ASUS Is Major Supplier For Sony PS3

ASUS will be the major supplier for Sony PS3 for the fourth quarter of 2006,with Foxconn to ship PS3s to Sony starting from February and March 2007.According toStrategy Informer, Sony might not be able to meet the initial shipmentfigures of 2M units to retail stores in the USA and Japan at the end of 2006.They hinted of some production issues.

AMD To Remain Low Until K8L In Q3

Motherboard makers in Taiwan say AMD may not regain its competitive edge until the launch of the Socket AM2+ platform and K8L architecture based CPUs in the third quarter 2007. The motherboard makers noted that according to AMD's planning, no major 64-bit dual-core processors will be unveiled in the first half of 2007. Processors based on AMD's new K8L architecture, which are currently known by the codenames Agena FX (quad-core), Agena (high-end dual-core), and Kuma (mid-range dual-core), will not hit the market until the third quarter 2007. AMD will have to accelerate its migration to the 65nm node so as to cut costs and increase output, or it may plunge further down if Intel resorts to even fiercer pricing campaigns, the makers added.

Antec Announces New TruePower Quattro 1200W PSU

TPQ-1200

Antec has launched the TPQ-1200, its first 1200W PSU and the latest addition to the TruePower Quattro series of high-performance power supplies.


Advanced Hybrid Cable Management

Featuring the new PowerCache technology for stability and Advanced Hybrid Cable Management for neat cables, the PSU is 80Plus Silver certified (85%+ efficiency) and has six 12V rails, each delivering 38A of truepower. It is fully compatible with all quad core, Core i7 and Core i5 CPUs, and is NVIDIA™ Quad SLI™ and ATI CrossFire™ ready. Cooled by a 80mm PWM fan, the TPQ-1200 is backed by a 3 year warranty and available via popular commercial distributors, resellers, and e-tailers at a MSRP of USD$299.99.

News via [Legitreviews]

Anonymous picks fight with Wikileaks over donation campaign

Over the past few years, whistle blowing page Wikileaks has had a lot of financial trouble. Following a scandal in which US military documents were leaked to the site in 2010, several credit card companies, including MasterCard and Visa, cut their ties to Wikileaks. PayPal did the same, taking with them all of the funds on Wikileaks account. Recently, they launched a donation campaign which prompts the user when trying to access Wikileaks Global Intelligence Files, which contain more than 5 million emails from security company Stratfor.

Anonymous Logo

The donation campaign took the form of an overlay which asked for donations, tweets and shares before letting the users access the files. When Anonymous got wind of this, they immediately made a public announcement via twitter demanding that the overlay be removed, labeling it a "paywall": "We call on @WikiLeaks to change their current set up to force donations. #InformationWantsToBeFree,"

Wikileaks responded by saying that the overlay didnt force anyone to pay, and that the page overlay could be closed at any time. Nevertheless, the donation campaign has now been taken offline, and the site is accessible as normal again. What is perhaps a little strange regarding the event is that Anonymous has always been a supporter of Wikileaks and well aware of its money troubles. After the financial cut-off the site experienced in 2010, Anonymous responded by launching a series of DDoS attacks on the financial services who had banned Wikileaks.

ASUS GameFace Messenger Gameference Feature

Taipei, Taiwan; June 15 , 2005 – ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (ASUS) and ByteSwarm, a division of AceGain, Inc., today announced the release of ASUS GameFace Messenger – the world's first Instant Messenger for gaming that provides video conferencing, voice chat and game server browsing packed in one cool client.

Aiming to improve online gaming interaction, ASUS introduced GameFace Messenger. This revolutionary innovation doesn't stop at just providing instant messaging or point-to-point video conferencing. It also enables multiple players to join a video game conference and voice chat with each other. GameFace Messenger is a multi-dimensional collaboration tool that brings online gamers together like never before.

“We were really looking at changing the way online gamers communicate with each other. We wanted to take it to the next level,” says Jerry Shun, General Manager of ASUS Graphics Business . “We needed a software partner that was really on the edge of technology and pushing the boundaries of what existed out there. We were sold with the ByteSwarm GameONE platform”.

ByteSwarm GameONE is a suite of online collaboration applications and services that provide everything a Gamer might need—except the game. For GameFace Messenger, ByteSwarm provided the core technology for instant messaging, game server browsing, contact management and data delivery mechanism.

As a newcomer to the gaming scene, ByteSwarm wanted to prove to the market that it is ready for prime time by working with ASUS, the leading company in the market.

ByteSwarm GameONE is based on AceGain's DRAMA Distributed Platform. AceGain DRAMA (Dynamic Routing Adaptive Mobile Agent) is a software platform that provides fundamental application infrastructure for routing-based data networking, management, security, and content distribution across heterogeneous operating environments.

“Now, gamers can create live video conferencing sessions with other gamers, as they strategize on a map, collaborate as a team or just shoot the breeze before or after a game,” said Shun. “This is truly the next generation of interactive gaming”.

Asus outs the Eee PC 1225B

Intels Atom based netbooks might not be overly popular these days and to some degree AMD appears to have something to do with it thanks to the introduction of its Brazos platform. Asus is getting ready to launch a refresh of its 12-inch Brazos powered Eee PC 1215B with a slightly updated model called the 1225B, although the differences are fairly small.

The Eee PC 1225B comes with a choice of either an E450 or a C60 APU, something latter models of the 1215B also offered. The biggest change is the screen which has been shrunk slightly from 12.1-inches to 11.6-inches, although the resolution has remained the same at 1366x768. Almost everything else has stayed the same, but some minor changes have been done and apparently Asus has fitted 2 or 4GB of memory on board and only left a single DIMM slot for expansion, one of the not so good changes.

You still get 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0+HS (apparently optional on some models), a crummy 0.3Megapixel webcam, an HDMI port, a D-sub connector, Ethernet, a pair of audio jacks and a card reader. However, Asus has now upgraded at least some models with a pair of USB 3.0 ports and rather than offering three USB 2.0 ports you know get one to go with the two USB 3.0 ports.

Oddly enough Asus is now rating the battery life at 7h instead of 8h, despite offering what appears to be the same 6-cell 56Wh battery pack. The weight has gone down slightly thanks to the smaller display, although this apparently only shaves off a mere 10g if the specs on Asus website are correct.The Eee PC 1225B is expected to launch in January and itll be available in either glossy black and white or matte grey, red or silver, although we have a feeling the screen will be glossy either which way.

Source: Asus

Apple releases first developer preview of Mac OS X Lion

First demonstrated last October, we have not heard anything from Apple since. But now Apple, along with the release of their updated line of MacBook Pro, has provided us with some info on their new features in Mac OS X Lion which is all set for a public launch later this summer.

Apple today released a developer preview of Mac OS X Lion, which takes some of the best ideas from iPad and brings them back to the Mac for the eighth major release of the worlds most advanced operating system. Lion features Mission Control, an innovative new view of everything running on your Mac; Launchpad, a new home for all your Mac apps; full screen apps that use the entire Mac display; and new Multi-Touch gestures. Lion also includes the Mac App Store, the best place to discover, install and automatically update Mac apps. The Lion preview is available to Mac Developer Program members through the Mac App Store today, and the final version of Lion will ship to customers this summer.

Apple has also outline a number of key features that will be included as part of Mac OS X Lion:

-Mail, a new version of Mail, with an elegant, widescreen layout inspired by the iPad; Conversations, which automatically groups related messages into one easy to read timeline; more powerful search; and support for Microsoft Exchange 2010;

-Versions, which automatically saves successive versions of your document as you create it, and gives you an easy way to browse, edit and even revert to previous versions;

-AirDrop, a remarkably simple way to copy files wirelessly from one Mac to another with no setup;

-Resume, which conveniently brings your apps back exactly how you left them when you restart your Mac or quit and relaunch an app;

-Auto Save, which automatically saves your documents as you work;

- the all new FileVault, that provides high performance full disk encryption for local and external drives, and the ability to wipe data from your Mac instantaneously; and

-Mac OS X Lion Server, which makes setting up a server easier than ever and adds support for managing Mac OS X Lion, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices.

More information on the upcoming Mac OS X can be found on Apples feature page for it here.

Source: Apple

Are you waiting for the new iPhone 5

With speculations of the fifth generation Apple iPhone coming in either September or October this year, it is no wonder many consumers are waiting patientlyto see if the new phone is worth getting. And according to analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, who have polled 216 mobile phone users about their phones,theresults showed that74% of users who are Verizon subscribers anddo not have an iPhone, are waiting for the new iPhone 5. The percentage is a lothiger compared to 53% of AT&T customers who plan to buy an iPhone said they are waiting for the new phone. Looks like Applesshare of the smartphone market will grow steadily once the iPhone 5 has been launched.

Source: AppleInsider

ATI Eyefinity - Left 4 Dead on a 175-inch Screen

AMD have featured their latest branding of VISION some time ago andnow, they have in store Eyefinity. A demonstration was done to showcasethe prowess of AMD's Multi display technology.

Simply astounding, click on this link to check out the demonstration video. While you may think a multi-display of Google Earth is nothing great, how about a game demo of Left 4 Dead on a 175-inch display ?

Apple's packaging - 'Aqua' degradable

Recently, Apple has claimed that their latest packaging for some newly released products are water dissoluble. So far, a portion of the new Fifth-Generation iPod Touch and Seventh Generation iPod Nano‘s packaging, being millions of products, are biodegradable.

Long being a leader in package and product design and, often previously claiming how green friendly their products are, this will surely appeal more to their customers in their undertaking of environmental responsibility, when they can watch the packaging disolve in warm water for themselves.

According to Apples website, the material is made from a form of “...renewable tapioca paper foam material...”, which is completely recyclable pulp when it breaks down in warm water. Also, Apple claims that they are dedicated to re-engineering recycled material in more core components of their designs such as "... our fan assemblies use advanced materials derived from repolymerized plastic bottles.".

In addition to reducing waste, Apple also wants to limit toxic substances normally used in other parts of the industry: "Not only is every product we sell free of BFRs and other harmful toxins, we have also qualified thousands of components to be free of elemental bromine and chlorine, putting us years ahead of anyone else in the industry." Some examples of components which Apple wants to reduce toxicity in include mercury-free LED backlighting and arsenic-free glass

A worker at a Foxconn plant in China has been quoted in the news recently as saying that the fumes in production and excessive exposure are a problem, however.

Considering the other recent debacles in the media of late, these facts are surely a breath of image fresh air for Apple.

Apple's iBookstore to go live in 18 more countries

AppleInsider was notified by an Australia-based iBooks label that their backend system listed 18 new countries as “pending”. These countries include Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.

Most of the countries on the pending list is in South America—some with growing economies, and some stagnant. Nonetheless, expansion of iBooks into South America means that Apple sees potential, and a “budget” slate (rumored going price of $329 for 16GB iPad mini) fits the living standards of the region.

Despite the news, the publisher also noted that books won’t be immediately available to the new areas.

“iTunes Connect is showing their status as pending for contract reasons, although I’m quite certain that they’ll trigger to available during [today’s] keynote. This is quite a big jump for iBooks,” said the source.

Also per the same source, the addition of the 18 countries brings the tally up to 50 countries that now support iBookstore sales.

Amazon currently leads the pack with its digital distribution system, and the reasonably priced Kindle devices only help to drive that dominance in the e-book market even further.

Dark Souls PC une vidéo et une mauvaise nouvelle

Namco a profité d'une conférence de presse donnée à Las Vegas hier soir pour dévoiler les premières informations concernant la version PC de Dark Souls. Comme prévu celle-ci s'intitulera Dark Souls : Prepare to Die Edition et comprendra, en plus du contenu console, de nouveaux boss (Artorias des Abysses, la Chimère de la Tombe), de nouveaux lieux, PNJ, armures et monstres, etc. Les quelques nouveautés de cette version PC sont détaillées sur cette page du site officiel français, tandis qu'un premier trailer de la bête se consulte ci-dessous.




Ça, c'était pour les bonnes nouvelles. Du côté des mauvaises, Namco a confirmé que Dark Souls PC fonctionnera uniquement avec Games for Windows Live. L'ignoble surcouche logicielle de Microsoft sera donc obligatoire pour jouer en ligne, sauvegarder ses parties et gérer sa liste d'amis. Les joueurs énervés ont par ailleurs déjà mis en place une pétition pour le retirer (que l'on peut remplir à cette adresse), et a recueilli au moment où nous écrivons ces lignes plus de 9000 signatures.


Dernière info, enfin, Dark Souls : Prepare to Die Edition est prévu pour le 24 août prochain.

· Forum Dark Souls : Prepare to Die

Asus Launches the TS Mini Soho Server

TS Mini Soho Server

Asus, well-known for its high performance motherboards and graphic cards,has announced the TS mini Soho server , targeting modern home and small office users. Measuring 245 x 96 x 204mm and weighing 2.7kg, the mini server featuresa 1.66 GHz Atom N280 processor, 1Gb of RAM, a 500Gb or 2Tb HDD and a90W PSU.

Equipped with 1x Gigabit Ethernet and 6x USB 2.0 ports forexternal connectivity, it is a centralized location for storing dataand digital content in a LAN. Available in 500Gb and 2Tb variants, the TS miniis can be pre-ordered online at a MSRP of USD$349 (500Gb) and USD$529(2Tb).

“Consumer demand for rich content that can be accessed anytime,anywhere, on any device is fueling innovation in networking and storageof media and data in the home,” said Seth Bobroff, general manager,Data Center Group – Storage, Intel Corporation. “The Intel® Atom™processor in the TS mini enables ASUS to deliver the ability to streammedia, share files and protect data while remotely accessing it, all ina sleek and energy-efficient 2-bay design.”

News via [Legitreviews]