Cooler Master has launched its new mid-tower gaming chassis, the HAF 912 Advanced. Targeted at gamers, this new chassis brings the most appreciated features of our HAF (High Air Flow) series to mid-tower cases.
The new Cooler Master HAF912 Advanced is a no-compromise chassis that offers the perfect balance between size, space, cooling and cost. Whether you are looking for a gaming chassis with all bells and whistles or an affordable option, the new HAF 912 delivers on every count. Belonging to our HAF (High Air Flow) range, this chassis offers unmatched cooling and sets a new benchmark amongst mid-tower cases.
The HAF 912 Advanced offer plenty of space for your system to grow as you upgrade. It has room for no less than four 5.25-inch drives, six 3.5-inch internal drives and two 2.5-inch drives in its standard configuration. However, one of the 5.25-inch drive bays come pre-fitted with an adapter so that it accepts 3.5-inch drive. A section of the 3.5-inch cage that holds up to four drives can be rotated 90 degrees, or removed to fit graphics cards longer than 320mm. The bottom mounted 2.5-inch drive cage can also be mounted on top of the bottom half of the 3.5-inch drive cage if more room is needed at the bottom of the case. This modular approach puts you in total control and its something you wont find anywhere else.
Ventilation is important in any computer, but more so in a gaming PC and the HAF 912 Advanced chassis is designed for unhindered air flow. Cable management and routing has been made easy by providing access holes where theyre most needed. The motherboard tray has notches for proper fastening of cables using cable ties, which help in keeping the interiors neat and tidy. Removable dust filters are also pre-fitted to the front of the case as well as the PSU air intake at the bottom.
One of the most important aspects of a gaming chassis is for it to keep the components cool and the HAF 912 Advanced sets a new benchmark in its class. The HAF 912 Advanced comes with two 200mm fan one top mounted and the other at the front. Theres one 120mm at the back and provisions have been made for adding either a 120 or 140mm fan on the sides. The HAF 912 Advanced has been designed to accept an external, top mounted, dual 120mm radiator liquid cooling system. Three pass-through holes with rubber grommets for the tubing are pre-cut.
The HAF 912 Advanced is priced at an MRP of Rs 7,300 and carries one year warranty. The product is available ex-stock. The Cooler Master HAF 912 Advanced will be distributed by Acro Engineering Company.
Researchers want to make window shopping a special experience in future by enabling passers-by to operate window displays with hand and facial gestures.Cameras record the 3D positions of peoples hands,face and eyes and transform them into commands for selecting and purchase goods even after the shop has closed.
IMAGINE THIS
A woman passing by the window display is captivated and asks her companion Isnt the leather bag chic Which one do you mean There are so many of them. The woman points to one of the bags and the purse appears on a display in the shop window.Then she points to a button and the object rotates.So thats what it looks like from the back. She makes another gesture to zoom in letting her see every detail.
This experience is possible thanks to a 3D system from the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications in Germany.Its interactive shop window enables people passing by to put goods behind shop windows onto a display with simple hand and facial gestures.
GETTING INTERACTIVE
Interactive shopping has been standard operating procedure in the Web for a long time.Now,were putting this technology into pedestrian passageways and shopping centres with the entire unit behind the window, said Paul Chojecki,a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications.
Cameras continually record the 3D positions of the hands,faces and eyes of persons passing by.Then,imageprocessing software calculates the coordinates and transforms them into the corresponding inputs for selecting goods,viewing them in detail and immediately purchasing them even after business hours.
Anyone interested can have also themselves shown product information such as colour,material,price,availability and information on the manufacturer.
HOW IT WORKS
The interactive shop window consists of four cameras and visualisation software.Two of these stereo cameras record the face and eyes while the other two record the motion of the hands.Image processing recognises both gestures such as when you turn your hand and when you point to a button with your finger that you can see on a monitor.The researcher adds that the system doesnt store any personal data and only the coordinates of the body parts it recognises are passed onto the visualisation.
The way the payment process is taken care of is also left up to the shop owner.
But thats not all.The interactive shop window not only identifies how many people are in front of the shop window,but it also can suggest on the basis of the gathered data what products and information the people passing by might be interested in.
A Pen Which Helps in Dealing with Stress Situations, If all gadgets be like this pen, the world would be less stressed (or not). Built by a student at the University of Technology Delft, the Netherlands, this pen makes writing more difficult if used aggressively. This supposedly makes the writer calmer. But only supposedly.
In the future,more and more products will be able to interpret what users are feeling and use that information in a smart way.To illustrate the power of this theory,TU Delft researcher Miguel Bruns Alonso has developed a pen which can measure the stress levels of the person using it,and can actually help to reduce that stress.In experiments,the heart rate of people who used it fell by an average of five per cent.
What it tells
NERVOUS MOVEMENTS
STRESS AND THE HEART RATE
When the pen was evaluated in an experiment,people who received feedback on their behaviour had a lower heart rate (around 5 percent lower) than those who received no feedback.They experienced less psychological stress.However,neither were they aware that they were actually receiving any feedback on their behaviour.They also said that they did not feel any less stress.
The anti-stress pen is still a prototype and not (yet) available for purchase.
LONDON The 3D hologram you saw in Star Wars may soon become a reality,thanks to a new breakthrough made by researchers at the University of Arizona.They have developed a holographic system that can transmit a series of 3D images in near-real-time,a precursor to holographic videoconferencing,that would eventually let us interact with images of friends from across the globe.
The system incorporates a novel,photorefractive polymer one that can rapidly refresh holographic images and is scalable for production coupled to a unique system for recording and transmitting 3D images of individuals and objects via Ethernet.Lead author Pierre-Alexandre Blanche and his colleagues from the university and Nitto Denko Technical,described the breakthrough in the journal Nature.
This advance brings us a step closer to the ultimate goal of realistic holographic telepresence with high-resolution,human-size,3D images that can be sent at video refresh rates from one part of the world to the other, said co-author Nasser Peyghambarian.ANI
The company has officially launched the guitar and calls it Kitara. The Kitara features a 8-inch multi-functional touchscreen, MIDI controls and an on-board polyphonic synthesizer with effects, allowing guitarists to fully express their musical vision. Instead of guitar strings, Kitara guitarists control sound through their fingertips, using the touchscreen and fret board to play, enhance and alter sounds in real-time.
The Linux-based Kitara offers over 100 digital sounds, six pre-loaded effects, 24 frets and 144 notes. It has 1.25-inch audio out, MIDI out and 3.5mm headphone out. The Kitara digital guitar is available for pre-order for $849. There is the Kitara Limited Edition with a precision-etched body of solid aluminum, which is priced at $2899.
Western Digital is trying to build upon the success of its WD TV Live Plus with the launch of the WD TV Live Hub, a set-top box that delivers even more functionality for entertainment seekers.
The WD TV Live Hub comes with a built-in 1TB hard drive, allowing customers to store all kinds of video and audio content on the device. In fact, Western Digital said the product includes support for 1080p video formats, .mkv, .mp4, and .mov. In addition, video, music, or photos stored on the device can be streamed to any DLNA/UPnP-compatible products, including the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Western Digital also said that the content can be streamed to the iPad, iPhone, and Android-based smartphones with the help of third-party applications.
The WD TV Live Hub boasts user interface configuration options that allow users to change screen backgrounds or themes. The device comes with two USB ports that let users transfer content from cameras, external hard drives, or other products to the WD TV Live Hub.
But the set-top box doesn't solely cater to those who want to watch their own content. The device also includes support for Netflix streaming, YouTube, Flickr, and Pandora. It's the only product in Western Digital's line of set-top boxes to feature Blockbuster On Demand. The WD TV Live Hub also includes Facebook integration, allowing users to upload photos or videos, as well as change their status and view their news feeds.
The WD TV Live Hub is a definite step up over the WD TV Live Plus, which lacks the 1TB hard drive and the ability to stream content throughout the home. But like the WD TV Live Plus, the WD TV Live Hub lacks Wi-Fi.
WD TV Live Hub owners will be forced to connect to the Web via Ethernet or buy an accessory to connect to a Wi-Fi network. It's unfortunate. And it's a glaring omission in a field with several devices, including the Apple TV and Logitech Revue, that do come with Wi-Fi built in. The Western Digital TV Live Hub retails in India atRs 9,999.
Specifications : Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, HDMI, Composite A/V, Component video, Optical audio, 1 TB capacity, Windows/Mac operating system supported.
Features:
Watch popular movies and TV episodes instantly: Don't wait for the mailman to deliver your movies and don't settle for streaming to your small computer screen. Choose from over 10,000 titles from Blockbuster On Demand or access your Netflix unlimited membership and watch TV episodes and movies on your big screen.
Access popular Internet content from the comfort of your living room: Play YouTube videos, access Facebook, see your photos on Flickr, play music on Pandora, and watch daily video podcasts from CNN, NBC, MTV, ESPN, and other online content.
Play almost any type of media file: WD TV Live Hub supports a wide variety of the most popular file formats including HD camcorder video formats. No need to spend time transcoding.
Automatic play: Select your favorite song, movie or photo slideshow to automatically play when the device is turned on. Perfect for living art on your HDTV or for digital signage.
Access media anywhere on your home network: The Ethernet port lets you connect this media player to your home network so you can access and stream video, view photos, and play music from any Mac, PC, and network drive in your house.
Play all your personal media the easy way: Load up the high-capacity drive with all your media to create your own media jukebox. In a few clicks, you can play your home movies, share vacation slideshows, and play your music on the big screen and sound system in your living room.
It's a multi-room media server streaming to any TV in your house: You can stream any file on the WD TV Live Hub media center to a WD TV Live media player or any DLNA/UPnP compatible TV, Blu-ray Disc player, or game console. The system is powerful enough to handle multiple streams so you can stream a movie to your Blu-ray Disc player, while viewing photos on your TV upstairs.
Video camera-ready: Connect your camcorder or digital camera directly to the media center and instantly view or archive HD video and photos without a PC.
Sync new media: The player automatically synchronizes with watched folders so new content from any PC, Mac, or USB storage will be added to the WD TV Live Hub.
Transfer files easily: Copy, move or delete files stored on a USB drive, a network drive, your camcorder, or a camera attached to the media center using the on-screen menus.
Programmable remote: Use the included programmable remote control to make your entertainment choices using our crisp, animated navigation menus. Customize buttons for quick and easy access to your favorite music, photos, videos or menu choices.
Full-HD 1080p video playback: This is the real thing; Full-HD 1080p playback. Sit back and enjoy the spectacular picture quality of brilliant high definition video and the crystal-clear sound of digital audio.
Works with USB keyboards: Use the on-screen keyboard, an alphanumeric keypad, or attach your wired or wireless USB keyboard for easy text input. Perfect for searching videos on YouTube or updating your status on Facebook.
HDMI 1.4, composite video and component video output: The HDMI port lets you connect to the highest quality HDTV or home theater. Additional composite (RCA), and component outputs ensure compatibility with virtually all television sets.
SPDIF digital output: The optical audio output sends digital signals to your AV receiver for the best surround sound experience.
WASHINGTON Trees with naturally glowing leaves could one day offer an eco-friendly alternative to street lamps.Researchers from the Academia Sinica and the National Cheng Kung University in Taipei have implanted glowing,sea urchin shaped gold nanoparticles,known as bio light emitting diodes,or bio LEDs,inside the leaves of a plant.
The new nanoparticles could replace the electricity powered street light with biologically powered light that removes CO2 from the atmosphere 24 hours a days.
In the future,bio-LED could be used to make roadside trees luminescent at night.This will save energy and absorb CO2 as the bio-LED luminescence will cause the chloroplast to conduct photosynthesis, Discovery News quoted Yen-Hsun Su.
The gold,sea urchin shaped nanoparticles are the key to turning a material that normal absorbs light into one that emits it.
Chlorophyll,the photosynthetic pigment that gives leaves their characteristic green colour,is widely known for its ability to absorb certain wavelengths of light.
However,under certain circumstances,such as being exposed to violet light,chlorophyll can also produce a light of its own.When exposed to light with a wavelengths of about 400 nanometres the normally green coloured chlorophyll glows red.Violet light is hard to come by though,especially at night,when glowing leaves would be useful.The scientists needed a source of violet light,and found it in the gold nanoparticles.
When shorter wavelengths of light,invisible to the human eye,hit the gold nanoparticles,they get excited and start to glow violet.That violet light strikes the nearby chlorophyll molecules,excites them,and the chlorophyll then produces the red light.The scientists hope that that trees treated with the gold nanoparticles would produce enough light that they could replace electric or gas street lights.
The study has been published in the journal Nanoscale.AGENCIES
LONDON Its processor works 1,000 times slower than the Apple iPad,but the first ever Apple computer has sold for 425 times the price.
The Apple I,one of only 200 such models ever made,was sold at Christies auction house in central London for $2,10,000.It came with its original packaging and a signed sales letter from Steve Jobs,one of Apple Computers co-founders and the current CEO of Apple.
When the Apple I was introduced in 1976,it was the only personal computer to come with a fully assembled motherboard,making it ready to use straight from the box provided the user supplied a keyboard,power supply,and display,Christies said.
It sold for $666.66 and was available until it was discontinued in 1977.Bidding on the Apple I came quickly,with the computer eventually going to Italian businessman and private collector Marco Boglione.
Wozniak said the auction was a historic moment for his work,especially when sold alongside such other technological greats as the writings of mathematician Alan Turing,considered one of the founders of modern computing.
Today my heart went out as I got to see things auctioned off like the Turing documents and the Enigma machine and the Apple I, Wozniak told journalists after the auction.It really was an important step,(even though) I didnt feel that way when I designed it. AP
The keyboard is among the most underappreciated and taken for granted component of the Personal Computer (PC) that we use everyday.
We are all creatures of habit. We generally use certain keys and not others in certain way.
What are the origins and history of the now current accepted PC computer keyboard?
Interestingly enough the standard keyboard layout did not originate in one fell swoop. It developed through three separate IBM keyboard projects and often involved mistakes and pitfalls along its evolutionary path.
Most keyboard setups have their direct origin in the original IBM keyboard – “The IBM Enhanced 101 Key Keyboard “which IBM set as the standard in the year of 1987. The Enhanced Keyboard was not the first but rather IBM’s third keyboard standard for PCs.
What were these previous frameworks of IBM keyboard models?
First the original IBM PC and XT keyboards had 83 keys. There were 10 function keys on the left side of the keyboard, a combined number pad and a cursor pad placed on the right hand side. The now called Control (Ctrl), Left Shift, and Alt keys were arranged in a line next to the function keys.
The Escape (Esc) as we know it was to the left of the numbers in the top row. To the right of the Right Shift Key, an unshifted asterisk key allowed the user to type the now common *.* without acrobatics. Between the tiny Left Shift key and the Zee key was a Backslash / Vertical key. The Enter key was narrow and vertically aligned and very easy to miss by most early PC users.
The design of this original IBM keyboard standard was a mixture of sensible and absurd keyboard layout decisions so much so that the admired components overshadowed the less thought out shortcomings and thus here we are today.
IBM’s next design was the original AT keyboard. This was somehow made incompatible with the earlier PC/XT design but a calculating user could reprogram in essence the newer keyboard to work.
The AT keyboard again had the then accepted ten function keys on the left, but exiled the Esc and the unshifted asterisk to the number pad. The Enter key was L-shaped and the Backsplash key, which now occupied the spot which used to be the left half of the Backspace key. Was reduced in size to the width of a single “alpha” key.
At some point when market forces pushed IBM to upgrade the venerable AT computer, it introduced the Enhanced model keyboard which was compatible with the original AT
model, but had a drastically different layout. The ESC key and the 12 function keys were now along the top, the number pad was moved to the right. And a new cursor pad was placed between the alpha keys a number pad. The cursor pad ( which was actually split into two sets of keys ) consisted of four arrow keys in an inverted T at the bottom and a separate bank of 6 keys at the top: Ins ( Insert) , Del (Delete) , Home and End, and PgUp (Page up_ and PgDn ( Page down) .
What happened is that the computer users of the time disastrously started to press the Delete key when they meant end. There was virtually little memory, by today’s standards’ hence no advanced features of rescue that we take for granted today. A computer user who may have spent hours typing a major endeavor such as master’s thesis may have seen his hard work disappear into never never land.
It did not take too long for the complaints to arrive at IBM head office to rectify the situation. “Leave well enough alone “was the refrain. And the Backspace key returned to its original double width. The backslash key now occupied a single row. Caps lock migrated to the old side of the Ctrl key, and twin Ctrl and Alt keys flanked the spacebar.
The Del key though remained in its now current place although in some keyboards it is now double sized.
Like it or not this layout has become the standard by which we live with our computer enhanced lives.
The keyboard is among the most underappreciated and taken for granted component in our every day computer lives. We seldom stop to think why certain keys are laid out in the given way. Like it or not we owe a debt to thoughtfulness and thoroughness of the original IBM PC project engineers.
It seems the main reason people are sitting on the fence about the Dell Streak — that is if they’re into the large form factor — is the stock Android 1.6 release. Well, the Streak’s 2.1 release suddenly appeared over at Modaco’s Forums this morning and users seem to have nothing but good things to say about the release.
Chief among them is the noticeable performance bump and the reworked camera interface along with 720p video capture. The only small issue is that the update wipes the device clean during the update process. Now, there’s really no way of knowing when the official 2.1 release is coming later this month, but at least this is other there and seems to solve many of the early adopter’s gripes.
Hardware-wise, the Dell Streak features the following:
A sharp 5-inch capacitive multi-touch WVGA (800x480) display for a great full-screen experience watching video or browsing the web
Fast 1GHz Snapdragon ARM-based mobile processor from Qualcomm
5 MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash that offers easy point & shoot capability and quick uploads to YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and more
VGA front-facing camera enables video chat functionality down the road
A user-removable (and replaceable) battery
A 3.5mm headphone jack means many of you can use the Dell Streak as the music source (and more) in your car
A customized multi-touch version of the Google Android operating system that features Dell user interface enhancements.
Access to over 38,000 apps (and growing) via the Android Marketplace.
Microsoft Exchange connectivity and integration through TouchDown.
Google Voice suppor.
Integrated Google Maps with voice-activated search, turn-by-turn navigation, street and satellite views
Quick access to activity streams via integrated social network app widgets like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc
You can also personalize Dell Streak Android 2.1
Dell streak price and launch date:
The main attraction of Dell streak web tablet is the option for customized design. Like Dell studio laptops, we expect some variation in the price based on the color combination. In any case the Dell stark will cost around 500$ on its launch.
1. Check Windows Update and Office Update regularly (_http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates); have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options.
2. Install a personal firewall. Both SyGate (_www.sygate.com) and ZoneAlarm (_www.zonelabs.com) offer free versions. Apart from this COMODO also provides a great firewall protection.
3. Install a free spyware blocker. Our Editors' Choice ("Spyware," April 22) was SpyBot Search & Destroy (_http://security.kolla.de). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies.
4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them.
5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be f8izKro@l. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts.
6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities.
7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try Grisoft AVG Free Edition (Grisoft Inc., w*w.grisoft.com). And doublecheck your AV with the free, online-only scanners available at w*w.pandasoftware.com/activescan and _http://housecall.trendmicro.com.
8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue.
9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at _http://security.ziffdavis.com, so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions.
10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."
Skullcandy, known for their rocker and punk-type gadgets, partnered with Roc Nation to produce this Aviator headphones that will surely appeal to teenagers and even to young adults.
Although it feels bulkier then other headphone of its kind, you will see in person that they are actually more portable than they look. You can fold them up to make them appear a bit smaller and easier to carry around anywhere.
Features
20-20kHz frequency response.
650Ohms impedance.
40mW of input power.
100mW of output.
3.5mm gold-plated plug :)
You can expect these headphones to be available in june but the prices are not disclosed as yet.
In its effort to promote itself as the softdrink vendor of the future, the Coca-Cola company is now providing its customers with one hundred new ways to get early diabetes, using its new soda fountain, the Freestyle, offering more than 100 flavors from flavored water to carbonated and noncarbonated sodas and energy drinks.
Designed by the BSquare coroporation, the Coke Freestyle's touch interface allows you to select any drink of your choice, or even live it up a little by combining several drinks to make for one very potent sugar rush. The Freestyle works on PurePour technology, which was originally invented to monitor and measure cancer drugs and dialysis. But of course, choosing or mixing and matching your favorite softdrinks is now the more important function.
The Freestyle can also send business data back to Coke headquarters to determine product demand and peak times of beverage consumption, to help them learn how to ruin your health more effectively and at little cost as possible!
Whew! And we thought it wouldn't land here. AMD's Vision that hit the Americas a few weeks back is hitting us here as well. Those caught between an Intel Core i5 and an AMD Phenom X4, an addiction to more multicore processors, will now have an easier time discerning which will satisfy their desires with the announcement of Dell's Studio XPS 7100. These workstations come with either AMD's Phenom II X6 six-core CPU, or quad core Athlon IIs. Walt Mayo, Vice President and General Manager for Dell Consumer Asia says, “The Studio XPS 7100 desktop, in particular, delivers a seamless experience for multitasking entertainment activities and multimedia creation.”
Here are some of the specs you can expect this to come with:
Oversized 460-watt power supply to support future expansion and hardware upgrades including AMD 125W class CPUs and 225W class graphics.
Up to 16GB of fast DDR3 dual-channel memory.
Up to 4TB (terabytes)of hard drive storage.
Premium integrated ports include, eSATA, Optical SPDIF and HDMI for more digital connections.
Integrated 19-in-one media card reader and SATA 6GB for higher speed disk transfer of HD media.
Dell Studio XPS 7100 Specs
Processor and Chipset
AMD Six-Core and Quad-Core processors up to 125W TDP
AMD RS785/SB710
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit
Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit
Memory
2GB up to 16GB memory configurations with DDR3 1333 MHz Dual Channel SDRAM (Support for 1GB, 2GB, 4GB DIMMs)
Graphics
Integrated ATI Radeon HD4200 Graphics
ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5 or ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB DDR5
Audio and Speakers
Integrated 7.1 with THX TruStudio up to Creative PCI Express
Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Hard Drives
SATA HDD options from 320GB up to optional 1.5TB (2TB post RTS) single, 7,200 RPM (2) 3.5" HDD Bays
Optical Drives
16x DVD+/-RW, Blu-ray Disc Combo Drive, Blu-ray Disc Burner
Dual Configurations: Blu-ray DiscTM burner + 16x DVD+/-RW, Blu-ray Disc Combo Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW
Communications
Integrated 10/100/1000
Optional 802.11n WiFi
Optional Bluetooth
Port
Top Ports
USB 2.0 (2)
Headphone port
Microphone / Line-in port Front Ports
USB 2.0 (2)
19-in-1 Media Card Reader Rear Ports
USB 2.0 (4)
eSATA (1)
HDMI (1)
Gigabit Ethernet Connection
SPIDIF
Standard 7.1 Audio Jacks
DVI
Two 5.25"
One 3.5" FlexBay
Two 3.5" hard drive bays (Internally accessible)
Pricing of the Phenom X6 II model at the Dell Studio XPS website starts at US $1,428.99, which is about PhP 65,000 at 45:1 exchange rate.
The Dell Inspiron M301z
They've also got the ultra-light 13.3-inch Inspiron M301z and comes with an AMD Turion II Neo K625 II low-voltage processor, an ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4200 GPU, up to 640GB hard drive space, and a maximum of 8GB of memory capacity. Those looking for a quad core on a notebook will find it in the Dell Inspiron M501R, a 15.6-inch model featuring an AMD Phenom II Quad-Core CPU, a choice of ATI Mobility Radeon integrated or discreet GPU, and up to 640GB of hard disk space and 8GB of memory.
A mouse is a fairly simple technological animal. It's got a left and right button, allows you to point at specific parts of your screen and click to achieve certain desired effects. But with the advent of the Warmouse, you're going to have more than just two buttons - in fact, try about eighteen.
The Warmouse was designed by an avid game designer fed up with the limited options of the two button mouse, which is best served with first person shooting (FPS) games rather than massively multiplayer online role playing (MMORPG) games or real time strategy games (RTS). Possibly named in part for the popular World of Warcraft series, the Warmouse seeks to address not only gamers' need, but also many other non-gaming applications that would benefit from it.
With the Warmouse, you can assign any application function to any of the mouse buttons and execute them in either clicks or double-clicks, using the Meta Modware. The joystick function allows you to transform 20 commands of a keyboard to one swipe of the mouse, offering better functionality without the need to even take your hand off the mouse.
Here's a list of games and applications now compatible with the Warmouse.
Features of warmouse
18 programmable mouse buttons with double-click functionality.
High-resolution laser sensoraround 100 to 5,600 DPI/CPI.
6 assignable button modes
Analog X-box 360-style joystick.
Click able and command-assignable scroll wheel.
512k of flash memory holding up to 3,072 application commands in 64 modes.
Three on-the-fly CPI settings per mode. Maximum 192 different on-the-fly CPI settings.
1.85 meter USB cable and coated rubber top.
Meta Modeware for the creation, management, and customization of game and application modes.
Import and export of custom modes.
PDF export of application modes.
Graphical pop-up map of current button assignments.
Statistical tracking of all mouse button clicks and application command clicks by application.
64 default modes for popular games and applications, including Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel, OpenOffice.org Writer, Calc etc.
These are available in the country by the way. Two new speakers have been revealed to us by Logitech: the Logitech Z523 and the Z323 multimedia speakers priced at PhP 4,750 and PhP 2,650 respectively. Both are 2.1 systems and feature downward firing woofers and are made to be used for any system, PC or home theatre, or even with digital audio and video players. Logitech promises to give you a 360 degree experience.
The speakers are set up in such a way that they deliver omnidirectional acoustics to create a substantially wider sweet spot, which they say is helpful if you constantly move computer around but your audio system just sticks to one place. Technically speaking, you should be able to get the same sound quality even if you face these speakers away from you since Logitech says that there's an additional speaker driver facing backwards for each of the sattelites.
The Logitech Z323 Speaker System
The Z323 offers 30 watts of RMS power while the Z523 offers a little more oomph at 50 watts. No remotes here by the way, the speaker volume control's located at one of the speaker itself. There's RCA and a stereo 3.5mm jack input to choose from. Great if you're running on two sources, but don't turn both of them on unless you're just out to make some noise.
Impressive looking keyboard we've got here. The LuxeMate T810 from Genius is a 3-in-1 device, hosting the mouse and a media center remote control in one wireless gizmo. The mouse is in the form of Genius'
OptoTouch, which is essentially a digital trackpad - this also supports four way scrolling, too. It works well with the Media Center Edition of Windows XP along with Vista (...and Windows 7?). Wireless is trasmitted in the 2.4GHz range and can go up to 10 meters without any interferences. It's also got shortcuts to frequently accessed media activities like live TV, tv recording, photos, videos, and music enjoyment.
The left media controls.
To be honest, we like the idea, and the transparent body and the rubberized coating is pretty cool. We think you can fly an X-Wing or Tie Fighter with this one. It's priced at PhP 3,370 by the way, up there with Microsoft's own keyboards.
