ATI Radeon HD 5570 Gets GDDR5

The conventional wisdom about sub-$100 video cards is that they'll do in a pinch, as long as you don't plan on gaming much with them. But with its ATI Radeon HD 5570, which was released earlier this year, AMD tried to prove that wrong for the $79 price range—and came close to succeeding. You needed to make certain compromises—the usual, namely resolution and detail—but the card could net you decent-enough performance at lower and middle resolutions to basically meet sufficiently modest expectations.

AMD is betting that even more is possible. It's provisioned a new version of the 5570 that keeps the rest of the card's specs the same, but sports 1GB of GDDR5 RAM instead of the original DDR3—all for about the same price. (For an overview of what GDDR5 is and how it works, check out our article GDDR5 Memory--Under the Hood.) This card might not be eye-poppingly powerful, but it can handle DirectX 11 (which no similarly priced Nvidia card can currently do) and AMD's multimonitor Eyefinity technology for up to three displays—both nice features.

We wanted to see what sort of a performance this difference this made, and whether gaming with the "new and improved" GDDR5 would be even better than before, or the memory change really was just hype.

Compute Power

Gigabyte Technology Motherboard, Intel G41, Core 2 Extreme, Matx, MAX 4GB DDR3, PCIEX16, Pciex, 2PCI, GBE, VID, AUD,Sata

Manufacturer's Description

The GA-G41MT-ES2L based on the Intel G41 chipset supports the latest Intel 45nm CPUs, creating a powerful multi-media platform which allows users to do more at once. At the heart of the Intel G41 Express chipset is the Intel X4500 graphics media accelerator, which support DX10 and features several unique innovations including more Execution Units for enhanced 3D performance and Intel Clear Video Technology for sharper images and precise color control.

Extreme Motherboard For Extreme Core Process

P6TD ASUS Deluxe Series Motherboard Asus Battery Technology + Cool3 extreme. Cell technology Cool3 P6TD + Asus Deluxe motherboard motherboard can cooler with innovative layer PCB. Cell technology + in Asus Deluxe Cool3 P6TD also useful to keep the temperature of the motherboard, so the processing of data will be optimal. The effect of technology is the P6TD Asus Deluxe motherboard has the longest.


Asus Deluxe P6TD motherboard has to break the floor design innovations and offers the best performance and reliability that offers exceptional system compatibility and reliability of the competent management and reliable control of basic processes operating in the PC.

Tyent MMP-9090 Turbo Extreme Water Ionizer A Great Item To Use

Water quality can be extremely good or very poor depending on where you live. No matter what the quality though you will want to know why the Tyent MMP-9090 Turbo Extreme Water Ionizer is a great item to use. So here are some of the best reasons why this is a great item to use.

The control center that is available with many of these units will be fully automated. So you are not going to have to worry about making the adjustments unless you want to, but normally they will be able to take care of the adjustments right away so you will still have the best water quality available at all times.

You can discover the necessary that the voice feedback that is programmed in will help you avoid making mistakes. If you do decide that you want to take control of the unit on your own the voice feedback features can help you avoid the problems that can happen if you adjust something to far.

If you have a high water pressure area you could end up getting to much coming into your system at any point in time. If that is the problem that you have you will want to know that some of these are going to have a water controller that can automatically adjust to prevent to much from coming in at one time and ruining your system.

Filtered water is all that many people drink anymore, but those sink filter systems can look odd and can have expensive filters to replace on a monthly basis. However, with these systems you are going to have the filtered water right away without having to worry about the additional filter on your sink.

Advanced metals will help extend out the life of your unit to a more acceptable limit for the price that you are going to be paying. These systems are expensive and if you have to replace them frequently you will not be getting your moneys worth. However, with the advanced metals that you can find here you will have a longer life than what you might be expecting to have.

Many people do not even realize that these types of things exist, but they do and you will find the above reasons to just be the start of why you are going to want to use these. When you are looking at these you will want to consider the Tyent MMP-9090 Turbo Extreme Water Ionizer as one of your choices as well to provide you with the best water available.

Passive wireless speaker from Extreme Technology Laboratory

Just a passive wireless speaker made from an empty metal cafe box an a small magnet. Playing without any power input. Speaker based on a magnet and an empty metal box only! From Andrey & Ilan.

Extreme Networks India Appoints Fore Techserve As Authorized Training Partner For The Region

1888PressRelease) May 14, 2010 - New Delhi, India - With the appointment of Fore TechServe, the company's objective to deliver essential training in regional languages and locations is furthered. Additionally, Extreme Networks can better ensure the availability of local training centers to minimize the high expense travel.

"Extreme Networks is pleased to extend our leading-edge Ethernet switching, wireless LAN and network security training courses in India through Fore TechServe," said Jitendra Gupta, Country Manager for Extreme Networks, India & SAARC. "By combining the expertise of Fore TechServe with Extreme Networks education programs, we meet the highest standards in providing Indian engineers the skills they require to enhance their professions and grow as more companies choose Extreme Networks innovative network solutions."

Extreme Networks provides a selection of instructor-led and self-paced technical courses through its authorized Training Partners. These courses are designed to provide its customers and partners with in-depth knowledge helping them to more successfully deploy and manage their Extreme Networks products and software. Extreme Networks' certified Authorized Training Partner (ATP) instructors are continually educated and tested for proficiency in the latest networking advances and technology, ensuring that customers receive the highest standards of education available.

Instructors at Fore TechServe will conduct introductory to advanced training courses for Extreme Networks Ethernet network, security and wireless LAN solutions.

· Extreme Networks Associate (ENA) - Switching
· Extreme Networks Associate - Wireless (ENA-W)
· Extreme Networks Specialist - Switching (ENS)
· Extreme Networks Specialist - Wireless (ENS-W)
· Extreme Networks Specialist - Security (ENS-SEC)

For the most up-to-date list of courses visit:
http://www.extremenetworks.com/go/training.htm.

Mr. Harish Khanna, MD, Fore TechServe, remarked "We at Fore TechServe feel privileged to associate ourselves with Extreme Networks as an Authorized Training Partner. Fore TechServe with its vast experience and competencies on Extreme Networks' leading edge technology platforms, is confident that this relationship will enable Extreme community of professionals derive best performance out of Extreme solutions."

Extreme Networks, Inc.

Extreme Networks provides converged Ethernet networks that support data, voice and video for enterprises and service providers. The company's network solutions feature high performance and high availability switching that deliver insight and control enabling customers to solve their real-world business communications challenges. Operating in more than 50 countries, Extreme Networks provides wired and wireless secure LANs, data center infrastructure and Carrier Ethernet transport solutions that are complemented by global, 24x7 service and support. For more information, visit: http://www.extremenetworks.com.

Fore TechServe, India

Fore TechServe is a technology services company specializing in Network Design & Consulting, Education and Technical Trainings and Technical Support services. Company is providing entire gamut of technical trainings services in data networking technologies, voice and IP telephony, converged & unified communications and contact center domains. Fore team with its strong knowledge and skill base of IT/ Telecom/Networking Technologies has more than a decade of learning services delivery experience on various industry leading technology platforms across the continents .For more information, visit: http:/www.foretechservices.com

ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme Combines AMD and NVIDIA Graphics

For many years, consumers may have been dreaming of a time when they would be able to merge the graphics capabilities of both ATI and NVIDIA cards into one glorious system. However, this dream remained quite out of reach, until LucidLogix created the Hydra 200 SoC and MSI used it on its Big Bang Fuzion enthusiast motherboard. Now, it se...

Links: Full news story

Microchip Wins Top Technology Awards for its eXtreme Low Power PIC[R] Microcontrollers, mTouch[TM] Sensing Solutions and Analog Products.

EDN Magazine selected Microchip's PIC24F16KA nanoWatt XLP PIC microcontrollers as its Innovation Award winner in the "Microcontroller" category, marking Microchip's second consecutive win. Additionally, Microchip was a finalist in "Analog Signal An analog or analogue signal is any time continuous signal where some time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity. It differs from a digital signal in that small fluctuations in the signal are meaningful. Path" category for its MCP (1) See Microsoft certification.

(2) (MultiChip Package) A chip package that contains two or more chips. It is essentially a multichip module (MCM) that uses a laminated, printed-circuit-board-like substrate (MCM-L) rather than ceramic (MCM-C). 651/2/5 operational amplifiers (op amps). EDN's technical editors nominate the most unique, state-of-the-art electronics products, and then let its readership vote for the candidates via an online balloting process. EDN then uses a combination of these audience votes, balloting of its Editorial Advisory Board, and voting by its editorial staff to determine the ultimate winner in each category.

"Microchip continues to gain industry recognition for the leading technology that customers have already come to expect, including highly integrated PIC microcontrollers with the world's lowest power consumption," said Ganesh Moorthy, Microchip COO. "Designers also prefer the flexibility of our open-source mTouch sensing solutions, and the synergistic convenience of our broad portfolio of low-power analog products. We are honored by all of these prestigious awards, and will continue to bring our customers the very best solutions for their embedded design needs."

The EN-Genius Network named Microchip's MCP2036 Inductive Touch-Sensing Analog Front End (AFE (Apple File Exchange) An earlier Macintosh utility that converted data files between Mac and PC formats. It also included a file translator between IBM's DCA format and MacWrite. ) its Product of the Year in the "Best AFE Sampling System" category. Award winners are selected from among the products reviewed by their editorial team during the course of the year, on the basis of technical merit and likelihood of market success.

Finally, two of the aforementioned Microchip products were also finalists in Design News Magazine's annual Golden Mousetrap Awards, which recognize engineering innovation and creativity in product design. The MCP651/2/5 op amps were named in the "Components, Hardware & Interconnects" category, while the PIC24F16KA microcontrollers were named in the "Power Management" category.

For additional information about the products in this press release, contact any Microchip sales representative or authorized worldwide distributor, or visit Microchip's Web site at http://www.microchip.com/get/9B9W.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at http://www.microchip.com/get/9B9W.

Note: The Microchip name and logo, and PIC are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries. mTouch is a trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.

High-res Photos Available Through Flickr or Editorial Contact (feel free to publish):

* MCP651/2/5 Op Amps: http://www.microchip.com/get/PETD

* PIC24F16KA Microcontrollers: http://www.microchip.com/get/93WK

* MCP2036 Inductive Touch-Sensing AFE: http://www.microchip.com/get/00HR

RSS Feed for Microchip Product News: http://www.microchip.com/get/BDR6

The State of Oil Spill Cleaning Technology

Since the Exxon Valdez oil spill wreaked havoc on the Alaskan shoreline over 20 years ago, there have been few advances in technology for cleaning up after an accident. Here is an overview of the cleanup technologies on hand for the Deepwater Horizon spill.

The Deepwater Horizon saga playing out in the Gulf of Mexico is officially a Humpty Dumpty situation. On Sunday, President Barack Obama arrived in Louisiana to reaffirm the government's "all hands on deck" approach to combating the spill. All the king's horses and all the king's men are mustered in the Gulf, in the form of thousands of oil spill responders, a Coast Guard strike force a hundred vessels strong, 100,000 meters of containment boom, the Air Force's 910th Airlift Wing, the Secretaries of the Interior and Homeland Security and fleet of fisherman-cum-boom-layers, and one-third of the world's oil dispersant supply, just to name a few.

In addition to the massive accumulation of manpower in the region, federal and local authorities, working in conjunction with BP, which operated the now-collapsed rig, have deployed every possible technological response in an attempt to stem the oily tide, which is approximately 130 miles long and 70 miles wide, both beneath the sea and on the surface.

The Situation Underwater

At present, it is estimated that the three leaks, located 50 miles from the Louisiana coast, and 5000 feet below sea level, are spewing oil at a rate of 200,000 gallons per day. BP is trying to stop the flow with a three-pronged approach. Initially, a number of remote-controlled robotic submarines were dispatched to the gulf floor in an attempt to close a series of valves that would halt the leakage. Thus far, these efforts have proved fruitless, with one BP official telling ABC news, it's like trying to perform "open heart surgery … in the dark."

While the robots toiled undersea, BP also took other, less immediate steps, including positioning another rig over the leak site that will drill a "relief well" meant to divert the flow away from the Deepwater Horizon leaks. In the meantime, efforts are also underway to construct three massive cement-and-steel capping "domes." These will act like 40-foot tall, 70-ton vacuum attachments, which will cap the leaks and channel the oil up pipes to recovery tankers on the surface. But the domes are still days from being completed and have never been tested at such great depths.

And on the Surface

With its current leakage rate, experts predict, the Deepwater Horizon spill could eventually total nearly 20 million gallons of oil. For comparison, the amount of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez in 1989 was 11 million gallons. To mitigate potential damage to the Gulf Coast and to prevent environmental devastation on the scale of that infamous Alaskan spill, spill responders are using every weapon in their arsenal.

The Cleanup: A Three-Pronged Approach

According to Elise DeCola, an oil spill specialist with the environmental consultancy Nuva Research, there are three ways to combat an oil slick on the open sea. The first tactic is the so-called mechanical approach, which comprises the use of a boom to corral and deflect oil and skimmers to collect it.

"That's the preferred approach because it's the only one that takes the oil out of the environment," DeCola says. "It's labor-intensive and it's equipment-intensive. With a successful mechanical recovery, you might get 20 percent of the oil that you encounter."

The second approach is to apply dispersants to the slick. These detergent-like solvents are typically deployed from sea vessels operating around the slick, or from aircraft overhead. Additionally, BP and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are attempting to apply dispersants below sea level using robotic submarines, though the efficacy of this tactic is still undetermined. When dispersants mix with the slick, it breaks the oil into droplets, suspending it in the water column to be dealt with naturally. "They've been applying these in the Gulf," DeCola says. "An off-shore blowout is the textbook case for using dispersants because you don't have to worry about misapplication or hitting a marsh area." As of May 2, more than 156,000 gallons of dispersant have been applied to the slick, with an additional 75,000 gallons available.

The final tactic being deployed in the Gulf is in situ burning. Oil is corralled using booms to thickness where enough volatiles are present to sustain a controlled burn. Once the oil is burned it forms a tar-like substance that can either be manually removed from the water, or left to decompose naturally, similar to dispersant-treated oil. The Coast Guard conducted an hour-long test burn last Wednesday, but unfavorably strong winds and rough seas have prevented any further in situ burning.

Dr. Gerald Graham, a 30-year veteran in the oil spill business, says all three standard approaches remain essentially the same as they were at the time of the Exxon Valdez spill, incremental improvements have been made in all areas. Booms are more resilient in fast currents, for example, and dispersants are considerably less toxic than they once were. The biggest improvements, according to Graham, have come in information technology, and how responders collect and use data—oil spill response atlases, spill-trajectory modeling, satellite spill sensing, and using laser fluorosensors to detect spills from aircraft have all become commonplace in the years since Exxon Valdez.

Moreover, says Graham, the responders using these instruments are now trained professionals, whereas two and three decades ago, it was "a dirty job for someone who was about to retire. Nobody wanted to do it."

"It's still a lot of grunt work," Graham says. "It's still throwing personnel and equipment at the spill and dealing with Mother Nature and her whims."

Next-Gen Cleaning Tech

Extreme Spill Technology's "High Speed" Skimming Vessel Mechanical clean-up technology tends to work only in placid waters. Booms and skimmers can be rendered ineffective and unsafe in currents of more than 1 knot and waves exceeding 1.5 meters. According to David Prior, CEO and lead designer at Extreme Spill Technologies, his boat—the method for which has been successfully demonstrated for the Canadian Coast Guard—can not only handle rough seas, it can also travel at much higher speeds.

Case Western Reserve's Aerogel In February researchers at Case Western Reserve University unveiled a sponge-like material of their creation composed of 2 percent clay, 2 percent plastic and 96 percent air. Their lab tests demonstrate how the sponge (called Aerogel) when applied to polluted water is capable of absorbing the oil and leaving behind the water. It can then be squeezed clean so that the oil can be recycled.

2011 Ford Transit Connect Taxi Compressed Natural Gas Car Technology

Yellow car taxi with elegant design technology that will be new era of city transportation in the world! The 2011 Ford Transit Connect Taxi will go into production and arrive in dealerships in 2010 as a 2011 model, adding to Ford Motor Company’s leadership in the North American taxi market. We will make some detail review and price list including interior and exterior pictures gallery that can make you interesting to this new taxi car design concept. Creating the announcement at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, Ford car maker also said it will launch engine prep packages on all 2011 Ford Transit Connect models – base and taxi – allowing conversion to efficient, clean-burning CNG (compressed natural gas) otherwise propane (LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas). The 2011 Ford Transit Connect Taxi, combined with an powerful engine modified by Ford to use CNG/LPG, is intended to meet that need. To further serve taxi operators, Ford will give required calibration specifications for the CNG or LPG conversion.


The 2011 Ford Transit Connect Taxi gives an excellent interior design package for people and cargo. Ford car Manufacturer Company is collaborating with Creative Mobile Technologies, LLC (CMT), to integrate premier payment processing and passenger information technologies in the Ford Transit Connect Taxi. Evidence of how this technology could work in the future is included in the Ford Transit Connect Taxi. The green taxi is not new at Ford car model concept that has been a leader in the taxi business for decades. Built on a dedicated commercial automotive platform and tested to Ford tough truck standards, the 2011 Ford Transit Connect Taxi – including gasoline-powered versions and those modified to operate on CNG/LPG – is planned to meet the extreme demands of taxi service.

Gerry Koss, Ford fleet marketing manager said that 2011 Ford Transit Connect already has proven that it provides tremendous versatility for commercial fleet use. The 2011 Ford Transit Connect taxi, combined with the capability for CNG/LPG conversion, further demonstrates its flexibility. Truly perfect taxi car for modern city transportation!

Jabra EXTREME – Bluetooth Headset Review

My first Bluetooth

came from Jabra. Because the phone didn’t have Bluetooth, I needed to use an additional Bluetooth dongle that connected to it via the 3.5 mm jack. The was the “traditional” design that Jabra used for many years. It wrapped around the ear and stayed completely stable no matter what you were doing. Yes, you looked like a bit of a dork while wearing the headset, but it stayed in place and was super comfortable.

In addition, it had a boom mike that brought the microphone close to your mouth for better sound quality. That didn’t much matter however, since Bluetooth technology was rather poor at the time. The Bluetooth signal was so weak and the sound quality was so unreliable that the headset was more “wow” than “usable”.

Since then I’ve largely opted for headsets that forgo the wrap around style. They tend to be small, less obtrusive and, thanks to improvements in the technology, they sound better. The updated design allows the headsets to be smaller but, at times, it makes them a bit less stable in the ear. As a result it is often helpful, or even necessary, to use an earloop to keep them secure.

This is the design Jabra opted for with their Jabra Extreme. It is a small, unobtrusive headset that brings powerful noise cancellation to an otherwise simple-looking headset.

Let’s take a look.

From Jabra-

Building upon Jabra’s renowned noise cancellation technology, Jabra EXTREME utilizes Noise Blackout™ Extreme, which significantly enhances its dual microphone system. This is supported by the new advanced automatic volume control which automatically adjusts to the envifronment and your conversation. These developments have led Jabra EXTREME to be remarkably 2x more effective in noisy environments (by 24DB) than the original Noise Blackout™.

What will further amaze end-users is the voice quality; while Jabra EXTREME eliminates ambient noise it retains natural sounding voice on both ends of the line ensuring your conversation is full of life rather than a robotic exchange of words.

Jabra EXTREME’s distinctive Ultimate-fit Eargel™ molds to your ear which ensures a secure and comfortable fit all day long. The Ultimate-fit Eargel™ also contains specially designed holes for optimum incoming sound, which adds to Jabra EXTREME’s superb overall sound quality.

Specs-

• Eliminates background noise with dual microphone technology
• All day comfort with Ultimate-fit Eargels™ and ear hook
• Adjusts volume automatically
• Convenient car charger and headset holder in one
• Easy to use with dedicated on/off slider and auto-pairing
• Multiuse™ – connect to 2 devices at the same time
• Up to 5.5 hours talk time and up to 10.5 days standby time

As I said above, the style of the is nothing to write home about; it doesn’t have a boom or anything fancy, and this headset won’t make you go “wow!”. No, it’s quite simple and unassuming. It is a far cry from the last Jabra I reviewed, the Stone, which had an amazing industrial design. It was a wraparound style, and it came with its own “stone” that doubled as the charging unit. This was especially important because the headset itself had a relatively short battery life. Yes, the Stone had an awesome design. It made you go “wow!” but what it had in the style department it lacked in the comfort and sound quality department — at least in my opinion.

The Jabra Extreme’s Design-

Measuring 1.9″ by 1.1″ wide by 0.7″ thick the Extreme is the anti-Stone. Simplicity in all its glory. The headset is made from gunmetal gray plastic with a perforated grille on the front and black on the back. The headset’s dual microphones are hidden behind the grille, but trust me… the quality of the sound guarantees they are there.

The buttons are unassuming. The middle button is branded with the Jabra name. It functions as the multifunction talk button. Next to it is the LED indicator. The volume controls are above and below it. They are small… really small… and at times they were difficult to use.

A feature that I LOVE, and that I am starting to see on an increasing number of headsets, is a dedicated on/off switch. This makes it easy to get the headset on and connected when a call is coming in. I am really happy to see this simple design change.

The headset weighs just three ounces, so it is quite comfortable over extended periods. It comes with–

• 1 Jabra EXTREME headset
• 1 AC charger, 1 car charger
• 1 USB charger
• 2 earhooks in different sizes
• 2 Ultimate-fit EargelTMI love the car charger Jabra ships with the device.

The two piece system is unlike anything I have seen before and it works great. The USB adapter fits into the car’s cigarette lighter/power port and a second piece converts USB to microUSB.

The whole thing fits together nicely and when in the car…

It keeps the headset charged and also within easy grasp.

Ultimately, when it comes to headsets design is nice but sound is what matters most. Jabra got it right here.

The headset has state of the art noise cancellation. As Jabra explains…

Building upon Jabra’s renowned noise cancellation technology, Jabra EXTREME utilizes Noise Blackout™ Extreme, which significantly enhances its dual microphone system. This is supported by the new advanced automatic volume control that automatically adjusts to the environment and your conversation.These developments have led Jabra EXTREME to be remarkably 2x more effective in noisy environments (by 24dB) than the original Noise Blackout (12dB). What will further amaze end-users is the voice quality; while Jabra EXTREME eliminates ambient noise it retains natural sounding voice on both ends of the line ensuring your conversation is full of life rather than a robotic exchange of words.Acoustic Shock Protection protects your ear from sudden blast of noise. In addition, a unique new Ultimate-fit Eargel™ has been developed to guarantee superior comfort for all day use.

Fortunately Jabra’s description isn’t an overstatement. The headset sounds good, and the noise cancellation works quite well when there is a lot of background chatter. Nothing compares to having a boom that brings the microphone closer to your mouth, but the built-in technology does a good job on both sides of the conversation. Add in the relative comfort of the headset (I would place it at good but not great), and you have a headset you can wear much of the time and use with ease.

Extra Features-

A nice feature of the EXTREME is the A2DP compatibility. This means you can stream music or podcasts to the headset when not using it for a call. Sure, you aren’t going to want to listen to tons of music with a headset in only on one ear, but for something like a podcast it is a nice feature to have.

The headset also features multipoint technology; this means it can connect to two different devices at the same time.

The headset also has something Jabra refers to as Acoustic Shock Protection. It keeps the headset from putting out sudden blasts of noise, thereby protecting the ear. Having experienced such a blast more than once I really appreciate this feature.

The Jabra Extreme has a rated battery life of 5.5 hours talk time and 10.5 days standby time.


You can see a promo video of the headset here…

In all, I like the Jabra EXTREME a great deal. When first released it was on the pricey side, but if you shop around you can get it for far less than the $99 MSRP.

MSRP: $99.99. It is currently available on Amazon for $54.99.

What I Like: Small and unobtrusive, sounds good, has a physical on/off switch, cool car charger, A2DP compatibility and other state-of-the-art technologies built in, decent price when you shop around

What Needs Improvement: Comfortable enough but not outstanding in that department

Panasonic Toughbook 31: Latest notebook for extreme conditions

Panasonic has surprised all of their customers with their new notebook named Panasonic Toughbook 31. It doesn’t look like a notebook it looks more like a briefcase with built in laptop to me and it is designed for most demanding users.

It looks so rugged and almost indestructible and it’s intended to work in the most extreme environments such as front lines. And although it’s not intended to everyday users it has great specs that will find use in the extreme situations. With the spill resistant magnesium case it provides great protection from dust and other environmental hazards. But besides the great durability Toughbook 31 has hybrid cooling system that provides working environment on most extreme conditions, and with long lasting battery and faster recharge time than the previous model, Toughbook 31 will surely find its use.

As for the hardware specs this indestructible notebook will be delivered in three different models with different specs. The weakest model will be using Core i3-350M CPU 2.26GHz, 160GB hard drive and Intel HM55 video controller while the strongest model will be using Intel Core i5-540M 2.53GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.07GHz, 250GB HDD, ATI Radeon HD5650 and Intel QM57 video controller. These models come with 2 GB RAM that is expandable up to 8 GB, and Windows 7 installed, with the possible downgrade to Windows XP. As for display, 13.1 inch XGA LED touchscreen display should satisfy all your needs. This extreme notebook will be available on May 12th with the price of $3,799.

OWC Reveals 480GB Mercury Extreme Pro 2.5" SSD

Just yesterday Mushkin pushed the 2.5" SSD sector up a notch with a 240GB option, which is far larger than many standard hard drives that are shipping with notebooks today. Now, OWC is taking it to another level: 480GB. Yes, 480GB on a single 2.5" solid state drive. The bar has been raised in terms of capacity, that's for sure.

The company's new Mercury Extreme Pro SSD range is now available, with units ranging from 60GB to 480GB in size. According to the company, these feature "sustained data rates of 285MBps," with an ultra-efficient block management and wear leveling technology that "prevents write speed degradation commonly experienced by other brands' SSD."

• One of the fastest Internal SATA 2.5" SSD with available data rates up to 285MB/s.
• SandForce DuraClass™ technology with Ultra-efficient Block Management & Wear Leveling offers highest endurance, performance, and power efficiency in a SATA SSD.
• SandForce® Processor maximizes read and write performance to greatly extend the endurance and overall reliability of the drive.
• Up to 100X greater data protection than what the highest rated enterprise class conventional hard disk drive (HDD) provides.
• Best in class error correction (ECC) and SandForce RAISE™ (Redundant Array of Independent Silicon Elements) technology provides RAID like data protection and reliability without loss of transfer speed due to parity.
• Intelligent "recycling" for advanced free space management
• Highly secure… all data automatically stored in AES-128 encrypted format.
• Designed and made in the US from imported parts.

Zone Alarm Extreme Security 2010

Computer security has never been more important. It seems that everyday we hear something about hackers or emails that are used by hackers to gather your information. This is why it is important to know that you have good security software installed onto your computer. There are several different companies that offer computer security. One of these is ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2010.
The ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2010 offers more than just computer protection. It also offers the user Web browsing protection, a backup option, system tune-up tools and antiphising technology. All of these are available to add to three computers, which makes it great for those households that have more than one computer. ZoneAlarm has improved performance from previous editions by combining antivirus and antispyware scans giving it up to 90 percent faster scans. Installation of this program was unlike most other programs I have ever installed. It gave me choices but also for those who choose automatic setup, the ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2010 software explains what happens during setup. The interface can be a bit tricky as it does hide the scan computer button for the bottom corner. Some of the other key features are hidden in the bottom corner as well including gaming mode (deactivates pop ups while playing games and watching videos) and entering your license key. Overall, ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2010 is a good computer security program to have for the safety of the information that is stored on your computer.

EXTREME COMPUTER DATA RECOVERY POTENZA 0971 274680 RECUPERO DATI LUCA CINNELLA

Pictures of Core i7 Extreme Gaming Computer 3.8Ghz Quad 2x GTX 295 SLI

Pictures of Core i7 Extreme Gaming Computer 3.8Ghz Quad 2x GTX 295 SLI

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On one hand, I’m a little surprised that USB 3.0 didn’t arrive on the new MacBook Pros announced this week. We may see it on the next iMacs and Mac Pros—unless Apple makes one of its quantum leaps and goes directly to “Light Peak.”

According to a recent Research and Markets study, the market for digital interface technologies continues growing, and includes USB, 1394, DVI, HDMI, and Bluetooth, among others. USB is the most common and most-used interface among both home and work computer users, according to the research grouop. .

Research and Market’s 21-question survey tracked the ownership of seven interface technologies among In-Stat’s Technology Adoption Panel in both work and home PCs: USB, 1394 (FireWire to Mac users), DVI, HDMI, Bluetooth, DisplayPort, and eSATA. It also queried 1,216 tech-savvy, predominantly male, online respondents about what they connected their computers to using these connections, including peripherals, consumer electronics, and mobile devices.

The survey found that, not surprisingly, USB is the most common interface on both work and home computers. Other common interfaces include DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, Bluetooth, eSATA, and 1394. USB Flash cards are the most commonly connected peripherals.

However, just because an interface is common, doesn’t mean it’s widely used, says Brian ORourke, In-Stat analyst, says that FireWire1394 was the second most common interface, but is rarely used. HDMI is a less common home computer interface. However, among those with HDMI, a large percentage connect the computer’s HDMI port to their digital television.

DisplayPort, one of the newer PC interface technologies, has achieved surprising popularity since its release. DisplayPort was on 27% of survey respondents work computers and 24% of their home PCs.

According to the In-Stat research group more than three billion USB-enabled devices are currently being shipped. USB 3.0 is specified to transfer at five gigabits per second, or 10 times faster than USB 2.0. Plus, USB 3.0 products are backward-compatible with USB 2.0 devices and will interoperate with them, as well, so there’s no reason for Apple not to include USB 3.0 on upcoming Macs.

As for FireWire, I’m not willing to bet on its inclusion on any Macs beyond the Mac Pro and 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro. Although it could survive on the 27-inch iMac, which has to be considered, by any criteria, a prosumer machine, if not a professional machine. As for FireWire on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the MacBook and the Mac mini, I wouldn’t count on it since USB is more popular and cheaper.

Apple invented FireWire, but FireWire 400 has disappeared from the latest Macs—though FireWire 800 connectivity has taken its place for the most part. If Apple does continue its FireWire support, it could move up to FireWire 3200. FW 3200 FireWire 3200 will use the same connectors as FireWire 800, but purportedly delivers at least four times the performance. It increases FireWire speed from 800 Mbps to 3.2 Gbps. You’ll notice that, on paper, that’s slower than USB 3.0, but FireWire also has advantages in areas such as power management.

FireWire 800 products today deliver 90 MB/second of sustainable throughput. With the anticipated three percent overhead, FireWire 3200 could deliver nearly 390 MB/second of usable data bandwidth, though a straight-forward 400 percent increase would be 360 MB/second. That’s enough to drive full 1920×1200 HDTV signals at up to 50 fps.

Of course, there’s no reason computers can’t have both FireWire and USB 3.0 ports. That may be what Apple has lined up for at least most of its upcoming Macs. But if, in time, USB 3.0 crushes FireWire—and also eSATA—don’t be surprised.

On the other hand, USB 3.0 could disappear and be replaced by a technology called “Light Peak.” Developed by Intel and championed by Apple, this proposed technology paves the way for a new generation of extreme computer input and output (I/O) performance, delivering 10Gb/s of bandwidth, with the potential ability to scale to 100Gbs over the next decade, according to David Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager, Intel Architecture Group. At 10Gb/second, a user could purportedly transfer a full-length Blu-Ray movie in less than 30 seconds.

Intel says it intends to work with the industry to determine the best way to make this new technology a standard. There are rumors that Apple will introduce Light Speed on Macs in fall 2010 in a line of computers Macs destined for back-to-school shoppers. Following the initial launch, there are plans to roll out a low-power variation in 2011, which could lead to more widespread adoption in handhelds and cellphones, according to an engadget report. The plans from October 2007 show a roadmap that includes Light Peak being introduced to the iPhone iPod platform to serve as a gateway for multimedia and networking outputs, the article adds.

When it does, it could make both USB and FireWire obsolete, though that won’t happen for some ways down the technology road.

However, Intel says there’s no conflict between USB 3.0 and Light Peak. The company sees Light Peak and USB 3.0 as complementary, as Light Peak enables USB and other protocols to run together on a single, longer cable and at higher speeds in the future. So both may exist together in the market and perhaps on the same platform at the same time.

As for FireWire, well, if you’re a fan, keep your fingers crossed.

ScanDisk

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SanDisk 8GB Extreme SDHC Class 10 High Performance Memory Card

Product Description
With 30MB/s read/write speeds, you’ll see it takes more than a great digital SLR camera to bring your ideas to life. Get exactly the shots you want with the professional-grade responsiveness of SanDisk Extreme SDHC cards. You’ll have room to capture it all in RAW+JPEG, and save the editing for later. Plus, you’ll get faster photo and video transfers from camera to computer…. More >>

http://www.electronicsreviewsnow.com/go/SanDisk_8GB_Extreme_SDHC_Class_10_High_Performance_Memory_Card_/2993/4

Six Cores for a Desktop: Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU Review

Year 2010 will be remembered in the computer industry as the time when six-core processors entered the desktop segment. Intel was the first one to announce their six-core solution – a 999-dollar Nehalem modification featuring more computational cores and manufactured with 32 nm technological process.
Intel has long established itself as the maker of the fastest processors for desktop PCs. But while there can be arguments as to what CPU models are optimal today in the mainstream and low-end categories, there is no competition in the top price range. Intel’s Core i7 series has no alternatives in AMD’s product line-up. At least, this is true when I’m writing this and there are still a few weeks till the arrival of AMD’s six-core Phenom II processors codenamed Thuban. As a matter of fact, the already available 4-core Phenom II processors may even be more appealing as they are but a few dozen percent slower than the Core i7 series while being many times cheaper, but anyway. PC enthusiasts are ready to pay for the maximum performance they can get, therefore the Core i7 series enjoys high popularity.

Even without direct market competition, this consumer interest towards high-performance and expensive CPUs makes Intel keep on developing its top-end products by increasing their clock rates, introducing microarchitectural improvements, and endowing them with more and more cores. The hero of this review is the recently announced model of the Core i7 series which is the first desktop CPU with as many as six cores!

It must be noted that the arrival of the six-core Core i7 does not mark a beginning of a six-core revolution. Right now, Intel only offers one such CPU, the Core i7-980X Extreme Edition. It is a kind of a demo sample that is targeted as wealthy enthusiasts who are ready to shell out a thousand bucks for the processor alone! That’s how things will stand until this fall when one more, less expensive, six-core model is scheduled for release. And there will still be a long way till the mass arrival of CPUs with more than four cores to the market. I mean Intel’s CPUs, of course. AMD has its own vision and is going to start selling midrange six-core CPUs in near future, but we don’t yet have the opportunity to play with such products in our test labs.

The Core i7-980X is based on the new semiconductor die Gulftown that incorporates six processing cores and a 12-megabyte L3 cache. The implementation of all these units in a monolithic silicon die was made possible by 32nm tech process. The same manufacturing process is partially used for the Clarkdale series but the Core i7-980X is the first product to apply it all the way from top to bottom. Thus, it is the Core i7-980X that is going to best illustrate the evolution of the Nehalem microarchitecture. The recently announced Core i5 and Core i3 processors are a poor illustration because the distribution of CPU subunits in two semiconductor dies one of which is manufactured on 45nm tech process resulted in bottlenecks that had a negative effect on the consumer properties of the end products.

In other words, the Core i7-980X is the best Intel’s engineers can do at the moment by applying their progressive tech process to their most advanced microarchitecture. This makes the Gulftown interesting from a theoretical point of view. Practically, such CPUs will be limited to luxurious PC configurations and will not make it to the mass market this year. Intel has no plans to offer cheaper versions of the Gulftown in 2011, either, because the company is going to move on right to the next microarchitecture generation codenamed Sandy Bridge.

Nine Finalists Announced in Dimension 3D Printing Extreme Redesign Contest

MINNEAPOLIS, Apr 13, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Dimension 3D Printing, a brand of Stratasys Inc. (SSYS 25.45, +0.70, +2.83%) , today announced the nine finalists in its sixth annual "Extreme Redesign" challenge.

Extreme Redesign: The Ultimate 3D Printing Challenge, is a global design-and- 3D-printing contest for high school and college students. The nine finalists were selected from an international pool of entries by a panel of experts from within the design and engineering fields. Designs fall into one of three categories: High School, University, and Art and Architecture. The three first place category winners will receive $2,500 scholarships. The remaining finalists will each receive $1,000 scholarships.

In addition to the student scholarships, each instructor of a first-place winning student will receive a laptop computer for use in the classroom. This year's contest also features a new "Green Bonus." This award will recognize one student in each category whose design best displays innovation in areas such as energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. The Green Bonus winner will receive a $250 gift card.

High School Category Finalists

-- Robby Ridzy, Medina County Career Center, Brunswick, Ohio: Gutter Guide

-- Maxwell Krist, Eckstein Middle School, Seattle, Wash.: Electricity Usage Meter

-- Korrina Reed, Milford H.S., Milford, Ohio: Fragrance Bracelet

University Category Finalists

-- Donald Nicholson, Columbus State Community College, Columbus, Ohio: EZwriter

-- Ross Warrel, London South Bank University, London, England: Squirrel

-- Dale Herzog, Quinsigamond Community College, Worcester, Mass.: Robo-Prosthetic Development Platform

Art and Architecture Category Finalists

-- Chris Green, Utah State Univ., Logan, Utah: Helical Staircase

-- Trevor Clarke, Fullerton College, Fullerton College, Fullerton, Cal.: Roy

-- Amir Naeem, Fairfield Ludlowe High School, Fairfield, Conn.: Horus Research Center

Winners Announcement

The category and Green Bonus winners and will be announced on Tuesday, May 11th at www.DimensionPrinting.com.

"It was a highly competitive pool this year, thanks in part to a major increase in entries," said Jon Cobb, Stratasys global vice president of marketing. "Congratulations to all of the students who entered the challenge -- especially those who have made it through to the final nine. We would like to thank our panel of judges -- Ian Kovacevich (Enventys), Scott Schermer (S.C. Johnson), and Leslie Langnau (Design World magazine) for helping us with the difficult task of evaluating and ranking the designs."

Dimension, a brand of 3D printers by Stratasys, offers computer-aided-design (CAD) users a low-cost, networked alternative for building functional 3D models from the desktop. The printers build models layer-by-layer using ABS plastic, one of the most widely used thermoplastics in today's injection-molded products. Dimension 3D printers allow users to evaluate design concepts and test models for form, fit, and function. Online at: www.DimensionPrinting.com.

Stratasys, Inc., Minneapolis, manufactures additive fabrication machines for prototyping and manufacturing plastic parts under the brands Fortus 3D Production Systems and Dimension 3D Printers. The company also operates RedEye On Demand, an online service for part prototyping and production. According to Wohlers Report 2009, Stratasys supplied 43 percent of all additive fabrication systems installed worldwide in 2008, making it the unit market leader for the seventh consecutive year. Stratasys patented and owns the process known as FDM.(R) The process creates functional prototypes and manufactured goods directly from any 3D CAD program, using high-performance industrial thermoplastics. The company holds more than 250 granted or pending additive fabrication patents globally. Stratasys products are used in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, business & industrial equipment, education, architecture, and consumer-product industries. Online at: www.Stratasys.com.

Dimension, uPrint, Stratasys, and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) are registered trademarks of Stratasys, Inc.

Attention Editors: If you wish to publish reader contact information, please use: info@DimensionPrinting.com, 952-937-3000, 1-866-721-9244, www.DimensionPrinting.com.

Epson Endeavor Pro7000 Extreme Edition Core i7 desktop computer

Intel’s Core i7 processors promises raw power. And this powerful processor has been featured in the latest Extreme Edition of Endeavor series desktop computer by Epson labeled as Pro7000. Endeavor Pro7000 Extreme Edition features Intel Core i7-980X processor. Whether it would be gaming or multimedia tasks, Pro7000 desktop PC offers you with the best of performance.

In addition to its 3.33GHz Intel Core i7-980X processor, it offers you with 3GB of PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM. And together, they offer you with incredible robustness and stability.

Extreme Edition features superior graphical support by ATI Radeon graphic card. It offers you with ATI Radeon HD 3450 which inject 256MB of VRAM. Endeavor Pro7000 might not prove to be a sheer gaming or multimedia machine, but it is surely a powerful computing machine that your regular desktop computer.

With Pro7000 desktop PC, you need not worry much about its storage space as it offers you with 250GB of SATA HDD which runs at 7200rpm. And the best part about this Epson Endeavor desktop computer is the fact that it is upgradable. Based on your requirement and budget, you can enhance its RAM up to 12GB. In addition to it, it also offers you with number of Hard Disk capacity configurations.

You can also choose to equip it with Blu Ray recorder, and select the graphical support from ATI Radeon HD 4650 512MB, ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB, ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB, NVIDIA Quadro FX1800 768MB graphic cards. The basic version of Endeavor Pro7000 is being sold at 261,870 Yen (2100€).

Computers, Children and the Digital Divide

download MP3 (Right-click or option-click and save link)

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Market researchers estimate that more than one billion personal computers are in use worldwide. Availability has improved in developing countries, but still remains limited compared to industrialized nations. Experts continue to debate how best to close this digital divide.

Nicholas Negroponte established the One Laptop Per Child project in two thousand five. He would like to put a low-cost laptop in the hands of every child, especially those living in extreme poverty. His nonprofit organization has shipped its specially designed laptop to developing countries around the world.

NICHOLAS NEGROPONTE: "It is already in the hands of 1.2 million children, in 31 countries, 19 languages. And one country, Uruguay, has just completed doing every single child in the country."

But the program has critics. They say trying to supply every child with a laptop, even at the current price of one hundred sixty dollars, is costly and inefficient.

Stephen Dukker also makes low-cost computers. But his can run programs and applications for several students at once. He says these "virtual desktops" lower costs, reduce energy use and lessen the need for technical support. His company NComputing says it has set up over forty thousand networks in more than one hundred countries.

Stephen Dukker says all you need to connect to a network is a keyboard and monitor.

STEPHEN DUKKER: "You think you've got your own computer all to yourself and you can't tell the difference that you're working on something other than a computer and sharing this other resource and doing it at a much lower cost than having your own PC."

As computers reach more children in developing countries, so too in many cases is the Internet. It can be a great educational tool. But children also need to learn about the possible threats that can be found on social networks and other sites.

Mark Matunga is with Microsoft East Africa in Kenya. He says poverty may put African children especially at risk.

MARK MATUNGA: "They're being told that, 'Hey you know what, I can send you a few dollars. I can come and visit you. I can buy you a ticket. You come to my country.'"

His company is working with the Kenyan government and a children's rights group. Mark Matunga says the coalition is trying to educate the public about how to protect children from online abuse.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms with reporting by Adam Phillips and Cathy Majtenyi. Want to learn more about international development and technology? You can find transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Enjoy Xtreme Fun with Aggressive Inline Skates – Free Online Coupons

New popular activity and sport that emerged into mainstream over last ten to fifteen years is Aggressive inline skating or rollerblading. There are different types of aggressive skating and small underground community, culture are associated with this elitist sport. the famous aggressive inline skating are Vert, Street and Park. Skates used for aggressive skating are bit different from regular skates.

these skates are smaller, softer and have smaller wheels with a higher durometer, sole plates as well as freestyle frames. Aggressive skates have a harder shell to protect feet of skater and provide more support. these inline skates also have smaller wheels to help accelerate, decelerate faster and to help with tricks and speed.

Get aggressive inline skates from some of the very popular sports stores like Dicks Sporting Goods, Sports Authority and lots more. They perform variety of grinds, rail slides, switch up’s, grabs, aerials and many other types and variations of tricks. Enjoy aggressive inline skating with these innovative inline skates!

Remz 08one Pro Aggressive In-Line Skate: Remz 08one Pro aggressive in-line skate is backed by an untouchable team including Franky Morales and Chris Haffey. It features unique details and innovations that only Remz knows how to put together, with unique customizable ankle support, a tight-fitting original neoprene liner and a distinctive leather construction. It’s set-up with a 1-piece soul system and a Hi-Lo frame from ground control. Original price of Pro Aggressive In-Line Skate at Dicks Sporting Goods is $299.99.

Bladerunner Fury Aggressive Inline Skates

Enjoy Xtreme Fun with Aggressive Inline Skates – Free Online Coupons

Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick (Silver/Black)

From Logitech

Product Description

When the pressure is on, your stick performance is the difference between victory and total oblivion. The Extreme 3D Pro twist handle joystick will never let you down. The 12 programmable buttons and 8-way rubber hat switch give you optimum control, personalized to your taste. Whether youre dropping bombs at a distance or firing guns in a dog fight, the stable and precise Extreme 3D Pro will have you dominating the enemy in no time.
Product Details

* Color: Black/Silver
* Brand: Logitech
* Model: 963290-0403
* Released on: 2005-10-10
* ESRB Rating: Everyone
* Platform: Not Machine Specific
* Format: CD
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Dimensions: 8.50″ h x 9.25″ w x 10.50″ l, 2.85 pounds

Features

* Product Type – Joystick
* Quick and easy access to fire weapons
* Product Type – Replacement Lamp
* Rapid-fire trigger allows shots in quick succession
* Shipping Weight: 1.50 lbs

Editorial Reviews

From the Manufacturer
When the pressure is on, your stick performance is the difference between victory and total oblivion. The Extreme 3D Pro twist handle joystick will never let you down. The 12 programmable buttons and eight-way rubber hat switch give you optimum control, personalized to your taste. Whether you’re dropping bombs at a distance or firing guns in a dog fight, the stable and precise Extreme 3D Pro will have you dominating the enemy in no time.

* Dominate the skies or the ground with the control of 12 well-placed, fully programmable buttons and a rapid-fire trigger
* Home in on your target with the deadly accurate direction control of the twist handle
* Smooth and accurate throttle settings are a major bonus whether you’re entering the fray or bugging out

What’s in the Box
Joystick with USB cable, CD-ROM with gaming software, setup guide, warranty and registration card

Customer Reviews

A very good joystick: well made and comfortable to use4
The Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick is a good all-around stick. For those wanting to use, say, Flight Simulator for educational purposes, the Extreme 3D is a good choice.

In fact, this type of stick is much more realistic than models with “Force Feedback”: the stick movement on a genuine modern helicopter in flight feels smooth and fluid, like power steering on your car. Force Feedback may be fun, but I don’t think it’s very realistic for many of the scenarios it’s currently used in.

Specifically, here’s what I rated it by:
* Quality of components and assembly: The action of the stick is smooth. No flimsy play in the controls. The hat switch and trigger pull have a positive feel with close tolerances.
* Comfortable handgrip: like the overall product, the design and machining of the grip is off high-quality, without any annoying seems or sharp ridges.
* Smooth throttle control: this is a small detail, but compared with some of the other models out there, it’s notable.
* Stable base that allows you to either rest it firmly on a table or in your lap.
* Subtle movements are reflected in the game.
* Overall appearance – it looks as good as it performs.

Things to NOTE:
* This is definitely a right-handed joystick.
* It plugs into a USB port
* I used it with Microsoft Flight Sim 2002 running on an XP Pro system: Installing the software that came with the joystick was effortless and when I opened Flight Sim, all of the buttons were already mapped to the appropriate functions.

Great joystick at a decent price.5
I bought this joystick for gaming on my Mac and was a bit disappointed when the box arrived and it said PC only… However, I plugged it in to my iBook and it worked just great on Battlefield 1942 even without installing any drivers (I’m using OSX). I also can use it on my PC without any problem. It comes with a drivers CD for Windows.

It improved my game 100% when flying planes in Battlefield, I would definitely recommend this to anybody who plays games in which flying is involved. It’s pretty sturdy and quite large, and very comfortable to hold, though it’s definitely for right-handed gamers only.

It has a separate throttle control (a lever that you push forward or backward) that’s quite sensitive, and the handle twists left and right to control the rudder (as well as moving 360 degrees like any other joystick). There are 13 buttons so plenty of choice when mapping your controls.

Personally I much prefer this joystick over one that comes with force feedback – the vibration works against what you’re trying to do and makes playing harder. You can’t beat this joystick for the price.

After this I could never go back to just using a mouse and keyboard. Takes the gaming experience to the next level.

A Fine Joystick5
I received this joystick as a Christmas gift for use on my computer
. The initial set up and installation was quick and easy, and I immediately used it on “Pacific Fighters”. The stick is comfortable to hold, or it can be placed on a table or desk. The rapid fire trigger is especially helpful in combat games, and the swivel feature is an added plus. There are several programmable buttons which can be customized by the user, and the throttle control is very smooth to operate.

I highly recommend this joystick. It performed exceptionally for me on “Pacific Fighters”, and I’m looking forward to trying it out on “Axis and Allies” and “MVP Baseball 2004″. With this joystick, you’ll be able to play your favorite computer games with ease and comfort.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com

Extreme Catalog Pro 2.0.0.1

Tool for organizing and managing CDs, DVDs

The program catalogs, contents of your media, imports descriptions and thumbnails, and makes it available for offline browsing and searching. Extreme Catalog Pro is ideal to handle your downloaded programs, magazine CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs, music collections like MP3s or audio CDs, graphics collections, documents and all other types of files. You can access the contents of your collection from the cataloged database, even if the media itself is not available on the system - you can browse lists of files and folders, search by any criteria, use descriptions, thumbnails, categories, flags, etc.

Extreme Catalog Pro is very user friendly and easy-to-use software for cataloging disks, folders and files.
Have you ever had to look through dozens of CDs, trying to find some file or song? With Extreme Catalog Pro you will never waste your time again. Process your CDs with Extreme Catalog Pro just once and from that moment onwards finding anything is possible in a few seconds without inserting the disk into the drive.

Platforms: Windows Vista , Windows XP , Windows2000 , Windows2003 , Win98 , Windows Vista Business , Windows Vista Business x64 , Windows Vista Enterprise , Windows Vista Enterprise x64 , Windows Vista Home Basic , Windows Vista Home Basic x64 , Windows Vista Home Premium , Windows Vista Home Premium x64 , Windows Vista Starter , Windows Vista Ultimate , Windows Vista Ultimate x64 , WinXP

System requirements: .Net Runtime version 2.0 or higher, Microsoft Visual J#™ Redistributable Package version 2.0

FREE DOWNLOAD
Download Extreme Catalog Pro 2.0.0.1

Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme CPU Cooler Review

Introduction



This time we tested a CPU cooler from Tuniq, Tower 120 Extreme. This cooler has a tower design with five U-shaped heatpipes and with its fan installed inside the heatsink. Will it show a good performance? Check it out!

The box is beautiful and has a robust structure: there is an external box, made of card paper, and a thicker (and harder) one inside, with a plastic transport handle.



Opening the box we were gladly surprised to find, besides the cooler itself, a very complete book-style user manual (instead the common B&W one-sheeter) and a box where the installation hardware is organized in a foam with matching holes, as you can see in Figure 2.



In Figure 3 we can have a general view of the cooler. At first look it seems like there is no fan, but looking carefully you can see the fan inside the heatsink.

Google Blogging About Experimental Fiber Network

Leave it up to Google to hopefully bring some change to the broadband industry.

We're planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We'll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.



On Google's official blog page is a link where you can submit your area and explain why you think it is a good candidate for their experiment.


I live in Houston and sadly you have two choices... AT&T or Comcast. Neither is that great, both promise more than what they can deliver. I've been getting mailers for AT&T Uverse for YEARS, but still to this day I can't get it in my area... AT&T either needs to stop taunting me or make good on their promises! Comcast... I'm not even going there...

AMD 890GX/SB850 Chipset Released & ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3

AMD is releasing yet another chipset (the 8-Series), starting with the 890GX & SB850. The biggest feature of this combo is the SB850 now supports SATA 6Gb/s! We will also be taking a look at the ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 motherboard, one of their first models to utilize the new 8-Series chipset.

Full Review: EXTREME Overclocking

ATI Catalyst 10.3 & NVIDIA 197.13 Drivers Released

ATI Catalyst 10.3 Drivers:

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx or
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx

NVIDIA GeForce/Ion 197.13:
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index5.aspx?lang=en-us

AMD's 8 & 12-core "Magny-Cours" Opterons Released!

We've been reading a few previews about these new Opteron processors the past few weeks, but now they have officially launched.... How do these puppies stack up against Intel's 6-core Xeon's? Hmm...

Anandtech - AMD's 12-core "Magny-Cours" Opteron 6174 vs. Intel's 6-core Xeon
Little Blurb & Hot Hardware

The new AMD Opteron 6000 Series platform features include:

* The industry’s only 8- and 12-core server processors performing at up to two times the level of AMD’s previous generation 6-core processors, including an 88 percent increase in integer performance4 and a 119 percent increase in floating point performance.
* Enhanced integrated memory controller supporting four channels of DDR3 memory for up to a 2.5x improvement in overall memory bandwidth.
* Thirty-three percent more memory channels per processor than competitive 2P solutions.
* 50% higher DIMM capacity compared to previous generations, with up to 12 per processor, increasing the available memory overall and improving virtualization, database and HPC applications.
* AMD 5600 Series chipset with I/O virtualization capability, HyperTransport™ 3.0 technology and PCI Express® 2.0.
* Removal of the “4P tax”, since the same processors can be used in both 2P and 4P designs, and 4P-capable processors are now the same price as 2P-capable processors, bringing greatly improved value to the 4P space.
* Unprecedented price/performance. In a comparison between a best-performing 2P competitive platform versus a similar best-performing 4P AMD-based platform, customers can recognize up to double the performance and more than 10% lower total processor price.
* Significant new power management features including a C1E power state to conserve energy when idle, the Advanced Platform Management Link allowing APML-enabled platforms to be remotely monitored for power and cooling, and AMD CoolSpeed technology, which automatically reduces p-states if a specified temperature limit is exceeded.
* A wide range of power and performance options with no compromise on the available feature sets.
* A legacy of consistency and stability. The new AMD Opteron platform is chipset- and socket- compatible between 2P and 4P and will be compatible with the planned processors based on the next-generation AMD server processor core, code-named “Bulldozer”.