ARS Technica takes a look at what Duke Nukem has been up to in the past 13 years, you can check it out over here.
Duke Nukem Forever was announced in 1997, after its predecessor, Duke Nukem 3D, had rocked the PC market with a hero who liked kicking ass, hanging out with strippers, and murdering alien police officers that were, literally, pigs. It was inappropriate, raunchy, and amazing.
It was also one of the games that gave 3D Realms the success that brought its destruction. Duke Nukem Forever began life as a completely self-funded game; its developer wanted nothing less than perfection, and would chase every update in technology in order to deliver it. The game saw monumental delays, suffered the slings and arrows of a gaming world that was first angry and then tolerant of its favorite whipping boy, had its home taken away, and has since risen from the dead..
Recently there has been a surging demand for solid state drives that sacrifice space for speed and more affordable price tags, and manufacturers have been racing to deliver just that. Most of the drives featured in this round-up offer 32GB - 40GB capacities, while a few others top out at 64GB. As limiting as a 32GB drive might appear, they can still be extremely useful in enhancing a PC's performance when set to run as the boot drive. These smaller drives can also accommodate for select programs where they can greatly speed up the use of the application, for example, Adobe Photoshop.
Today's round-up is comprised of the following contenders: OCZ Agility 2 40GB ($135), OCZ Vertex 2 40GB ($124), OCZ Onyx 64GB ($130), OCZ Onyx 32GB ($85), ADATA S596 Turbo 32GB ($83), Intel X25-V 40GB ($100), and the Kingston SNV425-S2 64GB ($125). In addition to these affordable SSD offerings we have added to the mix the Seagate Momentus XT ($135), a highly-touted hybrid drive that attempts to deliver the best of both worlds by offering huge storage capacity at a reasonable price, with the added performance boost of NAND flash memory for caching data.
We'll be putting each drive through a set of tests including four synthetic benchmark programs plus our own file copying and load time tests. Check it out at TechSpot.
QNAP introduced a new line of Turbo NAS Pro+ storage servers for businesses. Four different models were introduced, including a 2-, 4-, 5-, and 6-drive edition. Each product features the Intel Atom D525 (1.8GHz) dual-core processor and is equipped with 1GB RAM.
QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of world class NAS servers today announced the Fall 2010 refresh of its Business Series Turbo NAS servers which are hugely popular with SMB and corporate users for their sheer performance and business-ready features. Announced today are the 2-drive TS-259 Pro+, the 4-drive TS-459 Pro+, the 5-drive TS-559 Pro+, and the 6-drive TS-659 Pro+ with up to a whopping 12TB of online storage (using 2TB hard drives). The new Business Series Turbo NAS Pro+ models incorporate new dual-core Intel® Atom™ processor D525 with 1.8GHz clock speed and 1GB RAM, which can achieve up to 116MB/s transfer rates (FTP/Samba reads) while maintaining guaranteed low power consumption.
Businesses looking to embrace cloud computing will find the new Turbo NAS Pro+ models interesting as they are fully VMware and Citrix ready and Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V clusters compliant. QNAP continues its industry-leading iSCSI support on all the new models for fully virtualized server clustering and virtualized environments including support for MC/S, MPIO, SPC-3, and thin provisioning. With built-in iSCSI initiator and target service, network storage can be virtually expanded by simply adding additional QNAP Turbo NAS units to the network and adding virtual volumes, up to 8 per device. Data security is built in, with volume-level AES 256-bit encryption.
"Businesses of all sizes have really come to love their QNAP Business Series Turbo NAS servers," said Laurent Cheng, Product Manager for QNAP Systems, Inc. "No other NAS manufacturer equips their NAS offerings with the performance and business-critical features of QNAP units. The new Turbo NAS Pro+ models continue that tradition of excellence."
The new Turbo NAS Pro+ models feature a host of desirable features including support for 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard drives housed in lockable, hot-swappable drive carriers, RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 5+ hot spare, and 6+ hot spare (5-drive and higher models) with online RAID capacity expansion, online RAID level migration, and RAID recovery. QNAP Turbo NAS Pro+ models offer a rich suite of business applications including the most comprehensive centralized backup available, website hosting, printer sharing, file server/sharing, and even video surveillance recording using networked cameras. The capabilities of the Turbo NAS Pro+ units can be expanded with exclusive QPKG open-source developed for a variety of business applications including SQL database management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and even ecommerce.
Acer presents the Aspire Revo 3700, a new nettop with Intel's Atom D525 (1.8GHz) dual-core processor and NVIDIA's ION2 graphics. It's a one-liter system capable of playing 1080p HD video, it's equipped with 4GB DDR3 memory, a 500GB HDD, four USB 2.0 ports, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a mini PCIe slot, and VGA and HDMI outputs. The Acer Aspire Revo 3700 should be available soon for around $580.
Whether tucked away on a corner of your desk or nicely concealed on the back of your monitor, the Aspire Revo 3700 is the perfect machine to satisfy all basic computing requirements: surfing the Internet, downloading and watching rich HD content, playing videos and games, running typical office programs or socializing via the optional webcam.
In a form factor that is just 1 liter, the Acer Aspire Revo 3700 offers advanced graphic capabilities for full enjoyment of multimedia contents in high definition. The innovative and ultra-slim design makes it the perfect fit for any room in the house while full PC capabilities make it a true entertainment center for the entire family, offering immediate access to music, video and images, and permitting to transmit and stream HD content.
In fact, it features the incredible graphics processing power of NVIDIA® ION™ coupled with the Intel® Atom™ D525 processor. ION enables Aspire Revo 3700 to deliver a premium entertainment experience: watch 1080p HD movies, play DirectX 10 games at great frame rates and enjoy 3D capabilities. Regardless of its reduced dimensions, it has the graphic capability worthy of a true multimedia PC. The result is extraordinary multimedia entertainment and high-definition quality.
Practical and versatile, it can easily adapt to any environment. Thanks to a special mounting system, it can be put on the back of any LCD or TV panel with a VESA attachment to offer All-In-One capabilities and increase the working or playing area The VESA mount offers vertical adjustment ensuring that the power-on button, optional webcam and memory card reader are always perfectly accessible from the top of any LCD display used.
A small, quiet, yet fully capable PC, the Aspire Revo 3700 is perfect for cruising the Internet, doing your daily work, keeping connected via instant messaging and enjoying photos, music and videos on a big screen with family and friends.
Even the hardware characteristics exceed expectations. Besides being equipped with the Intel® Atom™ D525 processor and NVIDIA® ION™ GPU, the Aspire Revo 3700 comes with a 500GB Hard Drive and up to 4GB of DDR3 memory that allows quick performance without problems for all the most widely-used range of applications. A Mini PCI Express slot offers the possibility of expanding memory capacity to make space for continuously growing multimedia files and with a multi-in-one card reader file transfers become a seamless operation.
The Aspire Revo 3700 can be connected with ease to a wide variety of devices. The Gigabyte Ethernet network connection and optional 802.11b/g/n wireless ensure ultrafast connection into to your home network, while the HDMI™ port allows a true-to-life reproduction of Full HD video.
To top it all, the Aspire Revo 3700 combines advanced capabilities with low energy consumption. Besides features like the ultra-low-power processor, optimized component placement, and mechanical design, it operates quietly and reduces overall system noise, for the most comfortable environment. The screw free design offers easy access to internal part while the small size minimizes material and packaging usage. Energy Star compliance ensures maximised energy efficiency and power saving.
Google officially unveiled Instant search at its San Francisco press event. This new feature shows results as you type and automatically updates every time you adjust your search query, enabling you to find whatever you need faster than ever before. The search giant claims the new feature can save 2-5 seconds per search, and extrapolates that if everyone uses Google Instant globally, the feature can save more than 3.5 billion seconds a day.
Instant is not available to anyone just yet, it will be rolled out to users signed into their Google accounts and at first it will only be available on the US, UK, French, German, Russian, Italian and Spanish versions of Google.
Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type. We are pushing the limits of our technology and infrastructure to help you get better search results, faster. Our key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that you can scan a results page while you type.
The most obvious change is that you get to the right content much faster than before because you don’t have to finish typing your full search term, or even press “search.” Another shift is that seeing results as you type helps you formulate a better search term by providing instant feedback. You can now adapt your search on the fly until the results match exactly what you want. In time, we may wonder how search ever worked in any other way.
Logitech send out a press release to announce it has shipped its 100 millionth wireless mouse. The company introduced world's first RF-based mouse in 1991 for $150.
Today Logitech (SIX:LOGN) (NASDAQ:LOGI) announced the shipment of its 100 millionth wireless mouse. Logitech introduced the world's first radio-frequency (RF) based mouse for computers in 1991, initiating a revolution that transformed wireless technology from an industry novelty to a core part of today's computing experience.
"Logitech mice have played an integral role in improving the computing experience for millions of people, and our wireless mice build on that heritage," said Rory Dooley, Logitech senior vice president and general manager of the Control Devices business unit. "Today, our wireless mice deliver a robust feature set combined with unparalleled ease of use and precision. And the new mice we offer in a variety of colors and patterns provide consumers with an element of self expression while they use their laptop and mouse to seamlessly navigate their favorite content."
Logitech chose RF technology in 1991 to improve on line of sight constraints associated with the infrared (IR) technology found in previous generations of wireless peripherals. Unlike IR, RF technology lets you orient your mouse in any direction without worrying about the position of the receiver - you could place it behind your computer or even under your desk to eliminate clutter. Since that time, Logitech has continued to improve the consumer experience with wireless innovations such as the tiny nano-receiver and Logitech Unifying technology that delivers faster and more reliable 2.4 GHz connectivity.
The Logitech Unifying receiver delivers Logitech Advanced 2.4 GHz connectivity in a receiver that is small enough to stay in your laptop when you're on the go. Plus, you can easily add up to 6 Unifying ready products to one receiver so you don't fill up your computer's USB ports. Logitech's Advanced 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity keeps you connected with virtually no delays or dropouts at a range of up to 10 meters. And it includes 128-bit AES keyboard encryption-one of the highest levels of security available, so your information is protected as it travels from peripheral to computer.
While Logitech's first wireless mouse had an MSRP of $150, the company now offers wireless mice with 2.4 GHz technology in the tiny leave-in nano-receiver, for as little as $24.99. This sharp reduction in price combined with Logitech's advancements in wireless innovation make our wireless mice a compelling purchase for computer users around the world.
MSI revealed the Wind Top AE2420, a new 23.6" All-in-One PC with 1920 x 1080 pixel multitouch screen, the Intel Core i5 650 (3.2GHz) processor, Intel H55 based motherboard, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730, 4GB DDR3, 1TB SATA2 HDD, 802.11b/g/n WiFi Bluetooth, DVD burner/Blu-ray (optional), 2x 5W 7.1 channel speakers with THX TRUSTUDIO PRO, 1.3MP webcam plus microphone, HDMI, eSATA, and a 6-in-1 memory card reader. The system runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and ships with a MCE remote control, as well as a wireless keyboard/mouse combo.
Design With Elegant, Craft With Precision
MSI’s designer and engineer always work together to make innovation to be true. In AE2420, they tried a different approach, the creation is a mixture of technology and style.
The AE2420 is a example of exquisitely detailed design, from the geometric front panel, the anti-glare LCD screen, the slimy shaped enclosure, to crystallized ripple stand. Every element is beautiful, yet strictly functional.
Every element of the AE2420 is well designed and arranged, from the layout of the components to the carefully crafted exterior. This is done not out of deference to tradition, but because msi experienced engineer can design or layout a far higher standard than any others. AE2420 is particularly craft with precision, as you would expect of MSI, and is used throughout the whole units.
Flawless Integration of Ultra-High Performance CPU & GPU
The Wind Top AE2420 comes with the newest, fastest Intel® Core™ i5/i7 powerful core processor for enhanced performance. And with multi-tasking functionality and automatic adjustment of processing frequency, it completely meets the demands of running images and games while being a functionally superior computer well-suited to everyday use. In GPU performance, it features the ATI® Mobility Radeon HD5730 discrete graphics chip that supports DirectX 11 and provides ultimate graphics performance. Watching a movie or playing a game can both be accomplished with ease. The large, Full HD 1080p display and high performance discrete GPU allows images to display even more smoothly, with a more clearer picture and more color layers.
Extreme Audio & Video for Enhanced Entertainment
The Wind Top AE2420 is a heavyweight audio/video entertainment. In audio and video specifications, the AE2420 features MSI Premium Sound Technology, full range 5W left and right channel hi-fi speakers that create authentic 2.1 channel sound. And through Hollywood grade THX TruStudio Pro™ surround sound technology, sound performance is enhanced to 7.1 surround sound for pure, clear tone quality, extreme sound layering, and powerful vibrations. While users will be shocked at the amazing Full HD images, your ears will experience rich, layers of sound effects.
The Most Outstanding Control – Large Multi-Touch 23.6" Display
Wind Top AE2420 comes with a 23.6" display with 16:9 aspect ratios and a built-in multi-touch panel that offers precision controls and faster response time. With a touchscreen display, selecting, dragging, and resizing objects has never been easier. The intuitive and user-friendly interface blends technology with life, making computers easier and more fun to use—suitable for the whole family.
Instant Wireless Connection
The latest 802.11n wireless technology is built into AE2420. It automatically connects to your Wi-Fi network, so you can get right down to surfing the web, printing, and streaming your music wirelessly. Bluetooth wireless technology is also built in, so you can share your files with ease and also connect accessories such as a wireless keyboard and mouse.
The most user-friendly interface
The strength of the Wind Top AE2400 is in its audio-video features but MSI knows that the software and hardware interfaces are important as well. The MSI software development team put much though has gone into the user interface to make the interface suitable for the entire family. A rich variety of information has also been included such as weather forecasts, instant messaging and notice boards to make the interface more friendly and suitable for people of all ages.
Zotac presents a new series of ZBOX mini-PC devices with built-in Blu-ray drive. Both models are equipped with Intel's Atom D525 and NVIDIA's ION graphics, the ZBOX Blu-ray HD-ID33 has two empty 200-pin DDR2-800 slots and room for a 2.5" HDD, while the ZBOX Blu-ray HD-ID34 ships with 2GB DDR2-800 and a 250GB 5400RPM HDD. The compact systems feature HDMI DVI-I and VGA outputs, a 6-in-1 memory card reader, two USB 2.0 ports (including a eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port), two USB 3.0 ports, 802.11n WiFi, a mini-PCI Express expansion slot, and 7.1-channel audio.
ZOTAC® International, a leading innovator and the world’s largest channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today announces the new ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series mini-PCs -- the world’s first shipping mini-PCs with an integrated slot-load Blu-ray drive and slim and stylish design. The new ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray mini-PCs combine a powerful graphics processor with an energy-efficient system processor, premium integrated features and class-leading expansion capabilities to form mini-PCs capable of deliver premium high-definition video playback online and offline.
Next-Generation NVIDIA® ION™ graphics technology with 16 unified shaders and 512MB of DDR3 memory enables the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series to deliver stunning high-definition Blu-ray video playback at resolutions up to 1080p. Hardware-accelerated Adobe® Flash® video support enables smooth playback of streaming high-definition content.
A new dual-core Intel® Atom™ D525 processor delivers a performance punch for daily use while sipping minimal amounts of power for energy-efficient computing with the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series. Intel® HyperThreading™ technology enables the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series to process up to four threads for superior responsiveness for everyday use.
A built-in slot-load Blu-ray drive capable of 4x Blu-ray, 8x DVD and 24x CD speeds enables playback of Blu-ray and DVD movies and ability to write to DVD±R/RW and CD±R/RW discs with the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series. A Blu-ray ready copy of Cyberlink PowerDVD 8 is included with the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series to let users instantly take advantage of high-definition Blu-ray playback with Microsoft® Windows® 7 and Vista operating systems.
“The ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series is more than just a system for playing games and watching movies. The ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series is the ultimate multimedia hub for all your entertainment needs and replaces the function of multiple electronics devices. With the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series, we are bringing the ability to view Blu-ray movies, streaming Internet video, downloaded videos, store and access your music collection, listen to Internet radio, browse the web, play games and even manage your social networking profiles into a single device,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC® International.
Two USB 3.0 ports are available on the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series for external expansion and enables connection to external storage, video peripherals and other devices at speeds up to 10-times faster than USB 2.0. Internal expansion capabilities of the ZBOX Blu-ray series include one mini-PCI Express slot, two 200-pin DDR2 SO-DIMM slots and room for one 2.5-inch SATA hard drive or SSD drive.
Integrated dual-stream 802.11n WiFi technology enables lightning-fast network transfers up to 300Mb/s without the hassle of wires when networking the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series. When using wired networking, the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series supports speeds up to 1000Mb/s.
“Mini-PCs typically have limited upgrade capabilities, but we have addressed these limitations with the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series. With a combination of mini-PCI Express, USB 3.0 and eSATA expansion capabilities, the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series is in a league of its own.“
The ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series are shipping in two models – the ZBOX Blu-ray HD-ID33 and HD-ID34. The ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray HD-ID33 is a customizable media mini-PC that lets users install their own memory, hard drive and operating system to build the perfect mini-PC while the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray HD-ID34 ships with 2GB of DDR2-800 memory and a 250GB 5400RPM hard drive preinstalled – the user only needs to install an operating system.
It’s time to play with the ZOTAC® ZBOX Blu-ray series.
ASUS send over a picture of the EeeNote, but the firm didn't share a lot of details about this upcoming tablet. Pricing and availability is unknown.
The ASUS EeeNote reinvents note-taking and reading with its ultra-responsive 8-inch 2540 dpi touch resolution screen and page refresh rate of just 0.1 seconds. Its smooth lines and aluminum chassis hint at its ability to handle information seamlessly, while a specially designed, easy-to-grip stylus slots neatly into a dedicated receptacle when not in use.
