew on, since I dislike having just a small bite of something great. Jagged Alliance: Back in Action is just that sort of meal, despite some undercooked meat and tough flavors. Before we move on, check out the trailer and gameplay for the game (in case you have not). Back in Action is a remake of the second game, from way back in the 1990’s. The hokey story behind Jagged Alliance hasn’t changed – Players are hired to oust a dictatorial Queen from island paradise Arulco, freeing its populace 19

March 21st, 2012

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VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Independent tests verify iPad 3 overheating claims Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/independent-tests-verify-ipad-3overheating-claims/15309.html March 21st, 2012

Several independent tests have verified claims by iPad 3 users that the latest Apple gadget is overheating. Engineers at Consumer Reports tested out the new iPad with a thermal imaging camera and compared its temperature to that of the iPad 2 when playing a resource-intensive game, Infinity Blade II, for 45 minutes.

discomfort. The problem, however, is that some people have been reporting that their device is switching off due to the overheating problem, which means that even if they were willing to bear the heat, it is still something that Apple needs to address. We contacted Apple yesterday about the overheating reports but received no response. Image Credit: Remle M.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Review: A tablet in its prime Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-eee-pad-transformer-primereview-a-tablet-in-its-prime/15262.html March 21st, 2012

The result was temperatures that reached as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit when unplugged and 116 degrees when plugged in, which is as much as 13 degrees higher than the iPad 2. The heat was worse in one corner of the device and the engineers also found that it failed to charge while playing the game, despite it being plugged in. When the game was not turned on it charged as normal.

Another test made by Dutch website Tweakers.net showed temperatures of 92.5 degrees Fahrenheit after five minutes, compared to 83 degrees Fahrenheit on the iPad 2 for the same duration, a roughly 10 degree difference, supporting the findings from Consumer Reports. Both reports suggest that while the new iPad can get incredibly hot, it can still be held without too much

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer was launched about a year ago, and it stood out from the rest with its optional docking station with a standard keyboard and touchpad. This year, the company launched their Eee Pad Transformer Prime which claims to be the first tablet device to incorporate Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor. We managed to get one in to see how good it really is.

Transformers fans who went to the Transformer Cybertron Con at Resort World Sentosa in Singapore last week, would be fascinated by the showcase of the limited edition figures, as well as the 6.7 metres Optimus Prime aluminiumsteel statue that was standing in the centre of the ballroom. Coincidentally, Taiwanese company, ASUS, has come up 1

March 21st, 2012

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with their Eee Pad Android-based tablets with similar names to that of the popular changing toys; the first was the Eee Pad Transformer, followed by the recently launched Eee Pad Transformer Prime. Late last year, toy maker Hasbro filed a lawsuit against ASUS for infringing the trademark on the name "Transformer Prime" on the new Android tablet. The case is still ongoing, though there have been not been any new updates. However, this has not detered the Taiwanese company from continuing to manufacture their line of "Transformer" tablets. Last October, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 made its first appearance at AsiaD: All Things Digital event in Hong Kong, and claims to be the first tablet to incorporate Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor. The Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 is slightly thinner and lighter than its older sibling, measuring 8.3mm thin and weighing 586g (to 13mm and 680g of the Eee Pad Transformer). Another distinct difference is that the TF201 sports a metallic spun finish, compared to the honeycomb texture of the Transformer. Before we take a closer look at the Android tablet, here's the specifications:-

CPU Memory Screen

Display Resolution Storage Wireless Camera Sensor Interface

Battery

Platform Dimensions Weight

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime 1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 (quad-core) 1GB 10.1-inch LED Backlight WXGA (1280x800) Screen, Super IPS+, 10-finger multitouch support 1280x800 32GB EMMC + 8G life time ASUS Webstorage space 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR 1.2MP front, 8MP autofocus rear G-sensor, light sensor, gyroscope, E-compass 2-in-1 audio jack (headphone/mic), microSD card reader, mini HDMI 12 hours; 25Wh Li-polymer Battery, 18 hours pad with dock Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich 263 x 180.8 x 8.3mm 586g

HP to merge PC and printer businesses Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hp-to-merge-pc-and-printerbusinesses/15308.html

March 21st, 2012

Hewlett-Packard (HP) will merge its PC and printer businesses in an effort to cut costs, marking the latest stage in the company's restructuring. Hewlett-Packard (HP) will merge its PC and printer businesses in an effort to cut costs, marking the latest stage in the company's restructuring. The new unit will be led by Todd Bradley, the existing chief of HP's PC business, suggesting that his approach to PC sales could be employed for printers as well. Marketing will also be unified to improve brand image and company efficiency. "Ensuring we have the right organizational structure in place is a critical first step in driving improved execution, and increasing effectiveness and efficiency," said Meg Whitman, CEO of HP. "The result will be a faster, more streamlined, performance-driven HP that is customer focused and poised to capitalize on rapidly shifting industry trends.â&#x20AC;?

Last year HP was considering spinning off its PC business or selling it altogether, despite it being one of the more profitable sectors of the company's business. It ultimately decided not to go with that route, but clearly it still sees the need to make savings. The problem with a merger is that the PC and printer industries are very different, which means that a single management policy for both could result in failures in either of them. Analysts remain cautious about the move, as it is not yet clear if it will be a viable business long-term, but many investors are happy that Whitman is at least making changes to keep the company relevant.

Blizzard acknowledges Star Wars: The Old Republic effect on World of Warcraft Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/blizzard-acknowledges-star-warsthe-old-republic-effect-on-world-of-warcraft/15307.html

March 21st, 2012 March 21st, 2012

Blizzard has admitted that the launch of rival massively multiplayer online (MMO) game Star Wars: The Old Republic has had a negative effect on its leading title, World of Warcraft, and the company has some plans up its sleeve to bring players back. Blizzard has admitted that the launch of rival massively multiplayer online (MMO) game Star Wars: The Old Republic has had a negative effect on its leading title, World of Warcraft, and the company has some plans up its sleeve to bring players back. The Irvine, California-based firm has been losing subscribers since a peak of over 12 million in 2010. Before BioWare's Star Wars title launched in December of last year, Blizzard recorded World of Warcraft subscriptions at just over 10 million people, a huge drop as the hype meter went off the charts for a shared, persistent world of lightsabers and blasters. Since The Old Republic's launch Blizzard has not yet shared subscriber numbers, which are likely down even further. "Of course people are trying Star Wars - our development team are trying Star Wars!” said John Lagrave, senior producer on World of Warcraft. “I'm one of the few people who's still playing it actually, but yeah we've seen a dip in subs. It certainly has to at least be attributable to The Old Republic, but it's also attributable to people who want to wait and get Mists of Pandaria, so it's not surprising.” Mists of Pandaria is Blizzard's upcoming expansion for World of Warcraft, featuring a new Asian-themed zone, a new panda-style race, and a new monk class. Its announcement has proven controversial, as some players thought it was a step too far in the direction of making the game child-friendly.

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older parts of the game for free. This could help bring in new players, but it appears that a full free-to-play conversion, like that made by Turbine with its Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online titles, is not currently being considered. Blizzard has been steadily moving developer talent away from World of Warcraft to its highly-secretive Project Titan, a second MMO title it has been working on for some time. Details remain under wraps, but it is hoping to keep both games running simultaneously, despite the potential for it to ultimately end up competing with itself. With the developer might of BioWare and the much-loved Star Wars setting, it is not surprising that The Old Republic is presenting a genuine threat to the market leader. After only three months in operation the game is approaching two million paying subscribers and is the fastest growing MMO in North America. What is surprising, however, is that Blizzard is vocally recognising this threat.

MSI R7970 Lightning Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-r7970-lightningreview/15270.html March 21st, 2012

Equipped with their brand new Twin Frozr IV cooling system and various other overclocking-oriented components, is the MSI R7970 Lightning the best graphics card that money can buy? First unveiled at CeBIT 2012, the heavily souped up MSI R7970 Lightning is one of the best looking cards we ever had in our labs. If you still don't know what a Radeon HD 7970 is or how it performs, read this article first.

At the back of the card, we get a large black metal backplate with a plastic blue orb-like cap placed behind the GPU core (more on that later) World of Warcraft offers a free trial up to level 20, but Lagrave suggested that the company could open the trial up to level 40 or 60, letting users experience much more of the 3

March 21st, 2012

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Unlike the reference design, we actually get six physical display outputs for an immersive Eyefinity setup - 4 x miniDP and 2 x DVI (single link) ports

Box, documentation and bundle - besides the mandatory manual and driver CD, we have a "Military Class MILSTD-810G" certificate touting its durability, handy probe wires for the voltage check points, mini-DP to DP convertor, DVI to HDMI dongle and two 6-pin to 8-pin PCIe convertors (rare).

By default, the core speed of the MSI R7970 Lightning is factory overclocked at 1070MHz, 16% higher than the reference design (925MHz). This is not surprising as most Radeon HD 7970s that we've played with can run at that frequency without a voltage bump.

When the card is in operation, there are attractive blue LEDs at the front and back, and 14+2+1 of them at the VRM area behind actually indicates how many power phases are in use.

March 21st, 2012

New iPad Performance Disappoints: Peacekeeper Benchmark Scores Remain the Same Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/new-ipad-performance-disappointspeacekeeper-benchmark-scores-remain-the-same/15288.html March 21st, 2012

While Apple did an untypical thing and attacked NVIDIA and their Tegra 3 quad-core chip, claiming 4x better performance, the first benchmark results tell a different story, especially in Futuremark’s Peacekeeper benchmark. Firstly, Notebook Magazine ran an article in which editors compared the New iPad (iPad 3) and ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime, powered by NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor. In their comparison, they did find a benchmark or two where Apple’s A5X chip managed to beat NVIDIA Tegra 3 but in all honesty, there were benchmarks in which A5X got hammered by Tegra 3. If I was CEO of NVIDIA, I could not be happier for the amount of free PR given by Tim Cooke and the fruity gang. Now, Futuremark is joining the fold, comparing the New iPad to existing batch of tablets with surprising results. Given that Apple did not give any processing power boost between A5 and A5X, it is not surprising to hear that performance in HTML5 and JavaScript-based Peacekeeper did not move by an inch.

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• Apple iPad 2 (iOS 5.1, Apple A5) - Peacekeeper score 383 • Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (Android 4.0.1, NVIDIA Tegra 2) - Peacekeeper score 356 • ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime (Android 4.0.3, NVIDIA Tegra 3) - Peacekeeper score 344 • Apple iPad 1st gen (iOS 5.1, Apple A4) - Peacekeeper score 234 Yes, it is odd seing Tegra 2-based tablet beating the Tegra 3based one, but that is not surprising, given the load on the internal bus. Still, the difference in clock (T20 operates at 1GHz, T30 operates at 1.3GHz) should give better results. Pleasant surprise is AMD powered Acer W500, which leads the tablet pack. As the picture above clearly suggests, tablets from 2011 and 2012 are still around 10 times slower than a standard gaming PC from 2009.

Nokia Lumia smartphones get Maps and Drive updates Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nokia-lumia-smartphones-get-mapsand-drive-updates/15305.html March 21st, 2012

Nokia has just rolled out updates for two of the most popular Windows Phone apps on its Lumia smartphones, Maps and Drive. Nokia Drive 2.0 provides the ability to do offline route planning and navigation as well as taking notice of speed limits. Nokia has just rolled out updates for two of the most popular Windows Phone apps on its Lumia smartphones, Maps and Drive. Nokia Drive 2.0 provides the ability to do offline route planning and navigation as well as taking notice of speed limits. Further is the improved interface design with an advanced dashboard giving more detail and a list of recent destinations as well as better all round responsiveness/performance. Nokia Drive 2.0 currently works in 100 countries on six continents.

According to the company, “Peacekeeper takes 5 minutes to run during which time it evaluates the browser’s performance with a rendering test, WebGL test, HTML5 video test, HTML5 canvas test, HTML5 web worker test, data manipulation tests, DOM operations test and text parsing tests. For more detailed explanations of these tests see the FAQ: http://peacekeeper.futuremark.com/ faq.action” And if you wonder what the scores are, the results are here: • Acer Iconia W500 (Windows 8 CP, AMD Fusion ESeries) - Peacekeeper score 405

Nokia Maps takes the jump to v1.3 and with that comes the ability to provide users with a means to see traffic situations in several countries. There are also a number of improvements made to the design, but otherwise things remain much the same. Both Nokia Maps 1.3 and Nokia Drive 2.0 are available now as free downloads through the Windows Phone marketplace.

ASUS launches K93SM 18.4inch notebook in Europe Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-launches-k93sm-18.4-inchnotebook-in-europe/15304.html

• Apple iPad 3rd gen (iOS 5.1, Apple A5X) - Peacekeeper score 384 5

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proprietory IceCool technology. The notebook ships with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

ASUS has just officially released its latest K-Series notebook into the European market boasting an 18.4-inch sized LEDbacklit Full HD (1920 x 1080) display. The K93SM can now be found online at various EU e/retailers with stock showing and pricing that ranges from 849 Euro to 1,149 Euro depending on the chosen configuration. ASUS has just officially released its latest K-Series notebook into the European market boasting an 18.4-inch sized LEDbacklit Full HD (1920 x 1080) display. The K93SM can now be found online at various EU e/retailers with stock showing and pricing that ranges from 849 Euro to 1,149 Euro depending on the chosen configuration.

MSI's R7970 Lightning lives up to the name with 1800MHz core o/c Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-s-r7970-lightning-lives-up-tothe-name-with-1800mhz-core-oc/15303.html March 21st, 2012

For that you get a notebook that packs a Core i5-2450M or i7-2670QM processor, up to 8 GB of RAM, a GeForce GT 630M 1 GB graphics card and a 500 GB (or 1 TB) HDD. Connectivity includes Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a USB 3.0 port and 3-in-1 card reader. Rounding out the specs, the S93SM comes with either a 8x DVD writer or 6x Blu-ray combo drive, 6-cell (5200 mAh) battery and a chiclet style keyboard; in all weighing in at 4.1Kg.

ASUS keeps temps at bay and ensures the palmrest won't get uncomfortably warm with the implementation of its

MSI certainly wasn't kidding anyone with all the marketing hype it ran with to put its Radeon R7970 Lightning graphics card up on a pedestal, as Swedish overclocking pro Elmor demonstrated when pairing up this lovely highly nonreference HD 7970 with liquid nitrogen cooling measures. MSI certainly wasn't kidding anyone with all the marketing hype it ran with to put its Radeon R7970 Lightning graphics card up on a pedestal, as Swedish overclocking pro Elmor demonstrated when pairing up this lovely highly nonreference HD 7970 with liquid nitrogen cooling measures. Elmor wasn't afraid to go to extremes with the card and pumped a whopping 1.7V into it (which it surprisingly sustained without demise) and then proceeded to reach for the skies in the clocks department.

The end result saw the card thumping along at an incredible 1800MHz core clock rate, while the memory was pushed 6

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to an equally staggering 1925MHz memory clock (equating to 7.70GHz effective and a massive 370 Gb/s of memory bandwidth on tap). With that in place, stability was the next point of concern; alas there were no dramas with a 3DMark11 result obtained of P15035 (Performance preset) in conjunction with a Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition clocked at 5207MHz and 4GB (4x1GB) of DDR3 at 2314 MHz sitting on MSI's Big Bang XPower II motherboard. MSI's custom PCB certainly looks to have paid off in providing a real treat for overclocking buffs alike. Give it a few weeks or so and we'll no doubt be hearing of even higher clock rates achieved.

Expect shortage in supply for the Nikon D800/D800E Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/expect-shortage-in-supply-for-thenikon-d800d800e/15299.html March 21st, 2012

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price for the body is around 300,000 yen (US$3,580), while the body with AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm F3.5-5.6 G ED VR lens will sell at 400,000 yen (US$4,777). The D800E, which has the ability to disable additional filtering, will retail at 350,000 yen (US$4,180) for the body alone, in April. According to Nikon Singapore, the supply shortage would not have a great impact to consumers here. In fact, the company will be releasing the stock to the market and making them available for sales from 22 March onwards. Consumers can make a visit to the authorized retailers and check out the digital SLR camera, before the stocks get grabbed off the shelves. For those who are worried they can't get the unit before stocks run out, can place preorders with the stores directly. However, Nikon Singapore was unable to comment on how long consumers would have to wait, if stocks did run out.

Zinio now available on BlackBerry PlayBook Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/zinio-now-available-on-blackberryplaybook/15302.html March 21st, 2012

Last month, Nikon announced the 36.3-megapixel D800/ D800E digital SLR camera which is scheduled to be available end of March, next week. But for photographer enthusiasts who are looking to get the camera, don't be surprised if the popular D800/D800E is out of stock in stores.

The Nikon D800 digital SLR camera is scheduled to go on retail in Japan on March 22 (and end of March in Singapore), though the company's web site states that to expect supply shortages. The Nikon Imaging Japan said that it has received pre-orders which are higher than expected, and the originally released quantity is not sufficient to meet the demand, and the company may require more time to deliver the D800. The newly announced Nikon D800 is a full-frame digital SLR camera that is equipped with a 36.3-megapixel FXformat CMOS sensor. It has a 100% video finder coverage, 51-point Auto-Focus system, high ISO range of 100 to 6400 which can be expanded to 50-to-25600 and supports full HD video recording in FX or DX format. The estimated retail

For those of you who aren't familiar with Zinio, it is an application that brings digital magazines to your Apple iPad, iPhone, Android devices, Mac and the PC. And BlackBerry Playbook owners will be pleased to know that Zinio is now available on the tablet.

The Zinio app offers digital magazines and newspapers from around the world to your devices, and now to the BlackBerry PlayBook. Zinio has over 5,000 titles in more than 30 languages and lets you access your magazines on the go, read while online or download for easy offline access. The Zinio app is free on the BlackBerry App World, though if you want to read the digital magazines, you will need to purchase the individual ones within the app. For a limited time only,

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PlayBook users who download the app and register on Zinio can enjoy access to free titles including Elle and Esquire.

Samsung GALAXY S III appears in Visa commercial? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-appears-invisa-commercial-/15301.html March 21st, 2012

There have been many rumors about the Samsung GALAXY S III circulating on the web, especially with its launch coming closer each day. And it seems that the Android smartphone may have made an appearance in a Visa commercial recently.

Samsung has partnered Viki to offer Smart TV owners, thousands of hours of content with the Viki Premiere app. Viki is an international video site, known for aggregating some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best TV programs and movies, which are subtitled in more than 150 languages. The video site is also the content partner for the KPop Service App, which is a collaboration between Samsung and major Korean record labels, bringing together the latest news and information of popular Korean music artistes; the KPop Service App is exclusively available on Samsung Apps Smart TV users can now watch TV shows, movies and entertainment news from around the world, including the hottest Korean dramas, Japanese anime, award-winning independent films and more, all free and translated into the language of choice. Best of all, Viki Premiere is free to download and will be available via Samsung Apps on Smart TV from March in Singapore and across Southeast Asia.

Even though there have been no specific details as to when the Samsung GALAXY S III will be launched, it seems that the new flagship phone have been spotted in a Visa commercial with its Near Field Communication (NFC) capability. However, many believed that it is the GALAXY S II and not the upcoming Android device. Foreign media states that the phone in the Visa commercial could be the Samsung GALAXY S III because it looks fairly wide and does not have the Home key. What do you think? Could this phone really be the Samsung GALAXY S III?

Samsung partners Viki to offer users high quality video content in Singapore Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-partners-viki-to-offerusers-high-quality-video-content-in-singapore/15300.html March 21st, 2012

Samsung Smart TV owners in Singapore can enjoy more quality content in the comfort of their homes. The Korean company has partnered with international video site, Viki, to offer a wide variety of TV shows, movies and entertainment news, all for free.

OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid 1TB PCI-E SSD Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ocz-revodrive-hybrid-1tb-pci-e-ssdreview/15298.html March 21st, 2012

SSD drives undoubtedly are extremely fast, with their speeds being only limited by the bandwidth of the SATA bus interface. However they also remain disproportionately expensive per GB when compared to mechanical drives, forbidding mainstream customers from purchasing large capacity drives. For those who require a fairly large primary drive and want to reap the benefits of SSD technology, several companies developed caching solutions, such as the Synapse which we reviewed several weeks ago. OCZ however offers another interesting product, the RevoDrive Hybrid 1TB. The RevoDrive Hybrid is a ready-to-go storage solution which couples a 1TB mechanical drive with a 128GB SSD cache in the form of a PCI-E device. In this review we will find out not only how well it compares against SSD drives but when compared to other caching solutions as well. SSD drives undoubtedly are extremely fast, with their speeds being only limited by the bandwidth of the SATA bus interface. However they also remain disproportionately expensive per GB when compared to mechanical drives, forbidding mainstream customers from purchasing large capacity drives. For those who require a fairly large primary 8

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drive and want to reap the benefits of SSD technology, several companies developed caching solutions, such as the Synapse which we reviewed several weeks ago. OCZ however offers another interesting product, the RevoDrive Hybrid 1TB. The RevoDrive Hybrid is a ready-to-go storage solution which couples a 1TB mechanical drive with a 128GB SSD cache in the form of a PCI-E device. In this review we will find out not only how well it compares against SSD drives but when compared to other caching solutions as well.

Intel cans 3.4W TDP Cactus Ridge Thunderbolt chip Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-cans-3.4w-tdp-cactus-ridgethunderbolt-chip/15297.html March 21st, 2012

We're not sure if this is good news or bad news, but Intel has decided to cancel one of its planned Thunderbolt chipsets in the upcoming Cactus Ridge range of chips. The company has canned the 3.4W TDP part, also known as the L3510H in favour of the lower power L3510L. We're not sure if this is good news or bad news, but Intel has decided to cancel one of its planned Thunderbolt chipsets in the upcoming Cactus Ridge range of chips. The company has canned the 3.4W TDP part, also known as the L3510H in favour of the lower power L3510L. Technically there is no different between the 3.4W TDP L3510H and the 2.8W L3510L Cactus Ridge Thunderbolt chips, although we presume that Intel was planning on charging more for the lower power part as it would've been targeting the notebook market space with the 3.4W part going into desktops and powered devices. The L3510 is a 4-channel Thunderbolt controller and it's set to replace the original Thunderbolt controller known as Light Ridge or 82523EF/EFL which launched towards the end of 2010. The L3510 is a smaller 12x12mm chip â&#x20AC;&#x201C; compared to 15x15mm for Light Ridge â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and with the changes it's also slightly more power efficient. Intel has also managed to implement additional features on-chip for Cactus Ridge, such as a DisplayPort redriver, a connection manager and a link controller which should help drive down the cost of implementing Thunderbolt as well as help to reduce the PCB space taken up by the components needed. That said, Intel isn't expecting to have final samples for its customers until mid-April, or about four weeks late according to its earlier schedules. This is unlikely to have a huge effect on any actual products now with the new Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks not launching until June or even later in the year. In related news, Intel is planning a Thunderbolt developer lab in Taiwan later this month for its partners to give them additional training and advice as to how to best implement the technology in their products.

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Fairchild Semiconductor shrinks Driver MOSFETs for Ultrabooks Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/fairchild-semiconductor-shrinksdriver-mosfets-for-ultrabooks/15296.html March 21st, 2012

Driver MOSFETs, more commonly known as DrMOS are a key part in the VRM design in modern computers and despite being smaller than traditional MOSFET designs, once you start looking at notebooks and even more so at Ultrabooks, these chips actually take up quite a lot of space. Now Fairchild Semiconductors have managed to shrink the foot print of its Generation II XS DrMOS by 50 percent to make them more suitable for use in Ultrabooks. Driver MOSFETs, more commonly known as DrMOS are a key part in the VRM design in modern computers and despite being smaller than traditional MOSFET designs, once you start looking at notebooks and even more so at Ultrabooks, these chips actually take up quite a lot of space. Now Fairchild Semiconductors have managed to shrink the foot print of its Generation II XS DrMOS by 50 percent to make them more suitable for use in Ultrabooks. The chips in question are called FDMF6708N and measure a mere 6x6mm and come in a PQFN package. Beyond being smaller, Fairchild has also implemented something called Zero Cross Detect or ZCD which allows for improved light load performance which results in improved battery life. Fairchild claims 2.5 percent improved efficiency at peak loads of 15A and a six percent better efficiency at a 30A full load compared to its nearest competitor when connected to a 19V power source. By integrating more features into the same package, Fairchild's new DrMOS also helps simplify the PCB design by allowing for shorter PCB trances, the use of fewer components and reduced thermals at higher frequencies. Sadly this is one of those aspects where it's really up to the device maker, but hopefully we'll see this kind of product in future Ultrabooks, as when it comes to battery life, every little helps. The FDMF6708N is priced at US$ 1.86 a piece in quantities of 1,000 units, although as multiple parts are being used in one and the same Ultrabook and these things are usually bought in far larger quantities, we'd doubt that this is anywhere near the actual cost for the Ultrabook manufacturers.

Windows 8 is expected to launch in October Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/windows-8-is-expected-to-launch-inoctober/15295.html March 21st, 2012

Not entirely unexpectedly, Microsoft is aiming for an October launch for Windows 8 and we should see both the x86 and ARM versions launch at the same time. This would give Microsoft ample time to get its new OS out into the 9

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channel in time for the holiday shopping season, be it on new devices or in retail boxed versions. Not entirely unexpectedly, Microsoft is aiming for an October launch for Windows 8 and we should see both the x86 and ARM versions launch at the same time. This would give Microsoft ample time to get its new OS out into the channel in time for the holiday shopping season, be it on new devices or in retail boxed versions.

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About a month and a half ago VR-Zone revealed Intel's Atom CE5300 series of media processors (also known as Berryville) as well as Intel's plans for Tizen and now Intel has officially announced the Atom CE5300 platform at the IPTV World Forum in London. Intel also had some of its partners at the show, displaying their very first set-top-boxes based on the new platform.

Bloomberg is reporting that the OS will in fact be finished sometime this summer and that Microsoft is preparing a partner event for next month where it will detail its Windows 8 strategy, especially with regards to timing and marketing. We'd expect more details to slip out into the public after that event, although as we know, things can change quite quickly in this industry, but Microsoft needs to get its new version of Windows out in a timely manner if it wants to hit the holiday season.

Intel is of course doing its best to sell the new Atom CE5300 platform and to drum up some consumer interest Intel has put a blog post detailing the advantages of Atom CE5300 SoC's making it sound like set-top-boxes based on it will be the ultimate convergence devices. Intel is bragging about console level graphics and if they're comparing themselves to the Nintendo Wii then they might be right, but considering that the graphics core should identical in terms of performance to the Cedar Trail based Atom processors, it's no PS3 or Xbox 360 graphics.

As for ARM based devices it appears that Microsoft is working with a few select partners for the initial launch and Bloomberg reports that the upcoming ARM devices are being quality controlled by Microsoft as to meet the highest standards. There's no doubt that is an important launch for Microsoft, as if the ARM version of the OS and the accompanying devices prove to be a flop, Microsoft might be out of the ARM market space until the company has a new version of Windows.

On the other hand we have no doubt that the CE5300 series of SoC's will offer more than enough performance to handle media playback of all types, in no small amount thanks to a dedicated video decoder. As we mentioned earlier, some models will also sport a hardware video encoder which should make it a good solution for PVR's as well. Intel is also hoping that the Atom CE5300 will do double duty as a home gateway and act as a cable modem, router and VoIP gateway beyond the regular set-top-box features on offer.

Apparently three of the ARM based partner devices at launch will be tablets, but it's not known how many devices will launch in total. We're hearing rumours of Asus Transformer like devices being popular among some of the partners, but we'd also expect a range of new interesting devices like Lenovo's Yoga convertible notebook. The question is if the fairly limited version of Windows 8 which will run on ARM devices will be enough to satisfy consumer demand, considering that so far it's been an OS on productivity devices rather than on consumption devices. It'll be even more interesting to see if Microsoft can appeal to its target market with the new devices we'll see, or if it'll prove to be a tough sale, just as the case has been with most Android based tablets.

The real question here is how well Intel can compete with ARM based solutions which have traditionally dominated this market space. It's worth keeping in mind that many settop-box products aren't always produced to be as cheap as possible, even though cost is always a consideration. Cable TV companies generally want products that lasts as long as possible and that are upgradable, especially when it comes to being able to offer new features to their customers that they can charge an extra service fee for and here an x86 chip might be a winner as it's far more flexible than many ARM solutions. Then again, most consumers have no idea and couldn't care less about what's inside their set-top-box, so we'll see how this one plays out.

Intel announces the Atom CE5300 media processor family Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-announces-the-atom-ce5300media-processor-family/15294.html March 21st, 2012

Microsoft Xbox projector helmet patent shows game console plans Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-xbox-projector-helmetpatent-shows-game-console-plans/15293.html March 21st, 2012

It has come to light that software developer Microsoft has patented a gaming helmet and projector eyeware for the Xbox, which could be a planned feature for the company's next-generation console. It has come to light that software developer Microsoft has patented a gaming helmet and projector eyeware for the Xbox, which could be a planned feature for the company's next-generation console.

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The Redmond, Washington-based firm has been secretly working on the gaming accessory since September 2010, according to Patent Bolt, and has two versions in the work, which could revolutionise console gaming in the same way that the Wii did. The two variations are a helmet and glasses, both of which feature two projectors, which project virtual gameplay imagery into the room, bringing the industry one step closer to holographic gaming.

The patent suggests that the projectors will be partially transparent so that users can see both the projected virtual objects and the real terrain and objects behind them, helping bring gamers closer to the dream of actually being fully present in the game environment. Of course, this might only work with gimmicky games that involve, for example, finding or interacting with objects in one's house, rather than full-blown blockbuster titles. There is also no guaranteeing that Microsoft will successfully develop this technology, or that it will be used in the Xbox 720, but it certainly needs a new approach to consoles if it is to compete with the Wii U, which is taking advantage of the tablet computer boom by adding a tablet controller.

Users report iPad 3 overheating problem Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/users-report-ipad-3-overheatingproblem/15291.html March 21st, 2012

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degrees Fahrenheit after a very short period of use, such as 10 or 30 minutes. Some reports show that the new iPad 3, technically known as “the new iPad,” can overheat so much that users get an error screen telling them that it must cool down before being used. While this might help prevent the risk of burns or fire, it will do little to appease angry customers.

DisplaySearch previously suggested that the new iPad had display problems, thanks to its higher-resolution “retina” display. It requires twice the number of LED lights and consumes a lot more power, which could explain the overheating issue. Apple included a more powerful processor in the tablet, which required a bigger battery in order to keep battery life similar to that of the iPad 2. The company claims that the iPad 3 could be used for up to 10 hours on a single charge, but many users are not even getting a tenth of that time before the device overheats. Apple has already sold three million of the new iPad, but several users have reported that they are returning the device, which could cost the company million of dollars if the problem is widespread enough. Apple has so far failed to respond to the issue. Image Source: Remle M.

A growing number of users are reporting that Apple's thirdgeneration iPad, which launched last week, is overheating to such an extent that it cannot be held. A growing number of users are reporting that Apple's thirdgeneration iPad, which launched last week, is overheating to such an extent that it cannot be held.

Project Titan stealing World of Warcraft developer talent Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/project-titan-stealing-world-ofwarcraft-developer-talent/15290.html March 21st, 2012

Multiple reports from consumers of the latest tablet computer show excessive temperatures like 96.8 or 117

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Blizzard, the game studio behind the popular Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo series, has revealed that its Project Titan massively multiplayer online (MMO) game is taking developer talent away from its highly-successful World of Warcraft (WoW) title. Blizzard, the game studio behind the popular Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo series, has revealed that its Project Titan massively multiplayer online (MMO) game is taking developer talent away from its highly-successful World of Warcraft (WoW) title. “There are people that had worked on the ‘World of Warcraft’ team that now work on [Project Titan] where we’ve had like a slow trickle of expertise,” said Tom Chilton, game director for World of Warcraft. “Meanwhile, we’ve also hired people and trained them over the last four to five years to take the place of some of the people that have gone to work on the other games.” Blizzard's MMO remains the global leader with over 10 million players at the end of 2011. However, it has been steadily losing subscribers since its peak record of 12 million in 2010, with rival games like Star Wars: The Old Republic likely to blame.

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The problem with running two MMOs is that it might end up competing with itself, with many veteran World of Warcraft players likely willing to try something new. Since MMOs take up a huge amount of time for gamers it can be difficult to juggle both, so the success of Project Titan may come at the expense of its existing flagship game.

Free mobile apps drain battery power Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/free-mobile-apps-drain-batterypower/15289.html March 21st, 2012

Free mobile apps use considerably more battery power than their paid equivalents, due to resource-hogging advertisements, according to a study by Purdue University. Free mobile apps use considerably more battery power than their paid equivalents, due to resource-hogging advertisements, according to a study by Purdue University. Researchers at the Indiana-based university found that third-party advertising services that are attached to free apps consume a significant amount of power, with one example accounting for 75 percent of the app's total energy consumption. Popular bird-flinging game Angry Birds was one of the main test apps employed, with the report finding that the game itself only used 20 percent of the total energy output. A whopping 45 percent of power was used to find out the user's location in order to provide targeted advertising, which the remainder of the power provided. Another issue that was discovered is what is called a “3G tail,” where a 3G connection is left open for up to 10 seconds after a download has been completed, resulting in a needless loss of power, and a potential data charge for the user.

Despite work on its top-secret Titan MMO, which some believe could be a “World of Starcraft” or perhaps a new franchise altogether, the studio remains committed to World of Warcraft, with plans to release another expansion, Mists of Pandaria, some time in the future, most likely this year. “I do believe there’s room for us to have two highly successful MMO games,” Chilton added. “I don’t feel like there’s going to be a time where we just say ‘OK, everybody on the WoW team, pack it up you’re moving over to the Titan MMO.’ I don’t see that as being a realistic probability. I think we’re going to try to staff up both teams and actually end up with two large, strong MMO teams.” 12

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While the advertising model allows developers to create free content, the study's author, Abhinav Pathak, said that energy optimisation needs to be taken more seriously. The tests were made using popular apps on both the Android and Windows Phone mobile platforms, but tests could not be conducted on Apple's iOS due to the company's software restrictions. The findings are likely to be the same, however.

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launch when the tag has been scanned. The Xperia sola also comes with "floating touch" navigation, which only works for web browsing and manipulating the live wallpaperon the home screen. It sports a 3.7-inch Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine and is equipped with 1GHz dualcore processor. The Sony Xperia sola will be available in Q2 this year. Sony Xperia U

Battery life is becoming an increasing concern for mobile users, as smartphones and tablet computers consume huge volumes of power, particularly if the user leaves apps like email and Facebook running in the background. Battery technology has not developed at the same pace, which means that energy conservation is critical if users want to get a decent amount of time out of a single charge. Image Credit: Tomasz Sienicki

Sony Singapore offers integrated entertainment across devices and screen sizes Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-singapore-offers-integratedentertainment-across-devices-and-screen-sizes/15286.html March 21st, 2012

Today, Sony Electronics Singapore showcased their new products including BRAVIA TVs and Xperia Android smartphones, which bring about integrated entertainment and communication to users, and letting them have the convenience of sharing the content on different platforms. Sony Xperia sola

The first thing that caught our eyes on Sony Xperia U is the illuminating transparent strip on the phone that can adapt its colors to match the display. The Xperia U is powered by 1GHz dual-core processor and features 3.5inch Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA engine, 5-megapixel camera with fast capture and high definition recording, and incorporates xLoud and 3D surround sound audio technology. It will be available in Q2 2012. Sony Xperia P

The Sony Xperia sola was announced last week, and today we managed to get a hands-on of a working prototype. The smartphone features Near Field Communication, and with the Smart Tags, you can personalize the type of apps to 13

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PRO and Motionflow XR 800 technologies that provide crisp, seamless video viewing. It is also fully Internetconnected with built-in 3D that offers an immersive cinematic experience.

First retail GEFORCE GTX 680 pixelated Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-retail-geforce-gtx-680pixelated/15287.html March 21st, 2012

The first images of a retail GTX 680 have appeared online thanks to Overclock.net forum member "ironman86" - a lucky lad who managed to get hold of a GIGABYTE model, box and all. The card with a designated model name of GV-N680D5-2GD-B strictly follows NVIDIA's reference design apart from some exclusive GIGABYTE sci-fi themed artwork. The first images of a retail GTX 680 have appeared online thanks to Overclock.net forum member "ironman86" - a lucky lad who managed to get hold of a GIGABYTE model, box and all.

The Xperia P is designed to deliver an ultra-bright viewing experience with Sonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WhiteMagic display technology on its 4-inch Realityy display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine. It is equipped with 1GHz dual-core processor, 8-megapixel rear camera, and is NFC-capable. On the left is the SIM card slot, HDMI output and microUSB port. The camera shutter, volume control and power button are on the right. The Sony Xperia P is also scheduled to launch in Q2.

Sony has also introduced their new range of BRAVIA TVs - the flagship HX, elegant NX and entry to mid-level EX series. The Sony HX855 and NX650 feature the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s distinctive Monolithic design and Corning Gorilla Glass for durable screens. The HX855 incorporates X-Reality

The card with a designated model name of GVN680D5-2GD-B strictly follows NVIDIA's reference design apart from some exclusive GIGABYTE sci-fi themed artwork.

These photos also allow us to confirm that the powerconnector arrangement does indeed comprise two 6-pin sockets.

March 21st, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone March 21st, 2012

Report: AMD Radeon HD 7990 Specifications Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/report-amd-radeon-hd-7990specifications/15285.html March 21st, 2012

AMD is preparing to release the Southern Islands / HD 7000 flagship, codenamed New Zealand, to be branded Radeon HD 7990. As expected, the 7990 will be a dual-GPU card, based on 2 x Tahiti.

SSDs might still be the hot topic in storage, but considering the high costs per GB, hard disk drives aren't going anywhere any time soon. Seagate has announced that it has managed to reach storage densities of 1 Terabit per square inch, something the company claims will allow for twice the hard drive capacity of today within the next few years. For now the technology is only on a demo stage and it's based on Seagate's HAMR or heat-assisted magnetic recording technology. It allows Seagate to store roughly 2 million linear bits per inch which leads to the 1 Terabit per square inch claim, or as Seagate puts it 55 percent higher than today's 620 Gigabit per square inch density ceiling. Seagate is expecting that its first generation of HAMR drives will come in capacities of around 6TB for 3.5-inch drives and 2TB for 2.5-inch drives. The company is expecting the HAMR technology to be able to scale to somewhere between 5 to 10 Terabits per inch and as such allowing for 30 to 60TB 3.5-inch drives and 10 to 20TB 2.5-inch drives over a 10 year period from the introduction of the first HAMR drives.

AMD is preparing to release the Southern Islands / HD 7000 flagship, codenamed New Zealand, to be branded Radeon HD 7990. As expected, the 7990 will be a dual-GPU card, based on 2 x Tahiti. In essence, HD 7990 will be 2 x HD 7970 downclocked, Crossfire'd and cramped into a single GPU. There will be a total of 48 CU covering 4096 SP and 256 TMU. HD 7990 will feature a total of 6GB GDDR5, 3GB per GPU. The clock speeds are down mildly from the HD 7970, settling at 850 MHz core and 5 GHz memory. Judging by these clock speeds, it is likely the HD 7990 will ship with a ~375W TDP and the same non-standard 2 x 8-pin power connectors configuration featured in HD 6990 and GTX 590. The 7990 is expected to release in early April, following shortly after the release of GeForce GTX 680 later this week. On release, HD 7990 will take over the fastest graphics card crown, at least until NVIDIA challenges with a dual-GK104 chip, possibly GTX 690. HD 7990 will be in with a fighting chance of becoming the most expensive reference gaming/ consumer graphics card at release, eclipsing GeForce 8800 Ultra's $829.

Seagate hits 1Terabit per square inch Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/seagate-hits-1terabit-per-squareinch/15284.html

As for now, Seagate hasn't announced a launch date of any HAMR based hard disk drives and it looks like the technology will be a lot more demanding in terms of mechanical design compared to traditional hard disk drives. That said, we have little doubt that Seagate and its competitors will find ways to overcome this within the next few years and we'd dare to guess that at launch we'll see larger capacity drives than Seagate is currently expecting to launch, simply based on the fact that Seagate is talking about 3TB and not 4TB drives in its press release and making comparisons to these, rather than the larger, already available 4TB models. Keep in mind that we're most likely two to three years away from retail products and hard disk drive densities are likely to increase before then using currently technology, or some interim technology. Once we move beyond HD resolution 15

March 21st, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

content and with the ever increasing pixel density of digital cameras and all other kind of content that people store on hard disk drives, something else is going to have to keep the industry moving forward until HAMR arrives.

• Gain breakthrough & predictable performance with ColumnStore Index

Download Windows Server 8 Beta and SQL Server 2012 RTM Final

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Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/download-windows-server-8-betaand-sql-server-2012-rtm-final/15275.html March 21st, 2012

Keeping in line with its strategy of releasing public previews of their next-generation software, Microsoft has released public beta versions of their next generation operating system and SQL for the enterprise. Even with all the problems around the development of the consumer version of Windows 8 for both X86 and ARM architectures, the development of enterprise software is going its course. Windows Server 8 or potentially "Windows Server 2012" represents the next generation server operating system, succeeding Windows Server 2008 R2, while SQL Server 2012 will succeed SQL Server 2008 R2 database suite. In order to prepare for the public rollout of the enterprise software, Microsoft announced downloadable versions of the beta OS and trial version for the finalized, Gold version (RTM) of SQL server. If you’re interested in downloading the software and checking how it fits your enterprise needs or just want to get your feet wet, you can visit the following websites to learn more and download the software. As the name states, Windows Server 8 shares a lot in common with Windows 8, but the two are quite different. Windows Server 8 is effectively the sixth generation of server operating systems (3.11 for Workgroups, NT 4.0, 2000, 2003, 2008) and with this one, Microsoft is heavily focusing on the virtualization and the cloud itself, as well as on building and distributing desktop and mobile applications. This is the first OS to fully integrate the virtualization features which began to appear with consumer and server versions of Windows 7 (Server 2008). Microsoft claims Windows Server 8 will be built not to crash, even when whole services go down. Only time will tell if they delivered the key features right. No doubt about it, SQL Server is the most used server in today's world and SQL Server 2012 looks to bring on numerous improvements since 2008 R2. One of key features is "AlwaysOn" technology that looks to keep both WS8 and SQL Server alive. According to Microsoft, this is the list of key features:

• Help enable security and compliance with new Userdefined Roles and Default Schema for Groups

• Ensure more credible, consistent data with SSIS improvements, a Master Data Services add-in for Excel, and new Data Quality Services • Optimize IT and developer productivity across server and cloud with Data-tier Application Component (DAC) parity with SQL Azure and SQL Server Data Tools for a unified dev experience across database, BI, and cloud functions

SQL Server 2012 is now available, while the availability of Windows Server 8 is expected during 2012.

Judge rules Megaupload court order was unlawful Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/judge-rules-megaupload-courtorder-was-unlawful/15283.html March 21st, 2012

A New Zealand judge has ruled that the court order used to seize a number of possessions belonging to Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom was unlawful, which could see the items being return to him. A New Zealand judge has ruled that the court order used to seize a number of possessions belonging to MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom was unlawful, which could see the items being return to him. Luxury cars, giant TVs, jet skis and jewellery were among the stash seized by police in a raid on Dotcom's £20 million property, which led to the closure of the file-hosting service over allegations of copyright infringement and fraud. However, a series of government and police errors means that the court order employed should not have been granted. The New Zealand government and police admitted that they made five separate procedural mistakes when filing the initial court order, resulting in it no longer having any legal power. It seems that in their eagerness to nab the man and his colleagues they did not pay close enough attention to the proper paperwork procedures. If similar carelessness was employed in charges against Dotcom, or in the extradition filing, it could result in him getting off on a technicality of law.

• Deliver required uptime and data protection with AlwaysOn 16

March 21st, 2012

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• FIFA 10 for PlayStation Portable and Wii • The Godfather II for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 • EA Sports MMA for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 • Need for Speed ProStreet for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 • The Saboteur (loss of The Midnight Club access) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 • Spare Parts for PlayStation 3 Xbox 360

However, Dotcom's possessions will not necessarily be return to him, as his legal team demands, because new documents have been filed for the seizure and confiscation of not only the existing items, but additional assets that were uncovered in the raid. Dotcom's lawyers say that the asset seizure initially left the man without money to fund a legal defence, a situation made all the more grave now that it has been revealed that the court order was not legal. The judge will make a decision soon regarding whether or not Dotcom's items should be returned to him. Image Credit: Getty Images

EA to cut online support for several games Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ea-to-cut-online-support-for-severalgames/15282.html March 21st, 2012

"As games get replaced with newer titles, the number of players still enjoying the older games dwindles to a level -- fewer than 1% of all peak online players across all EA titles -- where it's no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping these games up and running," EA said. "We would rather our hardworking engineering and IT staff focus on keeping a positive experience for the other 99% of customers playing our more popular games." The vast majority of the games are two or more years old, but that will be small comfort for those who are regularly enjoying playing them online. It is understandable, however, that EA made this decision, given the low population on these game servers.

Electronic Arts (EA) has decided to pull online support for a number of its games, including some popular older sports titles.

The online access to these games will be removed on 13 April.

Electronic Arts (EA) has decided to pull online support for a number of its games, including some popular older sports titles.

iPad 3 and other tablets causing injury

The affected games are:

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ipad-3-and-other-tablets-causinginjury/15281.html March 21st, 2012

• BOOM BLOX Bash Party for Wii • Burnout Revenge for Xbox 360 • EA Create for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 • EA Sports Active 2.0 for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 • EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp for Wii

The growing number of tablet computers, including Apple's new iPad launched last week, are causing increasing reports of neck and shoulder injuries, according to a leading doctor in the field. 17

March 21st, 2012

The growing number of tablet computers, including the new iPad launched last week, are causing increasing reports of neck and shoulder injuries, according to a leading doctor in the field. Dr. Tony Kochhar, who specialises in shoulder problems and repetitive strain injury (RSI), said that he is now seeing more than 20 patients a week with what is becoming known as “iPad shoulder.” “Holding the tablet lower down means users have to gaze downwards more sharply,” said Kochhar. “This is increasing the pressure on their joints.” iPads are not the only devices responsible for this sharp rise in shoulder injuries, as other handheld devices like e-readers are also creating similar problems, as is holding a mobile phone between the ear and shoulder when attempting a doit-yourself hands-free style.

Kochhar provided some tips for avoiding injury when using an iPad or other tablet. He recommends that users correct their posture by keeping the screen level with the face, rather than hunching over it, as is usually the case. Ideally this would involve a stand, but if users are holding it up to their face they need to switch arms periodically or risk causing arm injury. Gentle stretching of the neck and shoulders every hour is another good way to ward off injury, as is taking regular breaks, the tried and trusted advice when it comes to working on any form of computer for a long period of time. Finally, Kochhar suggests that users should watch for the early signs of “iPad shoulder,” such as aching over one side of the back of the shoulder blade or pain down the upper arm. Apple might be planning a post-PC future, but properly aligned and positioned desktop PCs probably remain the most suitable devices to avoid strain while doing long-term work.

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Huawei strikes back at Creative with countersuit Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/huawei-strikes-back-at-creativewith-countersuit/15280.html March 21st, 2012

Last month, Creative Technology sued Chinese networking and telecommunications equipment and services company, Huawei, over the failure of the WiMAX broadband project. And Huawei has filed a countersuit against Creative for US $8.23 million over the termination of the project.

It was only about a month ago when Creative has sued Huawei for US$9.4 million (S$11.7 million) for the failure of the WiMAX broadband project, and that the Chinese company was unable to deliver the network performance as stated in the supply contract. In 2010, QMax Communications, a subsidiary of Creative Technology, has contracted Huawei to set up the WiMAX broadband network in Singapore. And now, Huawei has filed a countersuit against the local company for US$8.23 million (S$10.4 million) in unpaid goods and services as well as the 'wrongful' termination of the WiMAX broadband contract.

ASUS launches Eee PC 1025 Flare series, world's fastest netbook with 2 sec resume Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-launches-eee-pc-1025-flareseries-world-s-fastest-netbook-with-2-sec-resume/15278.html March 21st, 2012

Who says netbooks are going to extinction? ASUS has recently announced their new Eee PC 1025 Flare series which claims to be the world's fastest netbook that can resume in just two seconds. 18

March 21st, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

core mobile processors will launch at the same time as the desktop counterparts after all. The three new models from HP are the Pavilion dv4-5000, dv5-7000 and dv7-7000, a 14-inch, 15.6-inch (1366x768 for both models) and a 17.3-inch (1920x1080) model respectively. All three models feature the HM77 chipset and judging by HP's YouTube videos of the three new models we can expect to see SSD caching on at least the dv5 and dv6 models. Currently only the dv5-7000 is available in multiple SKUs, but we'd expect HP to flesh out its line up over time once more CPU options become available.

The ASUS Eee PC 1025 Flare Series netbook sports a new design with several color options, and incorporates 1.8GHz Intel Atom Cedar Trail dual-core processor, which claims to offer four times the graphical performance to previous generations while consuming less power. It also supports up to 2GB of DDR3 memory, up to 500GB hard drive, and comes with Smart Camera with 4x zoom, built-in USB 3.0, DLNA, and Wi-Fi Direct connectivity. The netbook features the proprietary ASUS Super Hybrid Engine II with Instant On technology that offers two-second system resume from sleep mode, and up to 21 days of standby. It also supports Blu-ray 2.0, and full high definition 1080p video playback via HDMI output. With the built-in data security features, it ensures zero data loss, with user data automatically saved to the hard drive when the battery drops below 5%. Available in eleven different colors, including Addict Pink, Mysterious Blue, and Plucky Purple, the ASUS Eee PC 1025 Flare Series netbook is now available in Singapore at S$499. Users will also receive 3GB of cloud storage space on ASUS WebStorage.

HP let slip a three Ivy Bridge notebook models Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hp-let-slip-a-three-ivy-bridgenotebook-models/15279.html March 21st, 2012

Starting with the dv4-5000 you get the Core i7-3610QM which is clocked at 2.3GHz, 4GB of DDR3 1600MHz memory, a 1TB 5,400rpm hard drive, a DVD drive and interestingly a GeForce GT 630M GPU with 2GB of dedicated DDR3 memory suggesting that HP doesn't seem to think that Intel's IGP in Ivy Bridge is good enough for the intended market for its Pavilion series of notebooks. Other features include an Intel 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi card, Bluetooth (HP didn't specify which kind), Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, HDMI, D-sub, a pair of audio jacks, a memory card reader and an HD webcam. The dv4-6000 comes in at 2.17kg and measure 344x234x33.5mm (WxDxH). The dv6-7000 isn't that different, as the base SKU is nearly identical in terms of features to the dv4-5000 with the only difference being that it comes with a third USB 3.0 and a smaller 750GB hard drive. The higher-end SKU gets a 1TB drive and 8GB of RAM, but this appears to be the only difference between the two SKUs. The dv6-7000 weighs in at 2.57kg and measures 378x247x32.5mm (WxDxH). The dv7-7000 differs by having the Core i7-3720QM CPU, but it also comes with 8GB of DDR3 1600MHz memory as standard, as well as having a pair of 1TB 5,400rpm hard drives. It also gets upgraded graphics in the shape of an Nvidia GeForce GT 650M with 2GB of GDDR5 memory. The only other addition we could spot was a Blu-ray writer. The dv7-7000 is of course the largest and heaviest model out of the three at 3.15kg and 416x274x35.2mm (WxDxH).

Samsung GALAXY S III to launch in May? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-to-launch-inmay-/15277.html March 21st, 2012

Despite not being expected to launch until June after Intel pushed back the date for its upcoming Ivy Bridge processors, HP has revealed three new notebook models featuring the new processors. Two of the models feature the same quad core Core i7-3610QM processor with the third sporting a Core i7-3720QM, suggesting that it's possible that the quad core mobile processors will launch at the same time as the desktop counterparts after all. Despite not being expected to launch until June after Intel pushed back the date for its upcoming Ivy Bridge processors, HP has revealed three new notebook models featuring the new processors. Two of the models feature the same quad core Core i7-3610QM processor with the third sporting a Core i7-3720QM, suggesting that it's possible that the quad

The Samsung GALAXY S III is going to be launched soon, and there have been many leaked photos of the Android smartphone online. But the latest one seems to be the real deal, from a Powerpoint slide with the name of PR agency (WeberShandwick) at the bottom.

March 21st, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

used first to the main memory, and then retrieving it from that main memory right away. These two steps alone could waste up to a microsecond per each transfer - and this adds up to quite a bit if you look at thousands of transactions every second. So, in DDIO, at least with Intel I/O adapters and new E5's, the adapter will send the requested data directly into the CPU L3 cache, for the immediate use by the processor, as you can see on this illustration:

The photo of the Samsung GALAXY S III shows an extremely thin bezel around the display with a front button below it. The phone is also very slim and has both front and rear camera; the overall design looks to be an authentic Samsung's style. According to sources, the GALAXY S III is scheduled for launch on 22 May. The home screen shows five touch icons at the bottom of the display, which Interestingly, are currently only available on the GALAXY Note. Unless it means the GALAXY S III has a similar 5-inch display, it will not make sense to incorporate the five touch icons on smaller screens. It seems doubtful that the company have the GALAXY S III join the 5-inch camp to vie with its GALAXY Note. It is still too early to draw conclusions, let's wait and see when the Android smartphone is announced.

Intel's Direct I/O in Xeon E5 - Workstations and servers today, gaming systems tomorrow? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-s-direct-io-in-xeon-e5-workstations-and-servers-today-gaming-systems-tomorrow-/15276.html March 21st, 2012

The new generation dual Socket 2011 Xeon E5 platform has one rarely mentioned, but important, capability - receiving the I/O data from, say, storage or network, directly into the CPU cache, rather than going to and from the main memory. Direct I/O (DDIO) could be used even beyond workstations and servers, though... how about low-latency high end gameplay? DDIO idea was obviously coming from the server world, where thousands of network requests, or data from storage arrays, could be coming in and out of the server every second. In the old days, the on chip caches were limited in capacity, and priority had to be given to the local code and data used by the CPU. However, the new generation high end processors have large caches - 20 MB L3 in the case of Xeon E5 parts - and a lot more could fit in there. So, there could be alternative to the old process of sending the arriving I/O data that needs to be

Compared to it, a similar classic approach would take at least two to three memory trips for each write or read operation, as you can see on the comparison picture above for the other way around, sending data to the I/O controller. Basically, data access ops associated with creating the I/ O packet are satisfied from within the cache, avoiding the cache misses occurence for the software running on the CPU and the related main memory data fetching, which of course consumes time. Then, the I/O controller read request is done from that same cache, without evicting that data and causing possible cache misses if the software re-uses it. Now, all that is great and fine for the servers and workstations, especially low latency dependent apps like high frequency trading and all general Net server usage models. The 10% to 20% latency reduction that can be obtained could also find its use in our home PCs too - how about massive multiplayer gaming scenarios? A combination of reduced network I/O latency, and storage I/ 20

March 21st, 2012

O latency from dedicated PCIe SSD controllers, for instance, could be noticeable in a very intensive online gaming setup.

Published by: VR-Zone

come this spring, while the “Family F1 game” will be released during this holiday season.

The good thing is, DDIO is completely transparent, needing no software enablement as long as compliant I/O adapter ICs are used. Since the Core i7 39xx parts come from the same dies as Xeon E5 series, Intel could enable DDIO on them as well - it'd be a good extra capability to keep their market niche in the face of arriving mainstream quad core Ivy Bridge processors. How about that?

Codemasters and Formula One Extend Partnership, Multiple F1 Titles Coming Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/codemasters-and-formula-oneextend-partnership-multiple-f1-titles-coming/15274.html March 21st, 2012

We have received news that Codemasters has extended the partnership with the Formula One World Championship Ltd., which will result in even larger number of F1 games on multiple platforms. Ever since Codemasters poached the F1 license from underwhelming Sony Computer Entertainment, the company delivered solid entertainment to millions of fans worldwide. To be more precise, F1 2010 and F1 2011 sold in over 5.5 million copies, bringing over 300 million dollars in revenue. This is significantly more than Sony was able to achieve after they paid 200 million dollars to Formula One Management and released a series of mediocre arcade games. Building on that, it comes as of no surprise that Formula One World Championship Limited, a group behind the sport - decided to convert the original two year license into a multiyear agreement which will see the arrival of multiple titles oriented to all audiences. According to Codemasters, we can expect F1 expanding in the following direction: • F1 20xx titles - new simulation games targeting popular consoles and PC • F1 Online - new freemium (free-to-play, pay for premium) management game • Unannounced "family-oriented" F1 title (read: F1 for kids) According to Bernie Ecclestone, the CEO of Formula One Group, "Codemasters has created some of the best and most successful FORMULA ONE games to date. We and the teams work closely with them and look forward to creating more award winning games together in the future." The new F1 2012 title will follow in September, a year after F1 2011 and two years after F1 2010. The F1 Online will

March 23rd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Blizzard planning "multiple expansions" after World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/blizzard-planning-multipleexpansions-after-world-of-warcraft-mists-of-pandaria/15335.html March 23rd, 2012

Blizzard has promised that there will be several more expansions for its popular massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, World of Warcraft, after the release of its upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion. Blizzard has promised that there will be several more expansions for its popular massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, World of Warcraft, after the release of its upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion. Despite moving developer talent away from its flagship title to its secretive Project Titan MMO, Blizzard still has big plans for World of Warcraft in the years to come. Blizzard's COO Paul Sams said that the company is already in the early stages of development of its fifth expansion, the successor to the as yet unreleased Mists of Pandaria. This stage is mostly about developing the ideas and lore that shape the landscape, classes, and other aspects that end up in an expansion, but Blizzard is keen to point out that it is working on new stuff for its aging MMO.

In fact, Blizzard is planning so far ahead that it has also been pitching ideas for its sixth expansion, which will likely be several years away. Sams said he is â&#x20AC;&#x153;pretty geeked upâ&#x20AC;? about the plans he's seen. Blizzard recently admitted that BioWare's MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, was partially to blame for its falling subscriber numbers in World of Warcraft. It is hoping that its panda expansion brings many players back, but teasing about future expansions is likely also intended to keep existing gamers who might be fearful about the future of the title.

First Hackintosh Ivy Bridge system up and running Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-hackintosh-ivy-bridge-systemup-and-running/15336.html March 23rd, 2012

Despite there being over a month until Intel is expected to launch its Ivy Bridge processors, benchmarks are popping up left right and centre on the internet and now the first Hackintosh with an Ivy Bridge CPU has been spotted. The system in question is running a Core i7-3770K CPU at stock clock and is putting in some decent benchmark results. Despite there being over a month until Intel is expected to launch its Ivy Bridge processors, benchmarks are popping up left right and centre on the internet and now the first Hackintosh with an Ivy Bridge CPU has been spotted. The system in question is running a Core i7-3770K CPU at stock clock and is putting in some decent benchmark results. We should start with a word of warning here though for those planning on building their own Hackintosh with an Ivy Bridge CPU, as until Apple releases Ivy Bridge based systems, a patched kernel is needed to get the system to boot. The lack of support from Apple also means that an Ivy Bridge based Hackintosh could be fairly unstable compared to one running on supported hardware.

March 23rd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone March 23rd, 2012

Apple has patented an idea for a universal TV remote that will turn your iPhone into a copy of any existing TV remote, potentially replacing standard remote controls altogether.

As far as the details, well, they come from renowned Hackintosh website tonymacx86 which has had a few exclusives like this in the past. Beyond the Core i7-3770K the system was kitted out with 8GB of DDR3 2400MHz memory and a GeForce GTX 580 graphics cards. As for the rest of the specifications we don't really know what was being used, but with an overall 64-bit Geekbench score of 13453 this system is no slouch.

Apple has patented an idea for a universal TV remote that will turn your iPhone into a copy of any existing TV remote, potentially replacing standard remote controls altogether. The technology works like this: a user takes a photo of their remote using their iPhone and uploads it to the iCloud, where it is analysed. Apple then automatically sends back a virtual copy of the physical remote to the iPhone, which should then work with the TV in question. The universal remote software will also take advantage of iPhone cameras and microphones to determine the current state of a TV, such as if it is on or off, or if the volume needs to be adjusted. This could, however, present some potential privacy issues and may not make it into the final product, if, indeed, it ever gets developed at all.

Apple is expected to launch Ivy Bridge products later this year, although with Intel's delay of the mobile parts, is possible that Apple has delayed its launch schedule as well. We'll just have to wait and see how things play out, but we have no doubt that Apple will launch both desktop and mobile Ivy Bridge based systems within the next few months. Hit the source for more screenshots and benchmark details.

Apple patents universal iPhone TV remote idea Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-patents-universal-iphone-tvremote-idea/15334.html

Google previously developed technology for its Google TV service that allows Android smartphones to be used as remote controls, but Apple's idea extends beyond its own territory by offering to become a skeleton key for the entire TV market. The potential problem with this idea, aside from the fact that it will be a logistical challenge to achieve, is that copying existing remotes might present some legal difficulties for Apple, particularly if some TV manufacturers have patents to back up their remotes. It is believed that this technology will be worked into a new iPhone in the future, rather than being rolled out to existing models.

March 23rd, 2012

Facebook buys IBM patents to protect from lawsuits Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/facebook-buys-ibm-patents-toprotect-from-lawsuits/15333.html March 23rd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Nvidia Kepler GPUs - back to games, away from compute? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-kepler-gpus--back-to-gamesaway-from-compute-/15332.html March 23rd, 2012

Facebook has bought a whopping 750 patents from IBM in efforts to protect itself from patent infringement lawsuits. The patents in question cover areas relating to software and networking, according to a person close to the matter, though how strong the patents are is not yet clear. To understand the scope of this acquisition, Facebook currently has 56 patents and 503 patent applications awaiting approval, significantly less than the portfolio it bought from IBM. This takes it from a very weak position in the patent world to an extremely strong one.

Nvidia's first 'Kepler' generation GPU, the GK104-based GeForce GTX 680, is finally out officially. The benchmarks show high game performance, but is - compared to the old 'Fermi' at least - GPU compute performance pushed aside here? Some months ago, when I chatted in Shenzhen with Simon Moy, the ex-Nvidia man who designed the first GPU vertex shader for them, and brought the GPU compute idea into the reality, we discussed the impacts that replacing the hardwired 3-D acceleration with fully programmable, increasingly CPU-like, graphics processors suited also for compute tasks, would have. One agreed impact was, at the beginning, loss in some 3-D performance metrics tied to the fully hardwired accelerators but gain in the other new routines that may in return help back even with the gaming 3-D experience, such as complex effects and physics. The overall consensus was that, in the long run, it is that extra compute performance that will bring more aggregate benefit than just pure 3-D gaming hardware. And, I guess, that's what to some extent guided Nvidia 'Fermi' GeForce 5xx generation designers few years ago.

Yahoo recently sued Facebook for the alleged infringement of several of its patents relating to privacy, advertising and sharing, core areas of Facebook's business. The acquisition of IBM patents is likely a response to this and similar lawsuits as the social networking giant realises the threat posed by rival firms with a better patent standing. “We expect the number of patent and other intellectual property claims against us to grow,” the company wrote in its initial public offering (IPO) filing in February. “We may introduce new products, including in areas where we currently do not compete, which could increase our exposure to patent and other intellectual property claims.” The financial terms of the transaction are not known, but Facebook is believed to have paid several hundred million dollars for the portfolio.

It seems that, despite the even more fine grained architecture, the new 'Kepler' generation is back to the gaming acceleration focus. Nvidia was under high pressure to deliver the new benchmark winner ever since AMD took the clear GPU lead with the HD7970 as the first 28nm high end graphics processor implementation. The GK100, successor to the GF100 and GF110 in GTX580, was supposed to be the high end Kepler chip to bring the performance lead back to Nvidia on most fronts, but for reasons known really only to Nvidia itself, that chip never materialised. Instead, it was the 'mid-high end' successor to the GF104 found in the GTX560 cards, the GK104 we see now, that had to take the high end battle position. You've surely already seen the endless slides published all over the web today about the brand new gaming features, effects and yes, very decent game benchmark results for the new part. Our Lennard has covered those in detail earlier today, and most sites have shown Nvidia's architecture slides. The change from SM shaders to more fine grained SMX is, obviously, the most noticeable change at the hardware architecture level. However, something else was worth observing - the GPU compute performance of the new part was lacking, in fact it was slower than the GTX580 on about all compute benchmarks. It is kind of understandable, since the GK104 chip in it was to originally replace the GF104 (GTX 460) which also didn't focus on compute, being not the high-end offering at the time. So, the crippled 1/12 double precision FP rate vs single precision is seen as OK, if compared with 3

March 23rd, 2012

the similar ratio on the HD7870, which was (supposed) to be its main competitor. Of course, the other problem is that its single precision FP is also seemingly identical to the HD7870, a mid range US$349 card.

Published by: VR-Zone

GPU in their consumer cards should be let to enjoy it, since it is all already in the hardware, and it will create some extra goodwill as well. Why cripple it?

Beats by Dr. Dre headphones clone selling at US$42 in China Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/beats-by-dr.-dre-headphones-cloneselling-at-us-42-in-china/15331.html March 23rd, 2012

It is quite common to see people wearing the stylish Beats by Dr. Dre headphones on the streets or in the subway these days, as the popular headphones claim superb audio quality for music listening. It seems that in mainland China, which is well-known for producing counterfeits, has create knockoffs of the audio product and selling at just US$42.

However, Nvidia is positioning the GTX680 squarely against the HD7970 now, and that's a big difference - HD7970 has waaay faster single precision FP, and many times faster DP FP, thanks to keeping the DP FP rate at 1/4 of SP FP, basically not crippling it to force users into plonking thousands of bucks for an otherwise similar 'pro' card. Since the GPU compute apps have become increasingly popular - look at even Adobe and other big names - curtailing the FP performance just to push overpriced pro parts would constitute ripping off the customers. What if, for instance, Intel (or AMD) crippled the FP performance on their consumer Core i7 processors just to ensure that whoever needs more math capabilities MUST buy the otherwise identical, but more expensive, Xeons? Everyone would cry foul, wouldn't they? So, while blocking the extra FP in a US$ 200+ card may be acceptable, a US$ 400 or higher top-end 'cream of the crop' should not have such crippling 'features'. One may say 'who cares, this card is only for gamers', but the point is thanks a lot to Nvidia and its GPU (CUDA) compute promo efforts too- many PC apps these days do benefit from this acceleration, and an increasing number of them used double precision FP for the sake of, ehm, extra precision. I am quite sure that the planned GK110 part, which now should be the true follow-on to the GF110 from the GTX580 card, should have better GPU compute performance when it comes out. The point is, don't cripple the FP - the users who really want Quadros and Teslas will buy them for the sake of their larger memory, expert support and validation anyway, but those of the users who want to have the FP benefits of

Beats Electronics, LLC was founded by hip-hop/rap artist Dr. Dre and Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records chairman Jimmy Iovine, which produces products under the brand, Beats by Dr. Dre. Monster was given exclusive rights under a five-year contract to produce and develop Beats-branded headphones. Last year, HTC acquired 51% majority of the stake of the company, and Monster have also decided not to renew their contract. There have been a wide range of Beats by Dr. Dre products on the market - Beats by Dr. Dre Studio High-Definition Headphones, Beats Solo HD, Beats Tour with ControlTalk and even Beats by Dr. Dre 'HeartBeats Lady Gaga' In-Ear. And in China, they can cost from 1000 yuan (US$159) and up; quite close to the standard retail price everywhere. Alas, factories in mainland China have produced their own imitations of the headphones. For those who aren't aware could purchase the Beats by Dr. Dre clone headphones 4

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with carrying case and in authentic looking box, all for just 270 yuan (US$42). No clue whether the audio performance would be similar or better than the original though.

Published by: VR-Zone March 23rd, 2012

Some not too blurry pictures of what appears to be an upcoming Android 4.0 handset from Samsung has made an appearance online and one of the pictures gives us the model name, GT-i9300. This may or may not be the much anticipated Galaxy S III, but at this point in time it's anyone's guess. Some not too blurry pictures of what appears to be an upcoming Android 4.0 handset from Samsung has made an appearance online and one of the pictures gives us the model name, GT-i9300. This may or may not be the much anticipated Galaxy S III, but at this point in time it's anyone's guess.

Panasonic Eluga waterproof smartphone to retail in Japan on 29 March Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/panasonic-eluga-waterproofsmartphone-to-retail-in-japan-on-29-march/15330.html March 23rd, 2012

What's certain is the fact that the GT-i9300 was designed for Android 4.0, as it uses the new on-screen soft menus, rather than capacitive or hardware buttons below the display. Samsung has instead moved its logo to a position below the display, which is quite unusual for a Samsung device.

Besides faster processor, bigger screens and slim, stylish body, many phone makers are focusing on the durability of the device - how resistant it can go against water, dust, shock etc. The new Panasonic Eluga, which claims to be waterproof, is going to be launched in Japan next week, on 29 march. At last month's Mobile World Congress, Panasonic unveiled their new 4.3-inch Eluga, which claims to be waterproof. The smartphone is scheduled to launch in Japan on 29 March by NTT DoCoMo, though pricing details have yet to be revealed. However, the Panasonic Eluga started selling in UK last week, at ÂŁ399 (US$630), which is quite expensive. The Panasonic Eluga measures 7.8mm thin and weighs 103g. It sports a 4.3-inch OLED touchscreen (960x540) and claims to be resistant to water and dust. Internally, it is powered by a 1GHz TI OMAP processor with 16GB memory and features Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, 8-megapixel camera (without flash) and runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. According to the company, Android 4.0 ICS upgrade will come in Q2 2012. The phone will also be launched in other European countries in April.

Pictures of Samsung's GTi9300 leak, could be the Galaxy S III Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/pictures-of-samsung-s-gt-i9300leak-could-be-the-galaxy-s-iii/15329.html

According to Phone Arena where the pictures appeared, the GT-i9300 is likely to feature a 4.7-inch display or close to that size at least. A few of the pre-installed apps, such as S Planner and S Memo suggest that it should at least be a Galaxy S series device, as these apps can also be found on the Galaxy Note. Even so, the GT-i9300 doesn't look anything like the earlier pictures that leaked of what was said to be the 5

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Galaxy S III, so it's entirely possible that this is a different device.

Windows 8 screen resolution recommendations suggest 2560x1440 tablets Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/windows-8-screen-resolutionrecommendations-suggest-2560x1440-tablets/15328.html March 23rd, 2012

Microsoft has apparently decided that Apple's retina display on the new iPad just doesn't cut it, as the company has released details covering common screen sizes for Windows 8 which points towards tablets – or slates as per the diagram – with resolutions of up to 2560x1440 pixels which equates to 291 DPI on a 10.1-inch device. Microsoft has apparently decided that Apple's retina display on the new iPad just doesn't cut it, as the company has released details covering common screen sizes for Windows 8 which points towards tablets – or slates as per the diagram – with resolutions of up to 2560x1440 pixels which equates to 291 DPI on a 10.1-inch device. Apple's 9.7-inch iPad manages 264 DPI, or slightly higher pixel density than 11.6-inch Windows 8 tablets which will offer a pixel density of 253 DPI with a 2560x1440 display. These appear to be for high-end devices only, so don't expect this to be the standard for Windows 8 tablets when they arrive, as Microsoft is also listing 1920x1080 and 1366x768 as supported screen resolutions.

Published by: VR-Zone

apparently ideal on an 11.6-inch display at either 1366x768, 1920x1080 or 2560x1440 resolution. Another interesting aspect of Microsoft's blog post on the subject of displays and resolution for Windows 8 is that the company is asking developers to build apps suitable for higher resolutions and as such wants developers to use scalable vector graphics rather than traditional bitmaps. This is due to the fact that scalable vector graphics will look good at any resolution, whereas bitmaps generally look terrible at non-native resolution. This wasn't done as a direct response to the new iPad, as Microsoft is offering tools to developers that allow them to preview what their Metro apps will look like at various screen sizes and resolutions, something that should hopefully improve the look of Metro apps when Windows 8 launches later this year.

Nvidia reveals GeForce 600M line-up alongside the GTX 680 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-reveals-geforce-600m-lineup-alongside-the-gtx-680/15327.html March 23rd, 2012

There's no doubt that Nvidia's GeForce GTX 680 has proven itself to be a serious performance contender and although we don't know what Nvidia is planning below the GTX 680, the company did also announce its range of mobile GPU's alongside it. The GeForce 600M series will at least initially consist of 10 new GPU's, of which three are high-end GTX models. There's no doubt that Nvidia's GeForce GTX 680 has proven itself to be a serious performance contender and although we don't know what Nvidia is planning below the GTX 680, the company did also announce its range of mobile GPU's alongside it. The GeForce 600M series will at least initially consist of 10 new GPU's, of which three are high-end GTX models.

More importantly though, if you have a device with a resolution of 1024x600 or 1280x720, which in the first case is just about every single netbook – apart from the slightly worse 1024x576 resolution – you won't be able to run the Metro UI. We can't think of a single notebook or screen with 1280x720 resolution though, albeit there were a few TV's with this resolution in the early days of LCD TVs. That said, Windows 8 will support any display with a height of at least 768 pixels, so even old 1024x768 displays will work with the Metro UI.

The "standard" models can be seen in the table below and ranges from the very basic GeForce 610M to the GT 650M. There are some oddities here though and they're not that easy to spot given the model names. The GeForce 610M, GT 620M, GT 630M and GT 635M are in fact not based on the Kepler architecture, but rather the older Fermi architecture. However, Nvidia is said to be making these new mobile chips using TSMC's 28nm manufacturing process, to the actual GPU's should be smaller and cooler running that the mobile GeForce 500-series of GPU's.

Microsoft has also worked out what it thinks is the ideal sweet spots for pixel density on various resolution displays, as well as the ideal touch target size, i.e. how big the object you're touching will be on the screen at any given pixel density. As such, a touch target size of around 9mm is 6

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As for the new Kepler based GPU's, all three GT models have 384 shaders/CUDA cores and a 128-bit memory interface. First up we have the GT640M LE which is a slower clocked GT 640M which for some reason features much lower memory bandwidth than the GT 640M, despite that the GT 640M LE has an equally wide 128-bit memory bus. Rumour has it that at least some GT 640M LE cards will be rebranded Fermi based GPU's, but we're uncertain if this is actually the case or not and it's not something we've heard anything about. Besides clocks speeds and memory bandwidth the GT 640M LE and the GT 640M appears to be identical and there's little else to see here. The faster GT 650M is again another very similar part, although in this case Nvidia has provided specific clock speeds for the GPU depending on the memory type it's paired up with. When DDR3 is being used with the GT 650M it will be clocked at 850MHz, but if GDDR5 is being used, then the GPU will be clocked at 735MHz. The other GPU's only feature an "up to" GPU clock speed, so it's pretty clear from this that Nvidia doesn't want the GT 650M to compete with its higher-end parts. The high-end parts start with the GeForce GTX 660M and this is the first part that only supports GDDR5 memory. On a hardware level it appears to be identical to the GT 650M with 384 shaders and a 128-bit memory interface. However, the GPU is clocked higher at 835MHz and it's likely that it'll be paired with faster memory in most scenarios, although it has the same theoretical peak memory bandwidth as the GT 650M. On feature that comes into play here though is SLI support, as only the GTX models support SLI, albeit we're not sure how many notebook makers would opt to offer a machine with a pair of upper mid-range cards in SLI.

This brings us to the GTX 670M and GTX 675M which are simply re-branded Fermi chips that used to be known as the GTX 570M and GTX 580M. The GTX 670M features slightly higher clock speeds than the GTX 570M, but this isn't likely to have a huge impact on game performance. The GTX 675M is identical to the GTX 580M, despite Nvidia's attempt at confusion on its own website by listing the shader clock for the older GPU's and the core clock for the rebranded models. Nvidia has of course provided scores of benchmarks and other figures to back up its new and re-branded GPUs and if you hit the source link you'll find all of those. The only problem is that most of them aren't comparable in any sensible way. What we don't doubt is Nvidia's claim that its new GeForce GT 640M is twice as efficient as a GTX 285M from 2010, yet fitting in much slimmer notebooks. In fact, the example Nvidia is giving shows the GT 640M in an Acer Timeline Ultra M3 Ultrabook and we also know that Gigabyte is planning on using the same GPU in its upcoming Ultrabooks.

Published by: VR-Zone

Game sales surpass video sales in UK for first time Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/game-sales-surpass-video-sales-inuk-for-first-time/15326.html March 23rd, 2012

Computer game sales have surpassed sales of videos for the first time in the UK in 2011, according to a report by the Entertainment Retailers Association. Computer game sales have surpassed sales of videos for the first time in the UK in 2011, according to a report by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). The videogame industry is now the biggest entertainment category in the UK, with £1.926 billion earned in 2011 alone, over £100 million more than the £1.802 billion made in the video sector and nearly double the £1.066 billion made on music. In terms of percentages, the games market in the UK ruled 40.2 percent in 2011, with video closely following at 37.6 percent and music trailing behind at 22.2 percent. This is good news for the games industry, which is also set to get tax cuts from the UK government this year.

Falling sales in brick-and-mortar stores have not affected the overall growth of the games market, as more people are moving to digital downloads, as well as apps on smartphones and tablet computers, which makes access much more direct and cuts down on packaging and storage costs. Digital delivery of game content now accounts for 26 percent of the games market in the UK, so there's still plenty of room for growth before games stores die out completely. However, we are already seeing the doom of local stores after GAME recently announced that it would be closing its hundreds of stores across the UK.

March 23rd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

"This is a dramatic time for the entertainment market,” said Kim Bayley, director general of the ERA. “It is an historic development for the games sector to have overtaken video last year. Video has long been the biggest entertainment sector. Sales so far this year, however, suggest video is not going down without a fight." Sales for the first 11 weeks of 2012 show that video is selling twice as much as games, but that will likely change as the year goes on and big games release. The Wii U's launch and big budget game releases around Christmas will likely make up a huge portion of the game market in the UK for 2012. Image Credit: Getty Images

Apple's new iPhone to launch in Q2 with bigger display Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-s-new-iphone-to-launch-inq2-with-bigger-display/15325.html March 23rd, 2012

Apple's next iPhone is expected to release in the second quarter of this year, with a bigger and better “retina” display. Apple's next iPhone is expected to release in the second quarter of this year, with a bigger and better “retina” display. South Korean media, the Maeil Business Newspaper, cited anonymous industry sources for its claims that Apple's impending sixth-generation iPhone will feature a 4.6-inch display, significantly larger than the 3.5-inch display on all previous models. This would put the new model in direct competition with Samsung's Galaxy S II, which has a 4.5-inch display on the Rogers model, and could lead to claims that it is “slavishly copying” Samsung's designs, an accusation that Apple previously levelled at the company. The display is also expected to feature a higher resolution capable of full high-definition, improving on the existing “retina” display of the iPhone 4S and echoing a similar move made with the latest iPad, which was released at the end of last week.

No other details are known about the device, which will likely follow suit with the new iPad by being called “the new iPhone,” but we can probably expect a faster processor and a bigger battery to cope with the increased power demands, providing it does not lead to the same overheating problems that are plaguing the new iPad. A release date in the second quarter of the year will mean that the iPhone 4S, which released in October 2011, won't have even been out a full year, which might upset fans who parted with hard-earned cash for a very limited upgrade of features. An artist's impression from Ciccarese Design shows a different "teardrop" shape for the device, but it is not yet clear if this will be employed for the finished product. Image Credit: Ciccarese Design

BioWare outlines new Mass Effect 3 ending plans Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/bioware-outlines-new-mass-effect-3ending-plans/15324.html March 23rd, 2012

Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of game studio BioWare, has reassured fans of its popular Mass Effect series that the company is listening and that changes to the controversial ending of the third game in the series are on the way. Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of game studio BioWare, has reassured fans of its popular Mass Effect series that the company is listening and that changes to the controversial ending of the third game in the series are on the way. Muzyka said that he believes that Mass Effect 3 is the best game BioWare has developed and that it was incredibly painful to receive negative feedback about it. He said the studio's first instinct was to defend the work, pointing out

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high review ratings, but that it ultimately had to respect its fans and accept the criticism. The outcome is that Casey Hudson, executive producer for Mass Effect 3, is getting the team back together to work on â&#x20AC;&#x153;a number of game content initiativesâ&#x20AC;? which Muzyka said will help answer questions, provide more clarity, and aid with closure for those who have enjoyed the trilogy's storyline so far.

Muzyka was careful to highlight that the company needs to strike a balance between addressing fan feedback and keeping the artistic integrity of the original story, which means that the resulting changes may not please everyone. He also said that some of the feedback BioWare has received was destructive rather than constructive and that it won't support or respond to this type of comment, which he likened to attacks on individual members of the team.

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(ED: Due to the limited amount of time and deliberate obstruction by hostile parties who will remain anonymous, we will review the card as is first and publish a technical piece on the new Nvidia Kepler architecture later today or tomorrow.) Here we have the ASUS GTX 680 2GB, based off NVIDIA's reference design. We won't be too surprised to see custom Direct CU variants later.

Card measures 10 inches long (shorter than HD 7970 @ 11.5 inches) and takes up 2 slots.

BioWare also plans to release additional Mass Effect content and games, though it did not specify what these updates might be. More details on the story ending update will be released in April.

ASUS GTX 680 2GB Overclocking Review: Win Some Lose Some Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-gtx-680-2gb-overclockingreview-win-some-lose-some/15322.html March 23rd, 2012

NVIDIA deployed a 6+6 pin PCIe connector (theoretically means up to 75+75+75W of power draw) on this board with a new stacked layout. If we look closely on the PCB we can see unused solder points for another 6 pins, implying that there could be other SKUs with higher power requirements.

After a long and turbulent few months filled with much speculation and deliberate misinformation, we finally have NVIDIA's belated response to the the 28nm AMD Southern Islands GPUs - the Geforce GTX 680 (current name, among former identities). In the first of many Keplers that we will be evaluating, we take a look at ASUS's reference offering and see if its indeed a worthy contender (or pretender) to the reigning king of the hill Radeon HD 7970. Overclocked benchmarks also included! Introduction and Specifications

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I/O Panel - We get a full sized DP, HDMI connectors (why not their mini/micro variants?) as well as single-link and dual-link DVI outputs. We are not a fan (get the pun?) of half height exhaust holes as it creates unnecessary turbulance and kills the possibility of single slot water cooling

Published by: VR-Zone

not accounting for fancy GPU Boost throttling) and a commendable 1.5GHz GDDR5 (6GHz) on the memory. With only 2GB of framebuffer and a 256 bit memory bus (as opposed to 3GB and 384 bit on the cards they are competing with), this disparity will come into play in bandwidth starved scenarios like high (ahem multi-monitor) resolutions and scenes with complex textures. Like all the other cards this year, the GTX 680 comes with PCIe 3.0 support which is currently only (unofficially) supported by Intel's enthusiast Sandy Bridge-E and the upcoming Ivy Bridge mainstream chips.

Back of card - would really prefer a backplate here to prevent short circuits, considering that a lot of vital soldering points are exposed.

EVGA GeForce GTX 680 hits 1842 MHz under LN2 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/evga-geforce-gtx-680-hits-1842mhz-under-ln2/15323.html March 23rd, 2012

This card has got one of the most spartan bundles ever - only a double Molex to 6-pin PCIe convertor and the mandatory manual/driver CD.

A day before GTX 680's official release, famed overclocker kIngpIn managed to hit a blistering 1842 MHz on the GTX 680 at EVGA's Taiwan R&D Center. A day before GTX 680's official release, famed overlcocker kIngpIn managed to hit a blistering 1842 MHz on the GTX 680 at EVGA's Taiwan R&D Center.

By default, the reference cards are clocked just over 1GHz on the core (which is the trend for new cards now, 10

March 23rd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

The overclock was achieved using a modified PWM section done by TiN and under LN2 (yeah the default PWN will not be able to hold so stay tuned for their FTW and Classified versions), with the core hitting -150C. The system used was a Core i7 3930K, overclocked to 5.5 GHz with memory running at 2400 MHz and using the latest Precision X overclocking utility. The system was benchmaked using 3DMark 11, scoring a remarkable 14912 in Performance preset.

Though remarkable, kIngpIn's 3D Mark 11 score was narrowly beaten by Elmor's HD 7970 @ 1800 MHz, scoring P15035. Of course, this is done with full tesallation turned on, if not, it will be nearly 1K higher.

The Google Street View and Google Earth team have gone all the way to the Amazon Basin to collect ground-level images of the rivers, forests and communities in the Rio Negro Reserve. On World Forest Day, the search engine giant have made these images available via Google Street View feature. According to Google, more than 50,000 still photos were stitched together to create the 360-degree panoramic views. Well, you can now take a virtual boat ride, stroll along paths, take a forest trail hike, or visit other communities, all on your PC. Check out the Amazon Forest, Rio Negro, and the Street View gallery.

Here's a short note from kIngpIn on his forums: Setup is capable of 16k single card regardless when pushed all the way and today we got 1900 stable, we think 2ghz is possible with more tuning. Just need more time. Tried 2 cards on Ln2 to obtain this result so far...its all modding that makes this frequency possible More at VR-Zone Chinese.

You can now go Google Street View on the Amazon Basin Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/you-can-now-go-google-street-viewon-the-amazon-basin/15321.html March 23rd, 2012

Ivy Bridge can hit memory speeds of over 3GHz on four DIMMs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ivy-bridge-can-hit-memory-speedsof-over-3ghz-on-four-dimms/15320.html March 23rd, 2012

Not everyone are unable to travel long hours to South America and have the opportunity to experience the beauty of the Amazon forest and river. Well, what if you can view it at the comfort of your home and workplace? In conjunection with World Forest Day, Google has provided the Street View of the Amazon Basin.

If you're into overclocking, then the news that Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge processors can reach memory speeds of over 3GHz is going to be exciting news in itself, but the fact that it can be done on four DIMMs is just insane. Intel has obviously done some serious improvements to the memory controller in Ivy Bridge compared to Sandy Bridge, but we're most likely going to have to wait to the launch to find out exactly what Intel has done. If you're into overclocking, then the news that Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge processors can reach memory speeds 11

March 23rd, 2012

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of over 3GHz is going to be exciting news in itself, but the fact that it can be done on four DIMMs is just insane. Intel has obviously done some serious improvements to the memory controller in Ivy Bridge compared to Sandy Bridge, but we're most likely going to have to wait to the launch to find out exactly what Intel has done. Overclocker Sin0822 has posted screenshots of a Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H motherboard which has been paired up with an Intel Core i7-3770K running on a base clock of 102.37MHz. The memory is overclocked to an insane 3,276MHz using four unspecified G.Skill modules rated at 2,666MHz with a latency of 11-13-13-36 and a 2T command rate which isn't terrible latencies considering the high speed the modules are operating at.

The Nikon D800 features a 36.3-megapixels FX-format CMOS sensor and new EXPEED 3 image processing engine that offers fast image processing and card recording, as well as image playback and transfer. It also offers 51-point AutoFocus system, 100% video finder coverage, high ISO range of 100 to 6400 which can be expanded to 50-to-25600, supports full HD video recording in FX or DX format, and dual card slots for a CF card and SD memory card. The Nikon D800 is retailing at S$4,488 (body only) in stores now. Nikon D4

Apparently the UEFI has a 29.33 divider for the memory, something you can't get with Sandy Bridge and this is part of the reason for the high memory overclock. Sin0822 also claims that higher speeds are possible using fewer DIMMs, so in other words, we can expect even higher memory overclocks in the future from the Ivy Bridge platform. It'll be interesting to see how high memory overclocks the Ivy Bridge platform will bring and we doubt we'll have to wait long for more record breaking memory overclocks. Hit the source links for more details and screenshots.

Nikon Singapore unveils pricing for D800 and D4 digital SLR cameras Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nikon-singapore-unveils-pricing-ford800-and-d4-digital-slr-cameras/15319.html March 23rd, 2012

Eager to get the Nikon D800 and D4? Well, Nikon Singapore has just announced that the D800 and D4 digital SLR cameras will be selling from today, 22 March, at selected Nikon authorised dealers. Nikon D800

The Nikon D4 is the next-generation flagship digital SLR camera to incorporate the new FX-format 16.2-megapixel CMOS image sensor with EXPEED 3 processing engine. It also features a wide range of ISO sensitivities, from ISO 50 to ISO 204800, Multi-area Mode full HD movie recording with three image area options, and faster and more accurate AF with 51 focus points. The Nikon D4 is selling at S$9,799 (body only) in stores now.

Zynga acquires OMGPOP, developer of Draw Something, for US$200 million Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/zynga-acquires-omgpop-developerof-draw-something-for-us-200-million/15315.html

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Are you playing Draw Something on your mobile device? Well, for those who do not know, or have yet to be asked by their friends if they are playing, Draw Something is a social drawing and guessing game application which is growing in popularity. Developed by OMGPOP, the app has been downloaded more than 35 million times, and it is no wonder social network game development company, Zynga, has plans to acquire the company.

Published by: VR-Zone March 23rd, 2012

More details are out on a new low cost 7-inch tablet from Toshiba which had some of its pre-release photos leaked out at the beginning of January. We now know the official model name for this tablet, LT170 and its final appearance looks much like the one seen back in January with a black and blue color scheme. More details are out on a new low cost 7-inch tablet from Toshiba which had some of its pre-release photos leaked out at the beginning of January. We now know the official model name for this tablet, LT170 and its final appearance looks much like the one seen back in January with a black and blue color scheme. Thanks to details leaked via Notebook Italia we now have a bunch of specs to share about the LT170. First and foremost, it happens to be powered by a 1GHz Freescale i.MX53 SoC (System-on-Chip) which comprises a single Cortex A8 core and is paired with 512MB of DDR3 memory.

According to online reports, Zynga has acquired OMGPOP, and while the exact price has not been revealed, it was said to be at around US$200 million. OMGPOP is a New Yorkbased game company that has developed many free online multiplayer games such as 9Ball Pool, Balloono Classic, Hamster Battle, and Tracism. But it was only six weeks ago, that Draw Something was launched which catapulted its fame on the world wide web.

Storage comes in the form of 8GB flash memory as standard which can be expanded upon thanks to the inclusion of a microSD slot as well as the ability to connect other external storage devices via the micro-USB port. Other features include a front mounted 0.3MP webcam and rear facing 2MP camera, an accelerometer and ambient light sensors. This little 7-inch (1024 x 600) Android-running tablet weighs in at just 362g and is 11.5mm thick. It's powered by a Li-ion battery which Toshiba says will provide up to seven hours of use in video playback mode.

Draw Something is an Apple iOS and Android game whereby a player choose a word from three difficulties - easy, medium and hard - and draws it out. Another player, either random or friends of the player, will have to guess the word using the twelve given alphabets that are given. Note that the word can be three letter or more, and some of the available alphabets are meant to throw you off. Guessing the word correctly will earn both players coins, the game currency which can be used to purchase more colors or bombs that will remove the unwanted excess alphabets during your guess. Zynga has been known for developing similar copycat-like products and the company can produce a game similar to Draw Something and make it bigger and better. Some analysts believed that OMGPOP could worth as much as US$1 billion. Sounds similar to the story of Roy Raymond, founder of "Victoria's Secrets" in the late 70's and later sold for US$4 million; Victoria's Secrets is worth over US$5 billion as of FY 2009. But hey, technology companies could be different, and US$200 million is a large sum of money anyway.

Toshiba outs the LT170 7inch Freescale SoC powered Android tablet Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/toshiba-outs-the-lt170-7-inchfreescale-soc-powered-android-tablet/15318.html

March 23rd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

The video editor addresses these symptoms hereon in the simplest way possible. If a video is uploaded YouTube can sense if it could do with some adjustments and will alert the user via a notification bar on the upload page offering to fix it up - upon doing so an updated version will be placed alongside the original allowing you to compare the differences and decide which you'd like to go online. The animated video demonstration below animates the above information, while the new features are now available to try out for yourself in the YouTube video editor. Unprintable Content (Video, Flash, etc.)

MSI GEFORCE GTX 680 now listed in Europe for 492 Euro Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-geforce-gtx-680-now-listed-ineurope-for-492-euro/15316.html March 23rd, 2012

A little more substance has been provided to support the rumour of a $499 (ex. taxes) price tag on NVIDIA's GEFORCE GTX 680 thanks to an early listing on an MSI model by European retailer PC Components. As for pricing, apparently it will strike at 299 EUR (just under US $400) and can already be found for pre-order at select online retailers.

YouTube adds darkness and shakiness fixes via its video editing tool

A little more substance has been provided to support the rumour of a $499 (ex. taxes) price tag on NVIDIA's GEFORCE GTX 680 thanks to an early listing on an MSI model by European retailer PC Components. This MSI branded GTX 680 with a respective model name of N680GTX-PM2D2GD5 has an associated price of 492â&#x201A;Ź (incl. VAT) and 416.95â&#x201A;Ź (excl. VAT) which lines up pretty closely with the US $499 price point we've heard whispers of previously.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/youtube-adds-darkness-andshakiness-fixes-via-its-video-editing-tool/15317.html March 23rd, 2012

YouTube's built-in video editor has just been updated with a couple new features that many uploaders can benefit from in submitting a better presented video. A common issue can be seen with YouTube videos uploaded daily where the camera wasn't held still enough to do away with the general shakiness (unless they've gone to the extent of using a tripod), while another common symptom can be related to augmented darkness levels. YouTube's built-in video editor has just been updated with a couple new features that many uploaders can benefit from in submitting a better presented video. A common issue can be seen with YouTube videos uploaded daily where the camera wasn't held still enough to do away with the general shakiness (unless they've gone to the extent of using a tripod), while another common symptom can be related to augmented darkness levels.

The listing on PC Components also includes an image of MSI's box art for its new GTX 680 card which confirms a number of features including NVIDIA GPU Boost Technology, 3D Vision Surround (supporting up to three displays from the single card), 2GB memory running at 1502MHz (6GHz effective), a core clock of 1006MHz (1056MHz with boost) and a 195W TDP.

March 23rd, 2012

Samsung Premium Suite software upgrade available to GALAXY Note Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-premium-suite-softwareupgrade-available-to-galaxy-note/15314.html March 23rd, 2012

Samsung has announced Premium Suite software upgrade for the GALAXY Note, which will offer additional features including new S Pen applications that are optimized for use with the device, as well as the new Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS.

Samsung Korea has announced the Premium Suite software for GALAXY Note users worldwide from Q2 2012. The software will include additional multimedia features, new S Pen optimized applications, as well as upgrade to Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. The Premium Suite will include My Story, an S Pen optimized application that lets users create personalized digital cards for friends or family using any type of content including notes, video content, photos, text or voice.

Published by: VR-Zone March 23rd, 2012

CeBIT might be past us for this time, but we still have a few titbits left from the show that we want to share. First up is ECS' H61H2-TI mini-ITX motherboard which might not sound all that exciting at first, until you realise that it has a unique feature in the shape of HDMI input. CeBIT might be past us for this time, but we still have a few titbits left from the show that we want to share. First up is ECS' H61H2-TI mini-ITX motherboard which might not sound all that exciting at first, until you realise that it has a unique feature in the shape of HDMI input.

In all fairness, the HDMI input is more like a pass-through as this slim-line board will most likely be connected to a display via a LVDS or eDP interface and as such the HDMI input will allow you to connect another device such as a notebook or a games console to that display and use it like any other display. This is a feature that Apple offers via a DisplayPort input on its 27-inch iMac, but this is the first time we've seen this done on a motherboard for an All-in-One PC and via HDMI.

To celebrate the Premium Suite upgrade announcement, the company is providing special offers to all GALAXY users as an official launch partner of Angry Birds Space, the new blockbuster mobile game. A special package of 30 challenging levels – ‘Danger Zone’ – will be available for free if unpacked within the three-month period. And there is also an exclusive GALAXY Note level for all Samsung GALAXY users. For more information, visit http:// samsung.angrybirds.com/galaxynote

ECS has unique mini-ITX board for AIO designs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ecs-has-unique-mini-itx-board-foraio-designs/15313.html

The other features of the motherboard is far less exciting, although it's by no means a bad board, as it offers a pair of mini PCI Express slots, one full-size (which can be used as an mSATA slot) and one half-size, two SATA connectors, a pair of SO-DIMM slots, HDMI output, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and a pair of audio connectors. Keep in mind that this is a low-profile or thin 15

March 23rd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

mini-ITX motherboard and that's a pretty decent feature set. At least there's some innovation of offer here from ECS and it's really quite strange that no other manufacturer of AIO systems have done this before.

In what appears to be the real deal, an Nvidia marketing video has leaked just ahead of the GeForce GTX680 launch. The video details some of the new features we can expect to see, as well as it confirms the earlier leaks of what was said to be GTX680 cards.

Broadcom launches new GPS chip, does indoor navigation

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/broadcom-launches-new-gps-chipdoes-indoor-navigation/15312.html March 23rd, 2012

When it comes to GPS chips, Broadcom isn't the first company we think of, but its latest addition to its growing family of GPS chips – or GNSS receivers as they are starting to become known as with additional navigation systems launching – offers indoor navigation with the help of "other wireless technologies". When it comes to GPS chips, Broadcom isn't the first company we think of, but its latest addition to its growing family of GPS chips – or GNSS receivers as they are starting to become known as with additional navigation systems launching – offers indoor navigation with the help of "other wireless technologies".

Nvidia is making some bold claims about the GTX680 in the video and although the card in question might very well feature the fastest GPU out there when it launches, but we're really curious about the power consumption and noise level and here Nvidia claims that we're looking at a really power efficient chip that shouldn't be as noisy as previous generations. First up of the new features is GPU boost, something similar to Intel's Turbo mode, but it appears to be far more limited. If you look at the screenshot below from the video, it's adjusting the clock speeds on the fly, but he gains are at least according to that particular scenario in the 10's of MHz rather than the 100's. GPU boost only works in games that aren't very “power hungry” in terms of actual electricity which means that the GPU heats up less and as such the additional thermal envelope allows for small overclocks.

Some of these other wireless technologies are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 low-energy beacons (where available), sensors and NFC technology to help with indoor navigation in say a shopping centre for example. The BCM4725 as the new chip is known as also incorporates support for satellite-based augmentation system or SBAS which allows for ground stations to further enhance the navigation abilities of the device containing the new Broadcom controller. Also integrated in the BCM4725 is support for the GPS and GLONASS satellite navigation systems as well as support for QZSS or Quasi-Zenith Satellite Systems which for example Japan will be using to further improve navigation accuracy. Broadcom claims that the BCM4725 is 50 percent more power efficient than its previous generations of GPS chips and that it thanks to the 40nm manufacturing process it will also take up 44 percent less PCB space inside devices. Broadcom has also integrated more features, such as a low noise amplifier to reduce the BOM cost for the device makers. The BCM4725 is available as of right now and Broadcom is currently shipping it to its partners, although it'll likely be quite a while before the first devices start to appear with the new chip.

GeForce GTX680 marketing video leaks Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/geforce-gtx680-marketing-videoleaks/15311.html March 23rd, 2012

Next up we have FXAA which is a new type of antialiasing which Nvidia claims doesn't take a “performance hit” like traditional anti-aliasing technologies. This will be interesting to see in action, especially if it's as good as Nvidia claims. For PhysX Nvidia has added some new features such as dynamic fracturing of objects which means that an object will break differently every time it breaks, unlike in the past when an object had limited ways into which it could break. Nvidia has also managed to improve hair effects, although we'll have to wait and see if this will actually end up in a game in the future, as otherwise it's mostly a pointless addition. Finally Nvidia is making a big deal out of 3D Vision Surround with up to three displays, but considering the additional cost of displays and active shutter glasses we have a feeling this isn't going to be a major selling point as far as most consumers are concerned. The GTX680 can also handle four displays simultaneously, although Nvidia still has at least one more to go before they catch up with AMD when it comes to multi display support.

March 23rd, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Commodore USA brings back the Amiga, of sorts Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/commodore-usa-brings-back-theamiga-of-sorts/15310.html March 23rd, 2012

It appears as if Commodore USA is milking its brand names for as much as it can and the company has now launched its first Amiga branded product, the Amiga mini. It's a pretty decent looking mini-ITX system in what appears to be a custom made aluminium chassis, but we'd say that the company is pinning its nostalgic buyers hope a little bit too high. It appears as if Commodore USA is milking its brand names for as much as it can and the company has now launched its first Amiga branded product, the Amiga mini. It's a pretty decent looking mini-ITX system in what appears to be a custom made aluminium chassis, but we'd say that the company is pinning its nostalgic buyers hope a little bit too high.

The Amiga mini is a breath taking US$2,495 (S$3,155) making it an insane purchase considering you put together something similar for far less money. Oh and Commodore USA is also offering SSD upgrades for both models at US $495 for 300Gb [sic] and US$995 for 600Gb [sic]. We're fairly certain that Commodore USA won't be seeing too many orders for either system, but maybe there are a few nostalgic people out there willing to pay the price.

The Amiga mini chassis has an engraved Amiga logo on the front with a Commodore logo on the top, as well as a Commodore logo on the front and that's about as much Amiga that there is to be had. In fact, the company has done very little with the system as it sports a Zotac Z68-ITX WiFi Supreme motherboard with an on board GeForce GT 430 GPU which is paired up with 1GB of DDR3 memory. To the board, Commodore USA has added a Core i7-2700K CPU, 16GB of DDR3 1333MHz memory, a 1TB 2.5-inch hard drive and a Blu-ray drive.

Commodore USA has also launched the VIC mini which has an identical chassis minus the Amiga logo. Internally we're looking at the Zotac D2700-ITX WiFi Supreme motherboard that features an Atom D2700 processors paired with a GeForce GT 520 with 512MB of DDR3 memory. In this case you only get 4GB of DDR3 1066MHz memory due to limitations of the CPU, but the two systems are otherwise the same beyond the motherboard specific features. Both models are available in silver or black and you can buy either as a barebone, although in this case we're talking about a chassis and the Blu-ray drive for a fairly steep US $345 (S$435). If you thought that was bad, then wait until you here the price of the actual systems. The VIC mini comes in at US$995 (S$1,259), although that also gets you a copy of Commodore USA's free Commodore OS Vision pre-installed as well as a pair of restore discs.

March 27th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

Scientists make breakthrough in thermal cloaking technology Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/scientists-make-breakthrough-inthermal-cloaking-technology/15366.html March 27th, 2012

The technology could potentially be used in multiple fields, including by the military and criminals. Soldiers could use it to plan stealthier attacks, while thieves could use it to hide from the thermal cameras on police helicopters, providing, of course, they can steal the technology in the first place. The military has already taken advantage of similar technology to make a tank look like a car to heat-sensing devices. While it does not make it completely invisible, it does recreate the shape of the device in terms of generated and detected heat, leading to new tactics in warfare. Scientists have been trying to discover ways to develop an invisibility cloak for a number of years now, an idea that was once thought to be impossible, but now looks limited only by time and research.

Scientists have made a breakthrough in demonstrating how technology can be developed to make people or objects appear invisible to thermal-imaging devices, bringing us one step closer to science fiction-style cloaking. Scientists have made a breakthrough in demonstrating how technology can be developed to make people or objects appear invisible to thermal-imaging devices, bringing us one step closer to science fiction-style cloaking. The researchers at the Institut Fresnel in France have shown how optical cloaking using transformation optics can be applied in a way to prevent heat from being seen by heatsensing equipment, effectively masking the object from detection. "We can design a cloak so that heat diffuses around an invisibility region, which is then protected from heat," said Dr. Guenneau from Institut Fresnel. "Or we can force heat to concentrate in a small volume, which will then heat up very rapidly."

Nvidia Tegra 4 to get GPGPU i.e. GPU Computational Capabilities, Kepler Inside? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-tegra-4-to-get-gpgpu-i.e.-gpucomputational-capabilities-kepler-inside-/15361.html March 27th, 2012

In the discussions surrounding the launch of NVIDIA Kepler (GK104 - GTX 680 and GK107 GT 640M) architecture, we learned a lot of interesting details from NVIDIA engineers and marketing staff. Interested in GPGPU in a smartphone?

Lenovo launches Enterprise App Shop for Android Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lenovo-launches-enterprise-appshop-for-android/15364.html March 27th, 2012

Lenovo has launched the Lenovo Enterprise App Shop, a mobile app store for businesses that use Android-based tablet computers. Anyone running a device with Android version 3.1 or higher will be able to access Lenovo's new app store, which works similarly to the Apple App Store or Android Market, but offers a range of business-orientated software and the ability for IT managers to control app purchases, licences, distribution and management.

March 27th, 2012

The Shop features a variety of management services, such as a vetted catalogue of enterprise apps free of malware or offensive content, custom management and corporate approval process, private corporate app publishing, volume purchase pricing for discounts, and easy enabling and disabling of apps, giving businesses considerable control over the apps employed by their staff, while not gaining direct control over the devices themselves.

Published by: VR-Zone

example, that would be 4.4 Trillion HD movies. All this data is going to have to be stored somehow and this is where Intel is hoping to cash in with a wide range of products from the data centre all the way down to home storage products. Much of today's presentations talked about the data centre and "Ubiquitous storage across the cloud" which Intel claims is the future of storage.

What Intel is talking about here is three different things, federation between public and private data to allow for securely shared data, automated solutions that reduce time spent on managing the storage systems and client aware systems that optimize the way the data is delivered depending on the device used to access the data stored on the cloud. Intel is hoping to reach these goals by 2015, but it's going to be tough to reach them considering a fair few technical hurdles, least not in the world of software. "With the influx of personal and mobile devices in the workplace, it’s critical for companies to manage the proprietary and third-party applications their employees are using,” said Mark Cohen, VP of Ecosystem and Monetization at Lenovo. “We created an app shop designed specifically for the enterprise featuring LDAP integration and cross Android platform support to facilitate IT management while giving users the apps they’re demanding to boost productivity.” The Lenovo Enterprise App Shop is available immediately throughout the world, except China.

Intel Storage Forum 2012 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-storageforum-2012/15365.html March 27th, 2012

Earlier today VR-Zone attended the Intel's Storage Forum 2012 in Taipei, Taiwan and although the company didn't reveal any big news at the event, one message was very clear this year and that is that Intel is investing heavily into storage solutions. At the event Intel talked about everything from entry level "Personal Cloud" devices, to SSD's, 10Gbps Ethernet all the way to Xeon powered solutions. Earlier today VR-Zone attended the Intel's Storage Forum 2012 in Taipei, Taiwan and although the company didn't reveal any big news at the event, one message was very clear this year and that is that Intel is investing heavily into storage solutions. At the event Intel talked about everything from entry level "Personal Cloud" devices, to SSD's, 10Gbps Ethernet all the way to Xeon powered solutions.

Another subject that was touched upon was the importance of technologies such as data deduplication and compression, especially as we're moving away from mechanical drives and towards SSDs in many high-end server environments. However, even more regular storage solutions can save a lot of space using these technologies and Intel is implementing more and more of these features into its storage products. Another feature targeting online storage providers is what's known as thin provisioning where a user's allocated space on a server is only allotted as it's being used up and this is a way of saving on disk space in as much as all users don't require instant use of all their allotted storage space. As for the small business and SoHo/Home market, Intel is hoping to win over users by promoting the "Personal Cloud" or what to date has been known as a NAS or Network Attached Storage. Intel is expecting the average user in this market segment to generate in excess of 4GB of data per day come 2015 and this is where smaller, more affordable network attached storage solutions come into play.

Come 2020, mankind is expected to store an insane 35 Zetabytes of data, that's 35 followed by 21 zeroes, or as an 2

March 27th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

them all here. At the end of the day, Intel has to rely on its partners, as although the company makes a selection of servers, the company can't cover all of its customers' needs by itself.

EA launches Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/ea-launches-tiger-woods-pgatour-13/15362.html March 27th, 2012

However, Intel has found that it's hard to reach this market due to in part the lack of awareness of this type of product and in part due to the difficulty of actually understanding how a NAS works and how to configure. Admittedly NAS products have improved in leaps and bounds over the past few years, but compared to a USB attached storage device, a NAS is a big step into the unknown for anyone with more basic technical knowledge. Intel is looking into ways of how to make this market space more aware of this type of product, as well as ways of how to co-operate with its partners to sell these products into this market. Sadly the presentation didn't really offer any solutions to the problem and it's not an easy nut to crack until the day you can simply plug one of these devices into a network and thy more or less configure themselves. The presentation about 10Gbps networking talked mostly about it being an ideal solution for reducing cable clutter and as an alternative to running a Fibre Channel network, especially as Intel's 10Gbps NIC's can run FCoE and iSCSI for "free" as Intel put it, as they don't charge extra for these features. The SSD presentation touched upon how reliable Intel's SSDs are compared to the competition and of course on the kind of performance gains you can get by mixing in some SSDs in a high-end storage solution, especially with regards to IOPs which is important in certain implementations.

Sadly Intel didn't talk about any new or upcoming products at the event, but several of Intel's partners had new product on display at the event, but we'll cover those in separate news posts as there were far too many products for us to go into

Electronics Arts (EA) has launched Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, the latest golf simulation game on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Electronics Arts (EA) has launched Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, the latest golf simulation game on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game, which comes in a normal edition and a Masters Collector's Edition, features a revamp of the swing mechanic to allow over 62 million combinations of customised shots, online support for competitive gameplay, and a Tiger Legacy Challenge mode for reliving the legend's most memorable golf achievements. The PlayStation 3 version is Move compatible and Xbox 360 version is compatible with the Kinect, allowing users to play golf with no controller. It is even responsive to gamers' voices.

“We focused on making Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 the most immersive golf experience ever,” said Mike Taramykin, VP and GM of Tiger Woods PGA TOUR. “Fans have the opportunity to chase and win one of sport’s most highly coveted accomplishments, the Green Jacket, play with or against friends with our online Country Clubs mode and incorporate their authentic swing in the game with Kinect integration. Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 is the total package.” 3

March 27th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

The Masters Collector's Edition features a few extras, such as exclusive access to the Augusta National Golf Glub's Tournament Practice Facility and its Par 3 Course, a presentation on the Green Jacket, and five additional courses. The game retails at $59.99 for the normal edition and $69.99 for the Masters Collector's Edition. It has shipped in North America and will be available in stores worldwide from 30 March.

ZALMAN soon to release VF3000-equipped HD 7950 graphics card Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/zalman-soon-to-release-vf3000equipped-hd-7950-graphics-card/15360.html March 27th, 2012

This cooler does require three expansion slots however, but it is said to provide temps that are up to 20c lower than AMD's reference cooler is capable of.

Following their entry into the AIB (add-in board) graphics card biz toward the end of last year, photos of a particularly interesting specimen from ZALMAN have leaked online ahead of launch; a HD 7950 based offering from the company which boldly shows non-reference attributes upon first glance. Following their entry into the AIB (add-in board) graphics card biz toward the end of last year, photos of a particularly interesting specimen from ZALMAN have leaked online ahead of launch; a HD 7950 based offering from the company which boldly shows non-reference attributes upon first glance.

The clock rates on this card are apparently left at the reference clock speeds, but with this beefy cooler strutting its stuff there should be no issues getting a solid overclock when taking the manual approach. With that said, apparently ZALMAN is also working on bringing a factory overclocked model to market in the near future as well.

The upcoming card, dubbed ZALMAN HD7950-Z uses a custom colored PCB and is paired with ZALMAN's own VF3000 series cooler that comprises a large aluminum fin arrangement with copper heatpipes and two large red LEDlit fans.

March 27th, 2012

SAMA deliver boldly on value with Nighthawk 2 mid tower case Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sama-deliver-boldly-on-value-withnighthawk-2-mid-tower-case/15359.html March 27th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

The case measurements come in at 450 x 200 x 420 mm (WxDxH) with both ABS and SECC/steel used for its construction. The interior is all-black along with the exterior, while the side panel sports a red acrylic window and protrudes slightly outward. The case's front I/O consists of four USB 2.0 ports and audio jacks. It would have been nice to have seen a USB 3.0 port or two in place of the USB 2.0 ones, but I guess we can't have our cake and eat it.

A Chinese case maker by the name of SAMA has emphasised and delivered on value with its newly introduced Nighthawk 2 mid-tower which gives a host of features and aesthetic inclusions mostly only seen in more expensive chassis'. A Chinese case maker by the name of SAMA has emphasised and delivered on value with its newly introduced Nighthawk 2 mid-tower which gives a host of features and aesthetic inclusions mostly only seen in more expensive chassis'.

The Nighthawk 2 can accomodate graphics cards measuring up to 300mm long along with up to four 5.25" devices and six 3.5" using a tool-free mounting system.

For just 299 RMB (about US $48) SAMA also impresses in the cooling setup out of the box on the Nighthawk 2. Where cases in this price range are lucky to have a rear exhaust and / or front intake fan, The Nighthawk 2 features a 120mm red LED-lit front intake, a 120mm situated between the 3.5-inch drive cage and motherboard tray, a 120mm at the rear as well as two 120mm fans positioned up top.

In all, quite the bang for your buck and a well worthy candidate for a budget build.

Rovio Entertainment buys over Futuremark Games Studio Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/rovio-entertainment-buys-overfuturemark-games-studio/15358.html March 27th, 2012

Futuremark is known for developing computer benchmark applications for home users and businesses such as PCMark7, 3DMark11 and PowerMark. And it seems that the company has been acquired by Angry Birds creator, Rovio Entertainment.

March 27th, 2012

From Rovio's website, the company has acquired Futuremark Games Studio, though there was no mention how much it paid for the benchmark software developer. This is also the second acquisition by Rovio, the first being Kombo Animation Studio in June last year. Coincidentally, the announcement came just after the launch of the new Angry Birds Space, which is released on iOS, Android, Mac and PC (including books, merchandising and animation). VR-Zone was one of the media who has received a farewell note from Futuremark CEO, Jukka MĂ¤kinen, who mentioned that the company will renew their focus on creating great benchmarks and performance measurement software for gamers, home users, small businesses and the IT industry. "This year will see a new version of 3DMark that, for the first time, will allow a direct comparison of gaming performance across operating systems and form factors, as well as a new version of PCMark for Windows 8."

Marriage Central launches "Our Love Journal" app for couples to archive their love experience

Published by: VR-Zone

Marriage Central, a non profit organisation promoting healthy marriages, has recently launched "Our Love Journal" app as part of the opening of its annual celebration of marriages called Real Love Works 2012. The app is possibly the first-ever marriage app designed for married couples. With "Our Love Journal" iPhone app, you can capture and share experiences, interests and memorable moments that you encounter in your daily life or even when on dates. All you have to do is snap your favourite moments, edit, and sync it with your loved ones. They wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an excuse not to remember your favourite things now. The "Our Love Journal" app is available for free on the iTunes app store. - Tag menu for tagging photos (i.e. Food we like, Activity we like, Events we like, Stuff we like, Places we like)

ZTE Android phone with Intel mobile processor to launch 2H 2012 at US$160? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/zte-android-phone-with-intelmobile-processor-to-launch-2h-2012-at-us-160-/15355.html March 27th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/marriage-central-launches-our-lovejournal-app-for-couples-to-archive-their-love-experience/15356.html March 27th, 2012

For the blissfully wedded couples, here's a must-have app for your iPhone - "Our Love Journal". The app is free to download and lets couples archive and recall their shared experiences on their phones, as well as prompt on ideal date suggestions, special anniversaries, and marriage enrichment programmes organised by Marriage Central.

ZTE is one of the industry partners that Intel has announced at Mobile World Congress last month to enhance smartphone portfolio. And the Chinese telecommunications equipment and systems company has unveiled that their phone will be available in the second half of this year.

March 27th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

have hands-free viewing and great comfort even if you choose to orientate it for typing. It also offers a clever stylus storage feature and a secure hand strap that will prevent misplacement or accidental slip while on the go. Targus Versavu 360° Rotating Protective Case & Stand

Today, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments have dominated the smart devices processor market, and chip giant Intel is waiting for the opportunity to penetrate this market, especially in China. Last weekend, ZTE said that in the second half 2012, it will launch Intel-based smartphone with extremely attractive price point. According to reports, ZTE's smartphone will be equipped with Intel Atom Z2000 mobile processor and runs Google Android OS. The company also mentioned that the price will be around 1000 yuan (approximately US$160). At the Mobile World Congress in February, Intel has announced partnership with Orange, Lava International, Visa and ZTE to push smart devices using Intel processors.

Targus introduces new protective and functional cases for the new iPad

This Versavu 360° Rotating Protective Case and Stand has a patent pending mechanism that allows the iPad to rotate within the case for comfortable viewing in portrait and landscape modes. It also has a storage for stylus and secure hand strap for holding or carrying while on the move. Available in Calypso Pink with Charcoal Gray, Bone White with Charcoal Gray and Black faux leather and Indigo, the Targus Versavu 360° Rotating Protective Case and Stand is retailing at S$99.90. Targus Vuscape Protective Case & Stand

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/targus-introduces-new-protectiveand-functional-cases-for-the-new-ipad/15354.html March 27th, 2012

With the recent launch of Apple's new iPad, accessories maker Targus has also introduced their new range of protective and functional cases in various stylish colours for the mobile device in Singapore. Check them out at your nearest Apple authorized resellers, Challenger and retailers. Targus has unveiled its latest range of seven new protective/ functional cases with ease of use for the new iPad. The cases come in a range of stylish, vivid colours including bright orange, cool indigo and calypso pink. For the classy but subtle individuals, the new cases are also available in chic Black faux leather and classic Bone White. Among the cases is the Targus Versavu 360° Rotating Protective Case and Stand for the new iPad which boasts superior protection, is water resistant and has a luxurious-to-touch cover while smooth and comfortable to hold. The soft lining interior also helps to protect the tablet from bumps, scratches, fingerprints, and dust. The case features a 360° smooth rotation functionality that offers different standing and viewing positions. You can

The Vuscape Protective Case and Stand provides additional protection for the iPad with an extra padded interior shell. It has a soft, smooth inner lining that keeps the iPad safe from scratches, dust and fingerprints. The exterior is easy to clean and comes in Black faux leather, Bone White, Calypso Pink and Indigo. For those who are interested, the Vuscape Protective Case and Stand is retailing at S$85.90. Vucomplete Back Cover

March 27th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

news. SingTel is bringing in the 3G/WiFi version of the PS Vita handheld game console which will begin retailing from 14 April. Here are the price plans available from SingTel which offer theoretical download speeds of 7.2Mbps and free bundled local data usage. Note that the plans are with 24-month contract.

Sapphire launches the Pure Platinum A55V Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sapphire-launches-the-pureplatinum-a55v/15352.html March 27th, 2012

Compatible with Apple Smart Cover, the Vucomplete Back Cover also features a smooth inner lining that protects the iPad from scratches. The superior quality of the exterior case is also easy to clean. The Vucomplete Back Cover has a price tag of S$39.90 and comes in stylish Orange, Calypso Pink, Indigo, Bone White, and Charcoal Gray.

SingTel offers 3G and Wi-Fi version Sony PlayStation Vita with plans Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/singtel-offers-3g-and-wi-fi-versionsony-playstation-vita-with-plans/15353.html March 27th, 2012

It was about a month ago when Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong launches the PlayStation (PS) Vita at 313 Somerset in Singapore. And today, local telecommunication company SingTel has announced it will be offering the 3G/Wi-Fi model of the handheld game console with attractive price plans.

Having chatted with Sapphire back at CeBIT a couple of weeks ago, we knew the company is planning on taking a slightly different direction for its future motherboard products and the Pure Platinum A55V looks like it's a step in that direction. What we're looking at is a fairly basic motherboard for AMD's APUs, without being a feature stripped board like what many of Sapphire's competitors are offering when it comes to the A55 chipset. Having chatted with Sapphire back at CeBIT a couple of weeks ago, we knew the company is planning on taking a slightly different direction for its future motherboard products and the Pure Platinum A55V looks like it's a step in that direction. What we're looking at is a fairly basic motherboard for AMD's APUs, without being a feature stripped board like what many of Sapphire's competitors are offering when it comes to the A55 chipset. The slot layout is fairly basic with a single x16 PCI Express slot, two x1 PCI Express slots and three PCI slots, but as AMD's APUs don't support more than one discrete graphics card, this is unlikely to be an issue for those considering this motherboard. The standard six SATA 3Gbps ports are all present and it's the only area where Sapphire hasn't added anything in terms of functionality.

The Sony PS Vita that was launched in Singapore last month, is the Wi-Fi only version. For those of you who are eagerly waiting for the 3G and Wi-Fi model, here's some good 8

March 27th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

the company is working on new 802.11ac hardware that is looking like a big step up from its current hardware. Edimax has teamed up with Broadcom for the hardware and its initial products will feature simultaneous dual band support. Taiwanese Edimax is generally known as a company that is offering budget routers with fairly antiquated UI's, but the company is working on new 802.11ac hardware that is looking like a big step up from its current hardware. Edimax has teamed up with Broadcom for the hardware and its initial products will feature simultaneous dual band support. So far no model names have been decided upon, but we're looking at some pretty serious hardware here. The router processor is a 600MHz Intensi-fi chip from Broadcom based on MIPS32 architecture and it sports Gigabit Ethernet support, has dual PCI Express interfaces, a built in USB 2.0 host controller and DDR2 memory support. The 2.4GHz 802.11n module appears to be the BCM4331 which supports speeds of up to 450MHz as per the little sign next to the router. The only downside here is that the 802.11n module gets stuck with PCB antennas which isn't fantastic, but an acceptable trade-off on a product like this.

We're quite surprised to see features like dual BIOS, a POST80 debug LED, power, reset and clear CMOS buttons on a board at this price point. One feature we can't quite figure out is the inclusion of a front USB 3.0 pin header, yet we can only locate one USB 3.0 host controller and it appears to be connected to the rear USB 3.0 ports and the board isn't sharing the same PCB as one of Sapphire's other models.

The rear I/O isn't overwhelming, but it's got enough ports for your average user with a PS/2 port, four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 5.1-channel audio and a Dsub, DVI and HDMI port. Overall not bad for what should be a fairly affordable board and if Sapphire's new strategy is one of offering more affordable motherboards with an improved feature set, this isn't a bad first step in that direction.

On the 802.11ac side of things we presume that we're looking the BCM4360 which is a three stream 802.11ac chip rated at speeds of up to 1.3Gbps, although Edimax sign states 1.35Gbps. The BCM4360 uses 80MHz wide channels and 256-QAM modulation as well as beamforming on both the transmit and receive end to manage these kind of speeds. It has a PCI Express interface and if you look at the PCB you'll see that the 802.11ac module is connected to the main PCB via a mini PCI Express slot.

Edimax working 802.11ac router and USB dongle Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/edimax-working-802.11ac-routerand-usb-dongle/15351.html March 27th, 2012

Taiwanese Edimax is generally known as a company that is offering budget routers with fairly antiquated UI's, but 9

March 27th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Blizzard is contemplating releasing a console version of its upcoming hack-and-slash role-playing game Diablo III, promising that it will be “a true Blizzard-level experience.” Paul Sams, the company's COO, told CVG that the game would need some tweaking from the PC version, but that a console version makes sense and that a decision to go forward with this idea would not be made primarily for financial reasons. Blizzard admitted that a console version would depend on how many hoops it has to jump through with the console manufacturers. It said that if it is incredibly difficult or costly to do, it would make the company think twice, but even then it would not automatically rule out the possibility. The router doesn't appear to be a final product though and we're solely basing this on the fact that there are empty spaces for what appears to be a second mini PCI Express card, USB ports and various other components. Hopefully Edimax will at least go with a similar design for the final product.

As for the USB adapter we're most likely looking at the BCM43526 which as the sign says, offers dual band operation with speeds of up to 300Mbps for 802.11n and up to 900Mbps for 802.11ac. The only problem here is the limitation of the USB 2.0 bus at 480Mbps, so it's unlikely that this type of product will ever achieve their theoretical maximum speed. Either which way, we can't wait until we get our hands on some 802.11ac hardware to test, as it should make a huge difference during large file transfers, if nothing else.

Blizzard considering Diablo III console version Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/blizzard-considering-diablo-iiiconsole-version/15350.html March 27th, 2012

Blizzard is contemplating releasing a console version of its upcoming hack-and-slash role-playing game Diablo III, promising that it will be “a true Blizzard-level experience.”

A console port of the game might depend entirely on the success of the PC version, which will release on 15 May, with many fans cautious after considerable ruckus was caused when a community manager told players to lower their expectations, a recommendation that was refuted by the game's director. A last-minute decision to axe player-versusplayer combat from the game and release it in a later patch did not help the situation. Sams did not give any possible timeframe for the release of a console version, but given how long it took the company to develop the game for the PC it could be years away. He also did not specify which consoles would get the game, but we imagine it would want to release on more than just one of the available platforms.

Apple's new iPad draws 2A, charges from Gigabyte Z77 motherboard Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-s-new-ipad-draws-2a-chargesfrom-gigabyte-z77-motherboard/15349.html

March 27th, 2012 March 27th, 2012

One downside of Apple's many hand held devices is that they draw a lot of power when charging and the latest iPad is even more power hungry, especially when the battery is running low. As such it's getting to the stage where most computers will no longer be able to charge Apple's portable devices, although for DIY:ers it's less of an issue as many motherboards can deliver more power to the USB ports and in in the case of Gigabyte's new Z77 boards, the new iPad is no match. One downside of Apple's many hand held devices is that they draw a lot of power when charging and the latest iPad is even more power hungry, especially when the battery is running low. As such it's getting to the stage where most computers will no longer be able to charge Apple's portable devices, although for DIY:ers it's less of an issue as many motherboards can deliver more power to the USB ports and in in the case of Gigabyte's new Z77 boards, the new iPad is no match.

Published by: VR-Zone

a few smartphones, but none of them drew in excess of 600-700mA.

Microsoft and Nokia to invest 18 million Euro in mobile app development Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-and-nokia-to-invest-18million-euro-in-mobile-app-development/15348.html March 27th, 2012

Microsoft and Nokia have agreed to invest up to €18 million in app development for the Windows Phone platform. The duo launched the AppCampus program at Aalto University in Finland, which will run for the next three years, encouraging students to develop apps for both Windows Phone, Symbian and Series 40, though the primary focus will likely be on Microsoft's operating system. “AppCampus offers an unprecedented opportunity for entrepreneurs to put their ideas into practice and create world-class mobile products,” said Klaus Holse, president of Microsoft Western Europe. “We want to turn a new leaf in the mobile industry and foster Finland’s role as a center of excellence for mobile technology. Such investment into early-stage concepts has rarely been seen in this sector, and this demonstrates how highly both Nokia and Microsoft value Finnish mobile expertise.”

As you can see in the video below, the iPad in question only had seven percent battery life remaining and at this point it's sucking 1.98A. That's a lot of power and we were told by Gigabyte that they've seen it hitting just over 2A. That said, as you might've noticed from the picture above, this quickly drops once the iPad begins to charge, but considering a standard USB 2.0 port only delivers 500mA and even a USB 3.0 port will only deliver 900mA, you have to wonder how much Apple cares about PC owners. In all fairness, Gigabyte isn't the only company to deliver extra power to mobile devices that sucks extra juice to reduce their charging time, but many laptops and brand name desktops doesn't offer this ability and if they do, they won't be able to do it at close to 2A. The power draw is dynamic as you can hear mentioned in the video, but even so, charging new Apple devices from a standard USB port might soon be a memory of the past. In this specific case we used the On/Off Charge port on the Gigabyte motherboard, as the port auto detect Apple devices and will deliver as much power as the device requests. For a laugh, once we'd shot this little video, we also tested with

Apps are key to the success of a mobile operating system and one of the primary reasons people choose Apple devices over those of rivals, due to the extensive library of apps available. Android is quickly catching up, but Windows Phone is lagging behind considerably. The problem for Microsoft, and Nokia as the primary phone manufacturer of Windows Phone devices, is that developers are reluctant to invest the time and money in creating an app for Windows Phone, as the rewards are currently limited compared to the two dominant platforms. In order to make it more rewarding it needs apps to attract customers, making the situation a viscious cycle, with the only solution being 11

March 27th, 2012

active investment from Microsoft and Nokia, which the duo have finally decided to do.

Microsoft to launch $100 Xbox Lite before next-gen console Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-to-launch-100-xbox-litebefore-next-gen-console/15347.html

Published by: VR-Zone

new features to help it steal the top slot form Nintendo, or at least keep it in second place ahead of Sony's next PlayStation. Of course, until Microsoft or another trustworthy source validates this rumour we cannot take it for granted that this is what will happen. It could even be an elaborate ruse to keep Microsoft's real Xbox 720 plans under wraps, such as speculations that it will feature a tablet controller, no disc drive, and a projector gaming helmet.

March 27th, 2012

Microsoft will launch a $100 Xbox Lite next year before releasing its next-generation console sometime afterwards, according to leaked plans.

Nokia's Lumia 800 to get WiFi tethering by the end of the week Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nokia-s-lumia-800-to-get-wifitethering-by-the-end-of-the-week/15346.html March 27th, 2012

Microsoft will launch a $100 Xbox Lite next year before releasing its next-generation console sometime afterwards, according to leaked plans. A well-known leaker of Microsoft plans, a user who goes by the name MS Nerd, shared that the Xbox Lite, previously codenamed Xbox Loop, will feature an ARM processor, will be significantly cheaper than existing models, and will launch in late 2013, possibly just in time for the Christmas shopping season. It's not exactly clear what will be axed from the Lite version to make it so cheap, as it will run games, media apps and will work with the Kinect. Its graphics power might be toned down or Microsoft might just be taking a big hit on its profits from it to make it more affordable.

The next-generation Xbox, codenamed Xbox Next, which suggests a potential deviation from the expected name of Xbox 720, will launch some time after the Xbox Lite, but if the Lite launches in late 2013 it means we might not see the Next until 2014 or possibly later, giving Nintendo a further time advantage on its launch of the Wii U this year.

It has become apparent via a meeting between carrier H3G and Nokia in Milan, Italy that the Finnish handset maker is planning to provide internet tethering support on its Lumia 800 series devices by means of a software update before the month is out. It has become apparent via a meeting between carrier H3G and Nokia in Milan, Italy that the Finnish handset maker is planning to provide internet tethering support on its Lumia 800 series devices by means of a software update before the month is out.

Internet sharing was possible out of the box on Nokia's Lumia 610 and 900 smartphones and it's been said that the feature will be made available on the Lumia 710 in the near future as well. In relative news, as a reminder there is a new firmware update on the horizon for Lumia 710 and 800 phones, build 12070 promising better battery life and many other improvements.

A new version of the Kinect is also expected to launch in 2015, which could coincide with the release of the new console. This would give Microsoft enough time to develop 12

March 27th, 2012

Intel's Valleyview Atom SoC will come in multiple SKUs Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-s-valleyview-atom-soc-willcome-in-multiple-skus/15345.html March 27th, 2012

We've already reported on the basic information that has leaked so far about Intel's upcoming Valleyview Atom SoC, but it appears that Intel is planning a range of SKUs for various markets according to information that has reached VR-Zone. In fact, the information that was leaked is with regards to Valleyview together with the information we've received points towards a replacement for the embedded E600 series of Atom processors which makes sense considering Advantech's roadmaps. We've already reported on the basic information that has leaked so far about Intel's upcoming Valleyview Atom SoC, but it appears that Intel is planning a range of SKUs for various markets according to information that has reached VR-Zone. In fact, the information that was leaked is with regards to Valleyview together with the information we've received points towards a replacement for the embedded E600 series of Atom processors which makes sense considering Advantech's roadmaps. Let's start by clearing up the naming scheme a little bit, as Valleyview or Valleyview 2 as the embedded version is known as, is the name of the Atom core and not the actual SoC. The SoC is known as Bay Trail, in the same way as the Cedarview core being part of the Cedar Trail processor. Intel will be offering two versions of Bay Trail, one for standard desktop style applications and in-car infotainment systems as well as one intended for battery optimized usage. We're not entirely sure if there will be a consumer version, but Intel did at least have a Valleyview Atom core at some point, so it's possible that Intel will offer up a future Atom D or N model, but we'll just have to wait and see how things develop. As for Valleyview 2/Bay Trail we're looking at a highly integrated 22nm SoC that will feature two or four cores. As revealed in the previous leak, we're looking at vastly improved performance and as you can see from the picture below, we're talking four to seven times the performance, albeit this is expected to be over the Atom E600 series which featured a 400MHz version of the PowerVR SGX 535 core from Imagination Technologies, so it might not be quite as impressive as first thought.

Published by: VR-Zone

Express 2.0 lanes integrated directly into the chip package. The NM10 IOH only supports four PCI Express 1.0 lanes, so this should allow for improved performance when connected to PCI Express add-in cards and peripheral chipsets. The SoC also sports a pair of SATA 3Gbps ports, SDIO support, four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, of which one supports USB 3.0 OTG, a built in Gigabit Ethernet MAC and as previously mentioned support for DisplayPort, eDP and HDMI output. Some SKUs will also supports the MIPI-DSI display interface and the MIPI-CSI interface for cameras. Intel has also added Blu-ray playback support for automotive entertainment solutions. The battery operated SKUs will only support LPDDR2 memory, but the general SKUs will support DDR3L memory and even have ECC support as reported earlier. Valleyview 2 will as far as we're aware be the first Atom core to support dual channel memory â&#x20AC;&#x201C; note that ECC memory is only support in single channel â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and it will also be the first Atom core to support up to 8GB of memory. It almost looks as if Intel is finally getting ready to drop its Celeron processors and bring its Atom chips up into its more grown up processor family, at least if the features of Valleyview2/Bay Trail is anything to go by.

NVIDIA's New Dawn for Kepler is on the way Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-s-new-dawn-for-kepler-is-onthe-way/15344.html March 27th, 2012

Dawn, NVIDIA's beloved fairy who first made her appearance in a tech demo almost a decade ago will soon be making her return to coincide with Kepler. Dubbed "New Dawn", this will be the official tech demo for Kepler and is said to be more or less a retake of the original, only with the obvious vast improvements across the board in the level of detail on tap. Dawn, NVIDIA's beloved fairy who first made her appearance in a tech demo almost a decade ago will soon be making her return to coincide with Kepler. Dubbed "New Dawn", this will be the official tech demo for Kepler and is said to be more or less a retake of the original, only with the obvious vast improvements across the board in the level of detail on tap. While Dawn made her debut in amazing detail dating back all those years ago, that's nothing compared to what the likes of Kepler can do for us. NVIDIA will have Dawn looking far more lifelike than before with significant improvements to the environmental elements, including more realistic physics, hair animation and overall a far greater level of detail.

Most of the NM10 IOH has been integrated into Valleyview 2/Bay Trail and as such the new SoC will have four PCI

Kepler will allow NVIDIA to use a level of tesselation in this tech demo that its rival may possibly not be able to accomplish (irrespective of whether or not a hack becomes available down the road to execute it). We don't have a formal release date for the New Dawn yet, but it's expected to arrive for download via NVIDIA.com and 13

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Published by: VR-Zone

GeForce.com sometime soon. In the meantime, enjoy the short sneak peek below :Unprintable Content (Video, Flash, etc.)

Beefy BF3 patch arrives for PS3 tomorrow (Xbox 360 and PC soon) Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/beefy-bf3-patch-arrives-for-ps3tomorrow-xbox-360-and-pc-soon-/15343.html March 27th, 2012

The official Battlefield Blog site has let us know to expect a chunky BF3 patch tomorrow for PlayStation 3 owners and is confirmed to be coming for the Xbox 360 and PC versions very soon. The official Battlefield Blog site has let us know to expect a chunky BF3 patch tomorrow for PlayStation 3 owners and is confirmed to be coming for the Xbox 360 and PC versions very soon.

From the front, the HTC T328w (also known as One V) looks like a combination of the Desire S and Wildfire S, though the rear looks more like the HTC Explorer. It is also available in a variety of colors - black, white, blue, pink etc. The phone has dual-SIM support, measures 9.3mm thin and weighs 114g. It features a 3.7-inch WVGA touchscreen, 1GHz MSM7227 processor, 512MB RAM and 4GB storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD card slot). At the rear is a 5-megapixel camera and the T328w runs the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS with the new HTC Sense 4.0. The phone also incorporates Beats Audio and SRS WOW HD audio technologies for impressive audio enjoyment. The HTC T328w is reported to retail at an attractive 1999 yuan (or US$317).

The patch will roll in a significant number of tweaks and balances, while a particularly noteworthy mention is the "Rent a Server" feature that the update will make available on the Xbox 360 and PS3. There will be more info coming out about that functionality this time next week. The full fix and additions list is a mile long, but you can head over to the source to catch all the details.

HTC T328w dual-SIM phone to retail at US$317 in China Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/htc-t328w-dual-sim-phone-to-retailat-us-317-in-china/15340.html March 27th, 2012

LG Optimus LTE P936 shows up on FCC Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-optimus-lte-p936-shows-up-onfcc/15339.html March 27th, 2012

The new HTC One series smartphones are going to be launched soon, and apparently, the pricing for the dual-SIM HTC T328W (or HTC One V) has been revealed. The Android phone is reported to be priced at 1999 yuan (or US$317) in China. Korean company LG has been busy with the introduction of three new phones at the recent Mobile World Congress. And it seems that a new Optimus LTE P936 smartphone has appeared on Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

March 27th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Japanese Planex Communications might not be the most well-known maker of Wi-Fi routers, but the company has managed to come up with an interesting solution for those that want to save space, a Wi-Fi router that goes inside the whole in the wall where a power socket would normally be fitted. This means that the router doesn't take up any space, but it does also limit its functionality a bit.

This year, it seems that 4G LTE is widely sought after as we see many phone makers coming up with their new LTE flagship phones. According to reports from GSM Dome, LG has a new smartphone, Optimus LTE P936, which has appeared on FCC. The Optimus LTE P936 is said to feature a large 4.6-inch touchscreen display with 1280x720 resolution and 320ppi pixel desnsity. It is powered by 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, runs Google Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread and equipped with 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash that can capture videos in 720p HD resolution. We would probably hear more news about the Optimus LTE P936 in the coming weeks, and it is likely the phone will receive Android 4.0 ICS update soon.

Planex to launch Wi-Fi router that replaces your wall socket

The MZK-KR150N as the router is called needs to be wired directly to the mains wires inside the socket and as such a qualified electrician needs to do the installation according to the company. The WAN connector is also located here, so in other words, if you can't easily get an Ethernet cable into the power socket, this product isn't for you.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/planex-to-launch-wi-fi-router-thatreplaces-your-wall-socket/15338.html March 27th, 2012

On the upside, you end up with only a Wi-Fi antenna sticking out of the wall socket and that's as much space as the router will take up. As you might've guessed by the model name, the MZK-KR150N only offers speeds of up to 150Mbps over 802.11n Wi-Fi, although the router also has a single 10/100Mbit Ethernet port.

March 27th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

upcoming Linux 3.4 kernel being set in stone. However, at the same time, details have also appeared on roadmaps from Advantech, a Taiwanese IPC maker that gives additional details as to what to expect. The first details were spotted by Phoronix as they found details with regards to patches for the upcoming Linux 3.4 kernel that stated "ValleyView is a CedarView-like chip but with an Ivybridge graphics core." This in itself is very interesting, as it shows that at least on the desktop side, Intel is planning on moving away from the PowerVR graphics cores that the company has been relying on for its past couple of generations of Atom processors. Other details unearthed by Phoronix include support for two DisplayPort interfaces (most likely eDP and a regular DisplayPort) and HDMI output, a new interrupt architecture and Turbo Boost support, albeit somehow done differently than on Ivy Bridge.

The router has a power and WPS button on its "facia" and there's also a small switch that allows you to set it to router or access point mode. It's actually a really clever solution for extending Wi-Fi coverage in larger homes or offices where a single router won't be enough, at least as long as you can get an Ethernet cable from the router to a suitable wall socket easily enough. What we'd really like to have seen integrated into the MZK-KR150N is support for power line networking, as this would've eliminated the need for an Ethernet cable to be used for the network connection. The MZK-KR150N should launch early next month in Japan with a retail price of about US$119 (S$150) which is a tad on the expensive side considering the basic spec of the product.

Intel's Valley View Atom SoC leaks, said to have Ivy Bridge level graphics Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-s-valley-view-atom-soc-leakssaid-to-have-ivy-bridge-level-graphics/15337.html March 27th, 2012

Quite often Intel is the best source when it comes to its own product leaks and this time around its upcoming Valley View Atom SoC has leaked thanks to in part to the fact that Intel has had to submit graphics driver information in time for the upcoming Linux 3.4 kernel being set in stone. However, at the same time, details have also appeared on roadmaps from Advantech, a Taiwanese IPC maker that gives additional details as to what to expect. Quite often Intel is the best source when it comes to its own product leaks and this time around its upcoming Valley View Atom SoC has leaked thanks to in part to the fact that Intel has had to submit graphics driver information in time for the

Shortly after Phoronix discoveries, The Verge managed to dig up some roadmaps from Advantech that gives us a few additional details as to what to expect. According to a few upcoming products from Advantech the Valley View Atom SoC will feature the Balboa Pier chipset â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a bit of trivia here, Intel's 440LX chipset was codenamed Balboa â&#x20AC;&#x201C; although as Valley View is said to be a 22nm SoC, it's very likely that the chipset will be integrated into the CPU package or the CPU itself. The Advantech roadmap further details one to four cores, four times the graphics performance, although it doesn't really state compared to what, but we'd presume the current Cedar Trail Atom processors, support for between 4 and 8GB of DDR3 memory and interestingly enough ECC support making Valley View a much more interesting solution for the IPC and entry level server market and finally what appears to be native USB 3.0 support. Valley View isn't expected to launch until very late this year or early next year, but it could potentially be the most interesting Atom processor to date, especially as it seems like Intel has given up on pushing its Atom processors as a castrated, low-budget alternative. Judging by the rumoured specifications, we have a feeling that Valley View won't be as cheap as the current Atom processors, but it'll likely depend a lot on what's available from the competition.

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

VR-Zone.com | Tech News for the Geeks! VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publication covering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

MediaTek combines 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 into a single chip Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/mediatek-combines-802.11ac-andbluetooth-4.0-into-a-single-chip/15397.html March 29th, 2012

March 29th, 2012

ASRock, originally spun off from ASUSTeK almost a decade ago, has risen from its humble beginnings to become the 3rd largest motherboard vendor behind ASUS and GIGABYTE in terms of volume shipments. Their growth has been attributed to an aggressive pricing strategy coupled with feature-filled offerings to give them the competitive edge. With the recent acquisition of legendary overclocker Nick Shih to augment their R&D team, we can expect them to scale greater heights. Today we preview an impressive and well rounded board - their upcoming Fatal1ty Z77 Professional! Front Box - The use of Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel's likeness and trademarks reveal ASRock's target buyers for the board - gamers with wads of cash.

Taiwanese MediaTek might be famous for creating low-cost feature phone and entry level smartphone processors, but the company also manufactures a wide range of other chips. Last year MediaTek merged with Ralink and MediaTek’s new 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4.0 combo chip has most likely been born out of that merger. The new chip is called the MT7650 and it combines dual band, single channel, 433Mbps 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.0 + HS into a single chip for use in mobile consumer platforms and MediaTek claims that this is a world’s first. The MT7650 is backwards compatible with 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0, as well as Bluetooth 2.1. It also supports Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi Display, two technologies that should start to become more useful this year as wider support is being enabled. The press release initially made us read "mobile consumer platforms" as smartphones and tablets, but the last line of the feature list states support for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Linux, so it looks like the MT7650 is primarily targeting fairly large mobile devices such as notebooks. There’s no mention of interface, but we presume the MT7650 is a USB device. MediaTek didn’t supply any availability date for the MT7650, but we’d expect it to arrive in consumer devices sometime in the second half of the year.

Rear Box View: A cluttered feature listing full of marketing hyperboles

First Looks: ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-looks-asrock-fatal1ty-z77professional/15384.html

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

The Fatal1ty Z77 Professional is a stunning beauty. Decked out in a black and red colour theme (hmm... familar) together with gold capacitors, most neutral observers will buy this based on its looks already. This board also features an incredible amount of components and meticulous engineering, which we will detail in the next few sections.

A quick look and comparison of Intel's native USB 3.0 host controller Back of board - this is one of the few boards that we see with I/Cs sticking at the back, which shows how packed the PCB is. You can also see that out of the three "full-length" PCIe x16 slots in the previous picture, only the first slot is electrically capable of x16 operation while the second and third slot have only x8 and x4 soldering points respectively. This is not a surprise as Socket 1155 processors have 20 native PCIe signal lanes, and three/four-way multi-GPU enthusiasts will be better off going with X79/Socket 2011 platform instead.

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/a-quick-look-and-comparison-ofintel-s-native-usb-3.0-host-controller/15396.html March 29th, 2012

If you're a regular VR-Zone reader you might remember our massive USB 3.0 host controller test that we did back in August last year. As the first of Intel's new 7-series motherboards are starting to appear, we thought we'd do a quick test of Intel's native USB 3.0 host controller and compare how it stacks up to some of the best discrete controllers. If you're a regular VR-Zone reader you might remember our massive USB 3.0 host controller test that we did back in August last year. As the first of Intel's new 7-series motherboards are starting to appear, we thought we'd do a quick test of Intel's native USB 3.0 host controller and compare how it stacks up to some of the best discrete controllers.

At the I/O panel, we get an orgy of USB ports (twelve in total of which six are USB 3.0). The veritable PS/2 port also makes an appearance, meant for the OCD benchmarker wanting to not waste precious cpu cycles on USB polling. There is also twin Gigabit LAN ports, IEEE1394, eSATA and 7.1 audio. For IGP display, we have a space saving HDMI and DisplayPort configuration.

For this test we used a Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H and connected up the same Patriot Wildfire SSD and ASMedia ASM1051E SATA 6Gbps to USB 3.0 bridge as we used in our previous test to keep it as level playing ground as possible. We only ran CrystalDiskMark and HD Tune Pro this time around though, but both tests are giving us something of an indicator as to what to expect from Intel's native USB 3.0 host controller. We used the most recent Intel USB 3.0 drivers which at the time were the 1.0.3.214. Admittedly there might have been some performance improvements for the competition since we did our previous test, especially in the case of Renesas as we used a beta driver for the ÂľD720201. Sadly we didn't have all of the host controllers at hand, but we'll be doing some additional testing with newer drivers for the ASMedia ASM1042 and see if there's any difference worth writing about.

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Starting with the read performance in CrystalDiskMark Intel is straight away up in the lead with 241.9MB/s, although that's only 8.6MB/s faster than the ÂľD720201 which was the fastest host controller last time around in this test. In the write performance test the Etron EJ168A is still in the lead with its 185.9MB/s whereas Intel is 3.7MB/s behind at 182.2MB/s. It goes to show that despite Intel's host controller is part of the chipset, this doesn't mean it'll be faster than a discrete chip under all circumstances.

Looking at the max read speed Intel isn't doing quite as well as before, as its host controller is only a mere 2.7MB/s ahead of the ÂľD720201. The maximum write speed sees Intel ahead of Renesas, but behind both ASMedia and Etron. Where the Intel USB 3.0 host controller stands out is in the burst read and write tests, as here Intel has a healthy 11.8MB/s lead in the read test and a massive 28.3MB/s lead in the write test. This is obviously an area where an integrated host controller offers some serious benefits over a discrete one and it's possible that once we get faster device side controllers, we could see improved performance from Intel overall.

Moving on to HD Tune Pro, Intel stays ahead of the competition once more with an average read speed of 235.2MB/s, 8.7MB/s faster than the ÂľD720201 this time around. Moving on to the write test, Intel falls behind all three of the tried in tested host controllers from Asmedia, Etron and Renesas. Here the Intel controller barely breaks the 200MB/s barrier and considering all of the other three host controllers are comfortably past the 200MB/s barrier, this is quite disappointing. 3

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Amazon CEO to recover Apollo 11 rocket engines from ocean floor Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amazon-ceo-to-recover-apollo-11rocket-engines-from-ocean-floor/15395.html March 29th, 2012

Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos, is leading an effort to recover the engines of the Apollo 11 space rocket from the darkest depths of the ocean's floor. Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos, is leading an effort to recover the engines of the Apollo 11 space rocket from the darkest depths of the ocean's floor.

On the other hand, it looks like Intel needs to do a fair bit of work on its drivers, as with 5.5 percent CPU usage, Intel is as bad as Renesas original ÂľD720200 host controller, albeit it's only half the CPU usage that the host controller in AMD's A75 chipset utilized when we tested it back in August.

The billionaire founder of the online bookstore, which has expanded into other areas, including tablet computers with its Kindle Fire, has always expressed interest in space exploration and the achievement of putting a person on the moon in 1969. Bezos has spearheaded attempts to locate the missing engines of the Saturn V rocket, which plummeted into the Atlantic after the launch of one of the world's most important space missions. Bezos' team believe they have found the engines, some 14,000 feet beneath the sea, and now they are planning an expedition to recover them. Bezos is privately funding this project, which has an undisclosed cost, but will likely be several million dollars.

We'll be taking a look at the USB 3.0 performance in Windows 8 and see what kind of difference if any, that Microsoft's USB 3.0 host drivers bring to the table. The good news here though is that Intel appears to have done a good job with its USB 3.0 implementation. What this quick little test also tells us is that if you have a USB 3.0 host controller from ASMedia, Etron or the ÂľD720201 from Renesas, you shouldn't really have to worry about the performance difference, as in most instances it's only a few Megabytes per second difference and sometimes it's even in the discrete controllers favour.

Plans for the recovery of the 19-foot engines are still in the early stages, with no timeframe established for when they will be lifted from the ocean floor. It will likely take several

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

days or weeks from the beginning of the process until they are on display in a museum. Another problem is that it may be difficult to rescue the engines without damaging them. They have been lying in the sea for over 40 years and may have been damaged when they landed. Bezos and his team will want to ensure that as much of them as possible can be salvaged without destroying anything, which could make the process take even longer. "There has always been great interest in artifacts from the early days of space exploration and his announcement only adds to the enthusiasm of those interested in NASA's history," said Bob Jacobs, spokesperson for NASA.

Official "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" DVD looks all "Piratey" Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/official-the-girl-with-the-dragontattoo-dvd-looks-all-piratey-/15391.html March 29th, 2012

While there is a battle raging over the shutdown of MegaUpload service and and an all-out attack on movie piracy, it is quite amusing to see a triple A title coming with an interesting tribute. Sony has finally released The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo DVD and Blu-ray. This controversial movie caused a lot of mainstream media fuss over "realistic" depiction of events taking place in the book. My personal opinion is that the David Fincher's take is more true to the core than the Swedish movies from 2009 (the ones with Noomi Rapace in it), which are loved by many people who did not read the books (if you're thinking I am wrong, just read the books and then re-watch the part II and III).

As you can see in the image above, the first look of the media would imply that this is a ripped, i.e. pirated homemade DVD. This is a tribute to Lisbeth Sander, a hacking heroine of the Millennium Trilogy. Then again, if you download the movie and burn it on the Sony DVD-R, you'll get the same thing. Just that one would be of illegal kind.

Retailers won't stock PlayStation 4 games if Sony blocks used games Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/retailers-won-t-stock-playstation-4games-if-sony-blocks-used-games/15393.html March 29th, 2012

Analysts believe that retailers will not stock PlayStation 4 games if Sony decides to block used games on the nextgeneration console. Analysts believe that retailers will not stock PlayStation 4 games if Sony decides to block used games on the nextgeneration console. Rumours have been circulating that the next PlayStation, codenamed Orbis, will not be backwards compatible with PlayStation 3 games and won't be able to run pre-owned games, forcing users to buy brand new titles. While Sony has not confirmed this, analysts at Wedbush Securities, DFC Intelligence and IDC think it will be a bad move and that retailers will be inclined not to stock PlayStation 4 games for this reason. They believe it will benefit game studios and publishers, who will make slightly higher sales, but that less consoles might be sold if players are aware of these restrictions. 5

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Fans never gave up on the franchise, though. A simple search on Google reveals almost 19 million results, meaning there is still a lot of interest in the universe where people are leading battles against the cat-like Kilrathis. Today, you can download the next chapter in the saga. After seven years of development, the group of fans finally released the Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn. This would be a particularly bad blow to brick-and-mortar shops, which are already struggling to survive. Hundreds of shops belonging to Game Group in the UK have closed after the company went bankrupt, and others could follow suit if they lose the revenue stream from pre-owned games. Sony might be hoping to employ online game passes, according to IDC, but this would present its own problems, as not everyone has the internet, or fast download speeds. Until we live in a completely digital age the value of used games cannot be underestimated, and it looks like Sony could see significant protest from both retailers and customers if it goes down this route.

Download Wing Commander Saga Fan Project for Free Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/download-wing-commander-sagafan-project-for-free/15292.html March 29th, 2012

Wing Commander Saga consists out of two campaigns. The first one represents a remake of the first "Prologue" campaign from 1990; a five mission tutorial set on TCS Wellington. Second campaign is "The Darkest Dawn" which consists out of impressive 50 missions all set on the TCS Hermes. To download and play 55 missions for free is a stark testament to dedication shown by a small team of Wing Commander fans. Game is available for Windows platform only, with Linux and Mac OS X to follow soon. Download the PC Game for free here, and check the official Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn trailer on YouTube here:

Electronic Arts is infamous for killing franchises which have strong fan bases and caters to the mainstream crowd. As such, the publisher killed Wing Commander franchise. Now, 12 years later - fans released a free game based in the Wing Commander universe. Wing Commander is without any doubt, one of cult franchises from the dawn of gaming. The game was selling in record volumes at the time before the industry was known as the industry. However, the game drifted from a 3D universe into numerous low-res cut scenes and expensive actors. After Wing Commander 4, it was obvious why EA decided to shut down the production of future versions.

Apple CEO visits Foxconn iPhone factory Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-ceo-visits-foxconn-iphonefactory/15392.html March 29th, 2012

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has visited a controversial iPhone factory run by Foxconn in China, after allegations of, and investigations into, poor working conditions.

March 29th, 2012

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has visited a controversial iPhone factory run by Foxconn in China, after allegations of, and investigations into, poor working conditions. The visit, which is Cook's first to China since he took over from the late Steve Jobs, draws international attention back to how workers are treated in order to produce the lucrative iPhone and iPad devices. Cook's appearance is likely designed to assure investors and customers that Apple takes these accusations seriously, so much so that the top dog is willing to check for himself. However, the problem is that Foxconn was likely made aware of the visit before he arrived, which means that things could be made to seem better than they really are on any other normal working day.

Published by: VR-Zone March 29th, 2012

Talking about Huawei, there's even more it it... pushing aside the US and Australian government-induced obstacles, the giant firm is getting along with some really forward technologies. According to fresh today's Wireless Watch report, Huawei is darn serious on overtaking all of the competition in the next generation wireless arena. The 30 Gbps 'beyond LTE', or basically over 1,000 times the faster 3.5G wireless networks in existence today, would provide brand new usage models for the mobile devices, not to mention far less of low speed connection problems when many devices congregate around common cell points. Huawei's holding of 265 key approved specs for the LTE and beyond, as the story says, is a major weapon in hand to control the evolution of the future mobile network data specifications, at the very least. Couple it with fast processors of its own to implement baseband circuitry at the SoC singlechip level, and voila! there come next generation phones and tablets of serious calibre.

The problem for Apple is that in many ways it needs a positive spotlight on Foxconn, as the production of its popular devices would be impossible without it and similar companies. Apple has an important relationship with China, not just because of the companies who manufacture and assemble its products, but because of deals with Chinese telecommunications firms for providing network coverage for the iPhone. This has led to Apple securing guarantees from the Chinese government that intellectual property protection would become a bigger priority. Image Credit: Reuters

Huawei goes beyond 4G (on air) and 40GE (on cables) speeds, and gets into H.265 Full HD video conferencing as mainstream Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/huawei-goes-beyond-4g-onair-and-40ge-on-cables-speeds-and-gets-into-h.265-full-hd-videoconferencing-as-mainstream/15390.html

What the story didn't mention is that the company is just as well getting along with the 40GE and beyond (100GE) wired Ethernet implementations, including some really nasty fiber optic converters and network solutions, according to our insiders. The combination of top wireless and top wired technologies makes for an interesting market proposition. One use of such high end networks could be in massive multiparty FullHD videoconferencing, for instance, where Huawei is developing its own implementation of the H.265 next gen higher efficiency protocol for further compressed FullHD video, and up to 30% extra gain over the H.264 with minimal losses, unless you press the 'freeze frame' pause button, where the losses may become, umm, more obvious. But then, video conferencing means a moving video, isn't it?

Details and release date emerge on Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/details-and-release-date-emerge-oncall-of-duty-black-ops-2/15389.html March 29th, 2012

Some details have leaked out on Treyarch's upcoming sequel to Call of Duty Black Ops giving us a supposed launch date and some juicy info on a new game mode and more.

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Some details have leaked out on Treyarch's upcoming sequel to Call of Duty Black Ops giving us a supposed launch date and some juicy info on a new game mode and more. Black Ops 2 will apparently be arriving on November 6th following one of the biggest advertising campaigns Activision will have ran to date with an absolute bucketload of coin thrown into this blockbuster multiplayer FPS sequel. A new game mode dubbed "Escort" will be making an entry into Black Ops 2 with both "Drop Zone" and "Kill Confirmed" also making their return. Two modes are rumoured to get dropped however, Team Defender and Infected. There will be 15 prestiges in 50 ranks offered in the game, with every two prestiges giving a 5 rank increase and a max prestige level cap of 90. Black Ops 2 will include Call of Duty Elite 2.0 support with Clan Tournament access, while its map structure will follow the tradition of Black ops in both size and design. There will be a heavier emphasis on "hardcore" mode this time around which should get a solid thumbs up from many of the players who have been expressing their desire for it. These won't be the only improvements to Black Ops 2 the single player campaign is expected to be far improved. Activision is anticipating BO2 to be the most successful in sales numbers of all the COD titles to date. Certainly with many people agreeing that Black Ops was a better game than Modern Warfare 3, this already puts the sequel in a good light leading up to its release.

ASUS unveils AMD powered U82U 14-inch Ultra Thin Laptop

The notebook has a 14-inch sized display, while internally it comes equipped with 2GB of RAM out of the box (with support for up to 8GB), a 500GB mechanical HDD, a couple USB 3.0 ports. HDMI output and an 8-cell battery. Without doubt this slim AMD alternative to the ultrabook realm will be a cheaper route to take, but at this stage we are yet to hear of a release date or exact price point.

Opera's Mini 7 browser for Android boosts performance Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/opera-s-mini-7-browser-for-androidboosts-performance/15387.html March 29th, 2012

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-unveils-amd-powered-u82u-14inch-ultra-thin-laptop/15388.html March 29th, 2012

ASUS is preparing a new "Ultra Thin" notebook for market which would have otherwise been referred to as an ultrabook if not for the AMD powered internals. The upcoming U82U uses AMD's E-450 APU comprising two Bobcat cores running at 1.65GHz and Radeon HD 6320 graphics. ASUS is preparing a new "Ultra Thin" notebook for market which would have otherwise been referred to as an ultrabook if not for the AMD powered internals. The upcoming U82U uses AMD's E-450 APU comprising two Bobcat cores running at 1.65GHz and Radeon HD 6320 graphics.

Opera has just released its latest version of Opera Mini for Android devices onto the Android Market as well as its own mobile website. The Opera Mini 7 web browser brings significantly improved hardware acceleration resulting in faster overall browsing performance and smoother panning. Opera has just released its latest version of Opera Mini for Android devices onto the Android Market as well as its own mobile website. The Opera Mini 7 web browser brings significantly improved hardware acceleration resulting in faster overall browsing performance and smoother panning. There are a range of other improvements also implemented into the new build including changes to the user interface where a limitless number of Speed Dial buttons can be added; this opposed to prior versions with a maximum of nine visual bookmark thumbnails for favorite website access via the Home Screen. Further to the above, Opera has included its Turbo feature into Mini 7 which speeds up browsing speeds and cuts down on download sizes by routing all web page requests through Opera's own proxy server. This proxy server can compress web pages by up to 90 percent before forwarding them onto the user's browser for snappy load times.

March 29th, 2012

As a side note, not that too many folks will be affected here, but Opera Mini 7 does require Android 1.5+.

Firmware update for Seagate GoFlex Satellite brings new features including improved battery life Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/firmware-update-for-seagate-goflexsatellite-brings-new-features-including-improved-battery-life/15385.html March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

movies at the same time, the battery life will be about 4.5 hours. - Password change option is now located on the main screen - Support for M4A (MP4) meta data (album art, song title, artists, etc are now displayed in the various menus) - A-Z scroll bars have been added to the Movies and Documents screens, making it easier to find files - Users can now toggle between the native video player and GoFlex Media video player for Android App on the settings page Steps to update your Seagate GoFlex Satellite's firmware Step 1: Exit the GoFlex Media App on your mobile or tablet device. Step 2: Connect your GoFlex Satellite to your computer using the USB Adapter.

Owners of the Seagate GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage device can now enjoy additional features including access to other Wi-Fi network while connected to the device, as well as improved battery life. Details inside.

Step 3: Download the Satellite Firmware to your computer and copy the downloaded file to your GoFlex Satellite. (Do not put it in a folder) Note: Filename is satellite_firmware_xf_DVT_1.3.5.015.bin (do not rename this file) Step 4: Safely remove the GoFlex Satellite drive a. For Windows - use the safe remove hardware icon by the clock b. For Mac OS - click the eject icon in the finder in Mac OS.

Step 5: Disconnect the USB cable from the computer Step 6: Power on the GoFlex Satellite and let it update. (2-3 Minutes) DO NOT ATTEMPT to connect to the Satellite until the Wi-Fi light on the drive stops blinking. Once the Wi-Fi light stops blinking the GoFlex Satellite is ready to use. So if you have not updated the Seagate GoFlex Satellite firmware, simply download it from Seagate's website. Some of the new features with the updated firmware include: - Users can now join an existing Wi-Fi network while using the GoFlex Satellite wirelessly; most mobile devices can only connect to one Wi-Fi network at a time, so up until now a user would have to choose between accessing media from the GoFlex Satellite and accessing the Internet. With the update, user can connect to the network which GoFlex Satellite creates and stream media, while still having an option withinthe GoFlex Media app to connect to another Wi-Fi source. - Support for up to eight users (the device could only support up to three users previously), but for best performance it is recommended that no more than three users play high definition (HD) movies at the same time. - Option for extended battery life when combined with the current iOS GoFlex Media App (download/play feature on settings page). When the "Stream and download" button is switched on in the settings menu (as it is by default)a single user can watch HD movies (at a quality of 3-megabits) backto-back for up to seven hours. When three users are watching

9.7-inch Eken A90 Android tablet retailing at US$160 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/9.7-inch-eken-a90-android-tabletretailing-at-us-160/15383.html March 29th, 2012

The Apple new iPad is going for US$500, while the Android models with similar screen sizes are also around the same price point. For those who are looking for something more affordable, would know that many China-branded tablets are selling at much lower. And it seems that this Eken A90 Android tablet is said to be the cheapest in the market, at just US$160.

March 29th, 2012

Eken may not be an extremely popular name in the tablet business, but it seems that the China-based company has recently launched their new A90 tablet. According to the company's website, the A90 is powered by a 1.2GHz Allwinner A10 processor with 1GB DDR2 RAM and 8GB storage. (Note that the processor is not dual- or quad-core). It sports a 9.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display with resolutions of up to 1024x768 pixels. The tablet measures just 11mm thin and comes with two microUSB port, 3.5mm earphone jack, microSD slot, and HDMI port. It also has a 2-megapixel rear and 0.3-megapixel front cameras, and is equipped with built-in 5000mAh rechargeable battery. And yes, for this Eken A90, it is retailing at just US$160.

HTCSense.com upgrading requires users to backup their cloud data Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/htcsense.com-upgrading-requiresusers-to-backup-their-cloud-data/15381.html March 29th, 2012

HTCSense.com was launched in 2010 which offer users the features including locating their lost phones remotely, backup their data, and synchronize their contacts and call history to the cloud. And it seems that the company has decided to introduce some new services, but in order to make room for upgrade, it is asking users to download and backup their data they have stored on the cloud to their computers.

Published by: VR-Zone

HTC device owners, do you know you can synchronize your personal data to HTCSense.com cloud service? Well, the service has been around since 2010, and according to the company, it will be temporarily closed by 30 April, end of next month. News reported that HTC is planning a major overhaul to their cloud service to improve user experience. No details have been revealed though, and the company is informing users about the closure of the current service and asking them to download and backup their data they have stored on the cloud. After 30 April, the "data will no longer be accessible and will be deleted". Meantime, do backup the data to your computer if you have not.

Thecus shows off its latest NAS products at ISF Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/thecus-shows-off-its-latest-nasproducts-at-isf/15380.html March 29th, 2012

We missed Thecus at CeBIT earlier this month, but we got a chance to catch up with the company at ISF and have a look at some of its new products. On display were the recently announced N2800 and N4800 Atom powered NAS boxes as well as the Core i3 powered N8850 which is part of a new series of tower NAS products from Thecus for more demanding users, as well as Thecus new tablet. We missed Thecus at CeBIT earlier this month, but we got a chance to catch up with the company at ISF and have a look at some of its new products. On display were the recently announced N2800 and N4800 Atom powered NAS boxes as well as the Core i3 powered N8850 which is part of a new series of tower NAS products from Thecus for more demanding users, as well as Thecus new tablet.

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Both of the front USB ports are now of the 3.0 variety and we also find the D-sub and HDMI ports present here, as well as an audio line-out connector. In this case it comes at the cost of one eSATA port and a pair of USB 2.0 ports which the N4200Pro sported. The additional features pretty much make both the N2800 and N4800 computers rather than NAS devices, even though Thecus doesn't promote them as such.

The N2800 shares the same chassis as the N2200XXX, but the specs have been boosted to include a 2.13GHz Atom D2700 CPU which is paired up with 2GB of DDR3 memory. Thecus has also added a front USB 3.0 port for quickly syncing data from a removable drive with the N2800. An interesting feature that Thecus has added to several of its new NAS products is an HDMI and D-sub connector so that you can do local configuration of these products by simply attaching a display, i.e. no PC needed and you could in fact use a flat screen TV if you didn't have a computer monitor around. There's also an expansion slot, but we were told that this currently only supports USB 3.0 add-in cards and nothing much else.

Come June, Thecus will be issuing a firmware upgrade which will contain new graphics drivers which will see the N2800 and N4800 gain support for HD video playback via the HDMI port, although neither device really looks like something we'd want to put next to our TV. However, this is also where Thecus new tablet comes into play, but more on that a little bit later.

Noctua NH-L12 CPU Cooler Review Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/noctua-nh-l12-cpu-coolerreview/15379.html March 29th, 2012

The N4800 builds on the N4200Pro, but once again we have the Atom D2700 processor and 2GB of DDR3 memory compared to an Atom D525 with only 1GB of DDR3 memory.

Today there is an abundance of high performance CPU coolers, with each company supplying several solutions to the market. The vast majority of such CPU coolers however are tower coolers of significant size, making their implementation inside desktop HTPC cases and other tight configuration problematic. In this review we will examine and test a special kind of cooler; the NH-L12 by Noctua, a low profile quiet cooler developed to offer superior acoustics performance in tight spaces.

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Height (without fan) Width (without fan) Depth (without fan) Height (with fan) Width (with fan) Depth (with fan) Weight (without fan) Weight (with fan) Material

Fan compatibility Scope of Delivery

Intel LGA2011, LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA775 AMD AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, FM1 (backplate required) 66 mm 128 mm 150 mm 93 mm 128 mm 150 mm 415 g 680 g Copper (base and heatpipes), aluminium (cooling fins), soldered joints & nickel plating 120x120x25mm & 92x92x25mm · 1x NF-F12 PWM premium fan · 1x NF-B9 PWM premium fan · 2x Low-Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.)

Voltage Range MTBF

12 V > 150.000 h

Microsoft considering Kinect as home security camera, facial tracker Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/microsoft-considering-kinect-ashome-security-camera-facial-tracker/15378.html March 29th, 2012

Microsoft is considering additional uses outside of gaming for its Kinect motion tracking technology, including the potential as a home security camera and for tracking facial expressions on TV viewers. Microsoft is considering additional uses outside of gaming for its Kinect motion tracking technology, including the potential as a home security camera and for tracking facial expressions on TV viewers. The company is reputedly in the early stages of developing ideas for alternative uses of the device, according to anonymous sources cited by Game Zone. One of the biggest potential areas of expansion is home security. Traditional cameras are already doing that job quite well, when they're not being accessed by hackers, so it's not clear what the Kinect will add to the table. It may be that the Kinect will sense intruders and pivot its camera so that it is constantly following and recording their activities.

· Y-Split Cable · NT-H1 high-grade thermal compound · SecuFirm2™ Mounting Kit · Mini-ITX Mounting-Kit Warranty Fan specifications Model Bearing Max. Rotational Speed (+/10%) Max. Rotational Speed with L.N.A. (+/- 10%) Min. Rotational Speed (PWM) Max. Airflow Max. Airflow with L.N.A. Max. Acoustical Noise Max. Acoustical Noise with L.N.A. Input Power

· Noctua Metal Case-Badge 6 Years

1500 / 1600 RPM

Facial recognition is another area that the company is allegedly exploring, both for games and TV. We can see the potential applications in games, including some party style games that require players to make various expressions towards the camera. An acting training simulator is another possibility.

1200 / 1300 RPM 300 / 300 RPM 93,4 / 64,3 m³/h 74,3 / 52,6 m³/h 22,4 / 17,6 dB(A) 18,6 / 13,1 dB(A)

As for TV, Microsoft might be looking at seeing how people react to shows and ads, but this may be too much of an invasion of privacy. Users are unlikely to want to be test subjects for marketing campaigns, unless there is some kind of reward as an incentive. It could perhaps be introduced to cinemas or other venues than users' homes, but privacy will remain a big stumbling block to any implementation of this idea.

0,6 / 0,96 W 12

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Torment. The Icewind Dale series is another hinted at option for a revamp.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition to launch on iPad and PC Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/baldur-s-gate-enhanced-edition-tolaunch-on-ipad-and-pc/15377.html March 29th, 2012

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, a revamp of the popular BioWare role-playing game, will launch on the iPad and PC, complete with a new user interface and multiplayer support. Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, a revamp of the popular BioWare role-playing game, will launch on the iPad and PC, complete with a new user interface and multiplayer support. Overhaul Games will release the updated title on all versions of the iPad, along with full touchscreen functionality, as well as the game's classic home, the PC. The under 2GB download will include all content from the original game, its expansion Tales of the Sword Coast, and some totally new content developed by the game's original developers, who previously worked at BioWare. This content will include new characters, quests, and adventures. Presumably there will be new landscape for some of this.

The iPad version is expected to retail for around $10. It is not yet clear if the PC version will be the same, but we expect it won't be far off. Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition will launch sometime this Summer.

FBI and others licence Unreal game engine Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/fbi-and-others-licence-unreal-gameengine/15376.html March 29th, 2012

The FBI and other US government agencies have licensed the Unreal game engine, used in Mass Effect 3 and Batman: Arkham City, for training programmes. The FBI and other US government agencies have licensed the Unreal game engine, used in Mass Effect 3 and Batman: Arkham City, for training programmes. The various agencies included in the long-term agreement are the FBI, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), and the US Army, in what will be known as the Unreal Government Network. The FBI Academy will use the technology to develop virtual multiplayer crime scenes for simulated training sessions. The IARPA will use it in so-called â&#x20AC;&#x153;serious gamesâ&#x20AC;? for eliminating bias in intelligence analysis. The US Army will use it to practice anaesthesiology skills for its medics, while weapon researchers will use it as a virtualisation tool.

Additional updates will include modernised graphics, a new UI, and a variety of other unannounced improvements that the studio is promising will be noticeable. Saving on the cloud is a feature they are working on, as is the ability to full mod the game. Some popular mods made by players over the years might even become part of the official game. Overhaul Games previously revamped the old favourite, MKD2, adding completely updated high-definition graphics. The studio is also planning to redo Baldur's Gate 2 and is even considering an enhanced version of Planescape:

The US Army has previously employed the Unreal engine for the promotional first-person shooter America's Army 3 and emergency response simulator Zero Hour, developed by Virtual Heroes.

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Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but in the case of the IARPA the deal was worth over $10 million, suggesting similar prices for other agencies.

Intel Valleyview 2 clock speeds and more unveiled Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-valleyview-2-clock-speeds-andmore-unveiled/15375.html March 29th, 2012

We've already unveiled a lot of details about Intel's Valleyview 2 Atom core which will be part of the Bay Trail SoC and today we can reveal the clock speeds and a few more details about this upcoming Atom core. We've also got details on the TDP, graphics clock and a few other details to share, so click on through for all the gory details. Let's start with clock speeds, the standard SKU will be clocked at up to 1.9GHz, but as is the case, there should be a few different models here, but as far as we're aware this is what Intel is targeting the quad core models to be clocked at. At this speed they should hit a TDP of around 10W, i.e. the same as the current D2700 desktop Atom processor which is a dual core, Hyper Threaded part. The graphics core should be clocked at up to 667MHz, slightly faster than the D2700, but only at about half the speed of an Ivy Bridge graphics core which Valleyview 2 is claimed to be incorporating.

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somewhere as well, but as to what these are, we simply don't know.

Intel's Smart Response, Smart Connect and Rapid Start requirements detailed Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-s-smart-response-smartconnect-and-rapid-start-requirements-detailed/15374.html March 29th, 2012

With the introduction of its new 7-series chipsets – specifically the Z77 and H77 as well as a few mobile variants – Intel will be adding two new technologies in addition to Smart Response. These two new additions will be known as Rapid Start and Smart Connect and the requirements have now been detailed courtesy of Asus' manuals for its upcoming motherboards based on the new chipsets. With the introduction of its new 7-series chipsets – specifically the Z77 and H77 as well as a few mobile variants – Intel will be adding two new technologies in addition to Smart Response. These two new additions will be known as Rapid Start and Smart Connect and the requirements have now been detailed courtesy of Asus' manuals for its upcoming motherboards based on the new chipsets. As previously, Intel's Smart Response will require a minim of 20GB of SSD space and nothing has really changed from the Z68 chipset here. However, in addition to the 20GB of space needed for Smart Response, Rapid Start will consume an equivalent amount of SSD space to that of how much RAM you have installed in the system. Asus is listing 2, 4 and 8GB, but we'd presume if your system has 16GB of RAM, you'll need 16GB of spare SSD space.

As for the SKU targeting battery powered devices, we're looking at a clock speed of up to 1.5GHz and this will be a dual core only part. However, Intel has managed to reduce the TDP to a mere 3W or there about, i.e. lower than the current Atom N2600 mobile part. The graphics clock here will be a mere 350MHz, or 50MHz slower than the Atom N2600 or the same as Intel's upcoming Ultrabook Ivy Bridge processors at their lowest GPU clock speed. The standard SKU or Type 3 as Intel calls it will measure 27x25mm whereas the battery powered SKU or Type 4 will come in at a mere 17x17mm and this is also part of the reason why it lacks some of the features of the Type 3 SKU. Intel will also offer extended temperature versions of the Type 3 SKU, but these won't be able to use some components like the integrated Gigabit MAC, as Intel doesn't have a suitable PHY that works in extended temperature environments and as such a PCI Express Ethernet chip would have to be used. Sadly we haven't managed to dig out any more details with regards to any consumer equivalent chip, but we'd dare to guess that there will be a Type 1 and Type 2 SKU hiding

What makes Rapid Start somewhat more frustrating to use is that it requires a separate partition from the one used for Smart Response, so in other words, if you want to take 14

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advantage of both technologies, you need to chunk up your SSD into smaller partitions. We're not entirely sure if this will be automated or not, but it's something we'll make sure to have a look at in more detail shortly. Asus is also warning that if you're using a 32-bit Windows system with more than 4GB of RAM, Rapid Start might run into some issues. As for Smart Connect, well, it doesn't appear to use up any additional space, as it seems like it's happy to share space with Smart Response on the same partition. Smart Connect is more likely to be found on notebooks, as it's a technology that requires an Intel Wi-Fi card or NIC as far as we're aware, as it allows a computer in sleep or hibernation mode to wake up and download updates for Windows, keep your emails up to date (do people still use offline mail clients?) and even refresh web pages and other internet connected programs. It'll be interesting to see how well this works in praxis, but we have a feeling Intel has put some effort into making it work as seamless as possible.

inXtron shows off the Akitio MyCloud Pro at ISF Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/inxtron-shows-off-the-akitiomycloud-pro-at-isf/15373.html March 29th, 2012

Beyond the Atom D425 processor, inXtron has also added a single DDR3 SO-DIMM slot that accepts up to 4GB of 800MHz memory – although we don't know what the standard configuration will be – a half-size mini PCI Express slot and a USB DOM (Disk On Module), all visible in the PCB picture below.

One issue in the past has been that NAS boxes powered by Intel's Atom processors have been way too expensive to hit consumer level price points and as such this market space has been pretty exclusive to RISC – generally ARM or MIPS – powered solutions. This appears to be changing, as at the Intel Storage Forums inXtron was showing off its Akitio MyCloud Pro which is targeted to retail at sub US$200 while sporting an Atom processor and a fair few other goodies. The MyCloud Pro might not be a high-end Atom NAS, as it sports a 1.83GHz single core Atom D425 processor which can't really compete against more expensive NAS products with Atom's more recent D2x00 series or Atom processors. That said, for most home users – which this product is mainly targeting – it should offer some nice performance improvements over most RISC based NAS products in this price bracket. In fact, the MyCloud Pro offers comparative hardware to previous generation products from many of the more established players in the NAS market that sold for two to three times as much as the MyCloud Pro is expected to retail for.

When it comes to connectivity the MyCloud Pro might be a little bit light on features compared to more expensive products, but it has a single Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB 3.0 ports – via an ASMedia USB 3.0 host controller – and a front USB 2.0 port from which you can easily copy files from a USB storage device onto the NAS. As you can see from the pictures, the MyCloud Pro has space for a pair of 3.5-inch drives and it supports RAID 0, 1 and JBOD.

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone March 29th, 2012

Canon Singapore has announced their latest LEGRIA HFM and HF-R series video camcorders with integrated Wi-Fi connectivitiy, which allow users to share with friends and family on the web. The four video camcorders are - LEGRIA HF M56, LEGRIA HF M52, LEGRIA HF R38 and LEGRIA HF R36.

The UI we saw at ISF looked promising as well with a fairly simple to use point and click UI that borrows a bit from Apple's desktop design. There's of course support for all the standard features you'd expect to see such as UPnP-AV, NFS, FTP, Samba, sharing of content to social networking services and much more, although oddly enough the spec sheet didn't mention DLNA support. The MyCloud Pro does have a BitTorrent client built in as well as an iTunes compatible music server. Another handy feature is apps for iOS and Android devices. Canon Singapore has unveiled four new high definition LEGRIA HF-M and HF-R series camcorders that let users share their videos online without the need of a PC. The LEGRIA HF-M series features an enhanced version of Canonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s HD CMOS PRO sensor that claim to deliver professional-quality full HD video, even under extreme lowlight conditions. With the Canon HD video lens and a powerful 51x advanced zoom in the HF-R series, users can zoom and capture the action easily no matter where they are. With the built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, the LEGRIA HFM and HF-R series let you connect wirelessly to your iOS devices and view or store their recorded MP4 movies on their devices. You can also upload directly to Facebook and YouTube via the Movie Uploader application, as well as stream movies wirelessly from their LEGRIA camcorder to any DLNA-certified HDTV. Overall the Akitio MyCloud Pro looks like a really impressive piece of kit for the money and although inXtron has produced a few NAS products in the past, the MyCloud Pro is vastly more impressive. We're going to try and get a unit in for review to see if it lives up to the specs and see what the transfer speeds are like when in use, as many NAS boxes in this price range tend to suffer when it comes to shuffling large amounts of data across a home network to them, but hopefully this shouldn't be an issue in this case. The product has as yet to launch, but it's apparently not too far away.

Canon Singapore unveils four new LEGRIA camcorders with Wi-Fi connectivity Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/canon-singapore-unveils-four-newlegria-camcorders-with-wi-fi-connectivity/15370.html

Equipped with Advanced HD CMOS PRO sensor that improves low-light sensitivity when shooting in dark environments, the LEGRIA HF-M series boast great clarity with its new 2.37-megapixel full HD CMOS sensor. The HF-M series also features a 10x optical zoom lens and advanced iris diaphragm which helps create more attractive background blur. The four new HD LEGRIA camcorders feature a flat touchscreen panel with a new user interface for easy navigation. A HOME button has also been added for convenience of returning to the main screen. All models come in a sleek and compact form and are equipped with a built-in internal memory and SDHC/SDXC card slot. The Canon LEGRIA HF M52 and Canon LEGRIA HF R38 come with 32GB of built-in memory, while the Canon LEGRIA HFM56 and Canon LEGRIA HF R36 come with 8GB of builtin memory. The Canon LEGRIA camcorders will be available mid April with the following prices:Canon LEGRIA HF M56 - S$1,349 Canon LEGRIA HF M52 - S$1,549 Canon LEGRIA HF R38 - S$1,099 16

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Canon LEGRIA HF R36 - S$899

Here's the full rundown on the specs side of things for Eurocom's Panther 4.0 :-

Eurocom officially unleashes the Panther 4.0 notebook

• CORE LOGIC: Intel X79 Express Chipset • BIOS: Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI); AMI

Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/eurocom-officially-unleashes-thepanther-4.0-notebook/15371.html March 29th, 2012

• PROCESSOR: up to Intel Extreme(3.30GHz, 15MB L3 cache)

Core

i7-3960X

• MEMORY: up to 32GB; DDR3-1333/1600/1866; four physical memory sockets • EXPANSION: Built-in ExpressCard 34/54 slot Eurocom has just formally introduced its latest mobile powerhouse, the Panther 4.0 which is based on Intel's X79 / Sandy Bridge-E platform with the option of a Core i7 3960X Processor Extreme ticking things over at rapid pace.

• STORAGE: up to 4TB of storage with four physical SSD, Hybrid or HDD, RAID 0/1/5/10 support;

Eurocom has just formally introduced its latest mobile powerhouse, the Panther 4.0 which is based on Intel's X79 / Sandy Bridge-E platform with the option of a Core i7 3960X Processor Extreme ticking things over at rapid pace.

• 3x USB 3.0

• I/O PORTS:

• 2x USB 2.0 • eSATA • Firewire-400 (TI XIO2221ZAY) • Display Port v1.2 • DVI-I (SL) • HDMI 1.4a out w/HDCP • Headphone • Microphone • S/PDIF out • Line-in

This 17.3-inch sized (1920 x 1080) notebook gives a multitude of GPU options with both GeForce SLI and AMD Radeon CrossFireX support via Modular MXM 3.0b connectivity. NVIDIA GPU options include the GTX 675M, 670M, 660M, GTX 580M and GTX 560M as well as Quadro 5010M, 4000M or 3000M GPUs. On the AMD side, there's the option of Radeon HD 6990M or HD 6970M GPUs.

• RJ-45 / LAN • COMMUNICATION: built-in 10/100/1000Mb Base-TX Ethernet LAN (Intel 82579V); WLAN (optional); Bluetooth v2.1+EDR (optional); 2M Video Webcam (built-in) • SECURITY: TPM 1.2; Fingerprint, Kensington Lock • KEYBOARD: Illuminated full-size with separate numeric keypad; with three customizable lighting areas and seven optional colours; W/A/S/D gaming key; built-in touchpad with multi-gesture and scrolling functions; 6 touch sensor instant buttons: Volume Up/Down, Mute, WLAN, BT, Webcam • WEIGHT/DIMENSIONS: 419(W)x286(D)x57.9-62.1(H)mm (16.76x11.44x2.31-2.48inch)

5.5kg

(12.1lbs);

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Published by: VR-Zone

the support for Verizon's 4G LTE network, which will greatly improve the speed of web browsing and content streaming etc. The LG Lucid 4G measure 119.1 x 62.2 x 11.4mm, weighs just 142g and comes with a 1700mAh battery that can provide up to 350 hours of standby time, and up to 8 hours of usage. Verizon Wireless will retail in stores tomorrow, 29 March, at US$130 (before rebate).

Huawei aims to be the new IBM? Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/huawei-aims-to-be-the-newibm-/15368.html March 29th, 2012

Quite the serious piece of kit indeed. The below video also lets you get a good glimpse underneath the covers. Unprintable Content (Video, Flash, etc.) For further details including the full list of optional extras on this US $3,499 base priced 5.5Kg chunk of mobile PC, head over to the official product page here.

China has now its share of high powered movers and shakers in the IT world. We all know how Lenovo masterfully played the strokes with its IBM PC division to become the global PC brand. How about the other big name there, Huawei?

Verizon selling LG Lucid 4G on 29 March at US$130 Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/verizon-selling-lg-lucid-4g-on-29march-at-us-130/15369.html March 29th, 2012

Verizon Wireless has announced that the LG Lucid 4G dualcore smartphone will be retailing in US from tomorrow at US $130; or US$80 with two-year contract (after a US$50 mailin rebate).

If only reading the past stories about them in the western press, one would easily assume Huawei to be just a - very big one, though - plagiarizer of glorious western technology marvels in the networking and telecoms business, especially damaging to the once leading show in town, Cisco. While part of their business seemed a bit like that, the reality is that Huawei grew way beyond that level, and the new aspirations seem to be very serious, on the global level. The staff in Huawei's Shenzhen outfit - not a small one mind you, with a square mile-sized campus of some 60,000 workers - shared with us some interesting stories. Firstly, the general Huawei strategy now, ordered from the very top, is not to be the new Cisco, but the new IBM. In this contest, it means controlling everything: from the whole hardware stack, including their own CPUs, own servers and of course own telecoms and networking stuff, improving the software stack, to much stronger solutions and services arm.

The LG Lucid 4G smartphone is equipped with 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB memory and incorporates Corning Gorilla Glass on its 4-inch IPS-LCD touchscreen (480x800 resolution). The smartphone also features a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash at the rear, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth and USB 2.0, and according to LG, it will receive the Google Android 4.0 ICS update soon. One of its biggest strength is

While the ARM handphone CPU Huawei has is just the beginning, despite its seemingly very high performance, they argue the real push will come at the high end, especially servers, since the company wants to become the dominant player in the field. It'd be interesting to see which CPUs they would use there, aside from the obligatory Intel lines, since China is abound now with its own high end CPU offerings. Keep in mind that, while it may be associated with Chinese government and even PLA these days, Huawei had quite humble, enterprising beginnings. So, dismissing all this as a party-ordered big time plan would be a big mistake. As far as 18

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we're told, they are dead serious on this, and there's plenty of money and other resources to back the plan. More to come as we hear!

Apple Australia offers to refund misled customers on new iPad Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-australia-offers-to-refundmisled-customers-on-new-ipad/15367.html March 29th, 2012

Owners of the new iPad in Australia who feel that they have been misled about the device's 4G broadband capability, may soon be able to get a refund from Apple.

According to Apple's senior counsel Paul Anastassiou, the company has proposed refunds to customers in Australia who feel that they have been misled about the new iPad's 4G broadband functionality. Apple will also publish clarifications on its website and at sales outlets with regards to the incompatibility of the new iPad with 4G network support in Australia. Anastassiou also said that the company has never claimed the new iPad would work fully on existing 4G network operated by Telstra Corp, and it had been widely reported by the local media ahead of the iPad launch that it wouldn't be compatible.

Published by: VR-Zone March 29th, 2012

Gold is unquestionably one of the most sought-after commodities on this planet and a universal symbol of power and prestige. For their upcoming Z77 (Ivy Bridge) flagship, ECS literally used their midas touch to create a gold themed motherboard. We lay our coveteous eyes on it... ECS is not the first company to use gold plated components but they have definitely got the balance and asthetics right on their upcoming flagship motherboard - the Z77H2A2X Black Extreme. The advantages of using gold is the corrosion resistance and superior electrical conductivity relative to other common metals. Although the Taiwanese motherboard maker has had a checkered past when it comes to enthusiast overclocking, their inexpensively priced boards have been generally reliable and feature-filled. In this instance, we see a functional and well spaced out ATX layout with no glaring wire routing issues or obstruction.

Right on the box itself, we see a sticker boasting about its memory overclocking credentials (2800+MHz), although we suspect its more to do with the dexterity of the Ivy Bridge memory controller.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, or ACCC, has lodged a complaint at the Federal Court in Melbourne, accusing Apple of false advertising about the new iPad's 4G+Wi-Fi being able to work in Australia.

First Looks: ECS Z77H2-A2X Black Extreme - The Midas Touch Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-looks-ecs-z77h2-a2x-blackextreme--the-midas-touch/15363.html

Here we have a list of components that have been plated gold

March 29th, 2012

Published by: VR-Zone

Gold Plated Galore: For networking, we get a single Gigabit LAN port, bluetooth and wireless options without extra unsightly wiring. The venerable PS/2 is done away here to make way for 8 USB ports, 4 of which are USB3.0 (2 of them native from the Z77 PCH). Display wise we get a HDMI output and the soon to be depreciated D-sub/DVI (Single Link) connectors. There is also a E-SATA and 7.1 channel audio as well.