Computers

22:19 November 14, 2007 PST

November 15, 2007 Panasonic has added three "business-rugged" notebook computers their Toughbook suite. The new trio is drop-and spill-resistant with strong magnesium alloy cases and chassis, shock-mounted hard drives and LCDs, and internal flexible connectors for additional protection. Read More

NEC Powermate P5010 all-in-one hybrid PC

14:51 November 14, 2007 PST

November 15, 2007 The miniaturization of PC components has paved the way for all-in-one designs such as Apple’s iMac which do away with the traditional bulky PC beige box and make way for space-saving, minimalist units. Embracing and expanding on this trend is NEC’s Powermate P5010, an all-in-one hybrid PC designed to combine the advantages of both laptops and desktops. Featuring an AMD Turion 64 X2 dual core processor, 2GB DDR2 Memory, 200GB SATA HDD and a slot-loading DVD Super Multi drive, the P5010's slim white chassis makes optimum use of space by incorporating a wireless keyboard and mouse, a clever gadget-pocket and a one-cable set-up that keeps the desktop footprint small, whilst its light-weight and the inclusion of an in-built carry bar enables easy portability. Read More

RESEARCH WATCH

IBM closes in on petaflop barrier

16:46 November 13, 2007 PST

The IBM Blue Gene/L supercomputer. (photo credit Livermore National Laboratory).

November 14, 2007 Astronomical figures abound in the world of supercomputing and the numbers have just become even more astounding with IBM continuing its four-year domination of the official TOP500 Supercomputer Sites List with a new world record courtesy of the Blue Gene/L supercomputer. Although the Blue Gene/L, located at the Lawrence Livermore national Laboratory in California, has held the number one position since November 2004, the system was significantly expanded this summer to deliver a sustained performance of 478 trillion calculations per second (478 “teraflops”). Read More

Intel release eco-friendly, high-performance 45nm processors

By Kyle Sherer

16:36 November 12, 2007 PST

Processors on an Intel 45nm Hafnium-based High-k Metal Gate ''Penryn'' Wafer photographed ...

November 13, 2007 Intel has unveiled sixteen new chips incorporating 45nm Hafnium-based high-k metal gate transistors that are smaller, faster and more eco-friendly than previous generations. Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Intel, has labeled the breakthrough as the biggest transistor advancement in 40 years with the improvement expected to further extend Moore’s Law, which he originally described in 1965. Read More

LAPTOPS

GETAC V100 ruggedized notebook-tablet

22:34 November 6, 2007 PST

November 7, 2007 GETAC's water-proof, shock-proof and drop-proof V100 features a 10.4-inch XGA LCD screen that rotates by 180-degrees, transforming the ruggedized notebook into a Tablet PC designed to withstand harsh use in industrial and field environments. Read More

New open standard for monitoring PC peripherals

14:22 November 6, 2007 PST

XPS 700 desktop from Dell, one of the companies involved in the ESA project

November 7, 2007 More than 15 leading PC OEMs, motherboard, and peripheral manufacturers have joined together to endorse Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA), a new, open and royalty-free standard for the monitoring and controlling of PC power supplies, chassis, and water-cooling systems. Backed by PC industry names including NVIDIA, Dell, HP, Alienware, CoolerMaster and Thermaltake, ESA specifies an information protocol that system components can use to communicate with each other to adjust operating parameters, and relay important system information back to the user. Read More

Sony's wall-mountable VAIO series panel PC notebook

16:38 November 1, 2007 PDT

November 2, 2007 Aiming to merge the PC with a home entertainment center, Sony has added to their VAIO notebook lineup with the release of the LM series notebooks. The LM series features an eye-catching panel PC design reminiscent of Sony’s BRAVIA LCD TV’s with its’ 19 inch screen framed by a transparent bezel to blend into the surrounding environment. For ultimate integration, the VAIO LM series can be wall-mounted and features wireless keyboard, mouse and remote control. Read More

LAPTOPS

LapWorks Futura Laptop Desk

18:17 October 21, 2007 PDT

October 22, 2007 Laptops can get extremely hot and become uncomfortable on your lap. One solution is to use a pillow or something similar between your lap and the laptop but this is a poor strategy - it might keep you cool, but a pillow conforms to the bottom of the laptop and prevents the escape of hot air resulting in parts overheating and in turn reducing the lifespan of the device. LapWorks Inc., the market leader in ergonomic and heat reducing laptop desks, has recently released their Futura model and Techwarelabs has been testing the device - read their review. Read More

Hitachi flag 4TB Desktop PCs in 2011

18:34 October 15, 2007 PDT

October 16, 2007 The exponential growth of digital storage capacity continues unabated with news that Hitachi has developed recording heads up to 2,000 times smaller than the width of an average human hair – a nanotechnology breakthrough that is expected to quadruple current storage capacity limits to four terabytes (TB) on a desktop hard drive and one TB on a notebook hard drive. Read More

AROUND THE HOME

Surface computing meets home automation: ROSIE Coffee table touch-panel

By Emily Clark

23:42 September 4, 2007 PDT

September 5, 2007 Surface computing is moving full steam ahead and this latest release from Savant is another reminder that even the wireless mouse is becoming an outmoded piece of technology. The ROSIE Coffee Table Touchpanel Controller offers an easily accessible interface for home automation coupled with interactive multimedia capabilities, connecting to iTunes, digital cameras, IP network cameras, business card readers and various high-tech devices around the home. Read More

Cable Lock Attachment protects against keyboard and mouse theft

00:53 August 8, 2007 PDT

August 8, 2007 The loss of a keyboard, mouse or any other cable-attached PC device due to theft could be a considerable inconvenience. Not only is there the cost of replacing the item, but when on the road they may not always be easy to replace. That’s where the Targus Cable Lock keyboard and mouse attachment comes in – the small (9 x 4.5 x 3cm) unobtrusive security device is designed to protect cable-attached items and ensure that your PC is stays fully functional. Read More

Mouse meets remote control: Logitech release cordless air mouse

July 13, 2007 As part of a shift towards navigation devices that cater for the new digital media era where computers and home entertainment converge, Logitech have released a laser mouse that works in the air like a television remote as well as on the desk. The MX Air Rechargeable Cordless Air Mouse incorporates several different motion sensing and wireless technologies that enable the mouse to be held in any orientation and pointed in any direction, facilitating intuitive “flick of the wrist” cursor control and distinguishing between intentional and unintentional hand movements so that an involuntary shake wont result in stopping playback by accident. Read More

1 terabyte portable storage solution

July 2, 2007 The advent of data hungry formats like digital video demand big, fast, practical storage solutions and this latest release from Newer Technology fits the bill. Designed for audio/video editing, digital photography, MP3 libraries and high-speed back up, the miniStack v3 is a quad interface storage device offering transfer rates of up to 150 Megabytes per second and a capacity of up to 1 terabyte (1000GB) – enough for 350,000 MP3 songs. Read More

Gateway updates convertible notebook with pressure sensitive stylus

June 29, 2007 Gateway has updated its professional convertible notebook series to include a new pressure sensitive stylus and biometric security features. Tailored as durable electronic palette for digital art applications, the E-295C facilitates direct input onto its swivelling 14-inch screen and recognizes 256 levels of sensitivity to achieve the simulation of paint on canvas. Read More

IBM unleashes World's Fastest Chip

By Mike Hanlon

IBM's new POWER6 chip is a 64 bit, dual-core processor with 790 million transistors runnin...

May 22, 2007 IBM today simultaneously launched the fastest microprocessor ever built and an ultra-powerful new computer server that leverages the chip’s many breakthroughs in energy conservation and virtualization technology. The new server is the first ever to hold all four major benchmark speed records for business and technical performance. At 4.7 GHz, the dual-core POWER6 processor doubles the speed of the previous generation POWER5 while using nearly the same amount of electricity to run and cool it. This means customers can use the new processor to either increase their performance by 100 percent or cut their power consumption virtually in half. Read More