| Nvidia Initiates Patent Lawsuit Against Samsung and Qualcomm Posted: 04 Sep 2014 08:14 PM PDT  Nividia looking to block shipments of Samsung products
It appears that Samsung is in for some rough times ahead. Nividia announced today that it has filed a patent lawsuit against Samsung and Qualcomm with the U.S. International Trade Commission and the U.S. District Court in Delaware. On its blog, Nvidia claims that Samsung mobile phones and tablets contain Qualcomm's Adreno, ARM's Mali, or Imagination's PowerVR graphics architectures. To that effect, the company is requesting that the ITC block shipments of Samsung's mobile phones and tablets and ask that it be awarded damages from the Delaware court for the patent infringements. Nvidia provided a list of Samsung products it says falls under patent infringements which includes products include the Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 mobile phones; and the Galaxy Tab S, Galaxy Note Pro and Galaxy Tab 2 computer tablets. These devices use Qualcomm's mobile processors such as the Snapdragon S4, 400, 600, 800, 801 and 805. "Without licensing NVIDIA's patented GPU technology, Samsung and Qualcomm have chosen to deploy our IP without proper compensation to us," said Shannon. "This is inconsistent with our strategy to earn an appropriate return on our investment." According to Nvidia executive vice-president David Shannon, the GPU manufacturer approached Samsung to reach an agreement but Samsung responded that this was mostly its suppliers' problem. Of the 7,000 issued and pending patents Nvidia has under its belt, Shannon says the company has chosen seven of those to bring up in these cases against Samsung and Qualcomm saying, "Those patents include our foundational invention, the GPU, which puts onto a single chip all the functions necessary to process graphics and light up screens; our invention of programmable shading, which allows non-experts to program sophisticated graphics; our invention of unified shaders, which allow every processing unit in the GPU to be used for different purposes; and our invention of multithreaded parallel processing in GPUs, which enables processing to occur concurrently on separate threads while accessing the same memory and other resources." Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Dell Reveals New Latitude Laptops, Chromebox, and 5K Monitor for Business Users Posted: 04 Sep 2014 06:57 PM PDT  Plenty of options for businesses
In a week where a lot of product announcements have been made so far, Dell is not a company to be left out of the loop. To that end, Dell has announced an assortment of new products for its Latitude Laptops, Chromebox, and OptiPlex Micro lineups along with a 5K monitor. A variety of new models are being added to Dells Latitude line. The Latitude 13 7000 series is a 2-in-1 ultrabook that can double as a tablet or a laptop. It has a 13.3-inch display, backlit keyboard, and an Instant Go from sleep mode feature. The Latitude 12 5000 series has been added alongside the Latitude 14 and 15 5000 series which is 20 percent thinner than previous models. It also has a 4-cell battery with an all-day battery life. Meanwhile, the Latitude 14 and 15 3000 series features enterprise-class support, an all-day battery life, spill resistant keyboard, and 14-inch or 15-inch displays with touch support. For those looking for small, form-factor PCs, Dell has added the OptiPlex 9020 and 3020 Micro PCs to its OptiPlex Micro roster. Both PCs come with five mounting options and offer an assortment of hardware for business owners to choose from to create a PC that is suitable to them. For example, the 3020 gives consumers the choice of going with an Intel 4th generation Core i5 Quad Core, Core i3 Dual Core, Pentium Dual Core and Celeron Dual Core. The 9020 offers a choice between Intel 4th generation Core i7/i5 Quad Core, Core i3 Dual Core, and Pentium Dual Core. Dell is also offering the Dell Chromebox which features an Intel 4th generation processor, 1080p webcam, speaker phone, and remote control along with mounting hardware and the cabling required for placing anywhere. It has the ability to output 4K Ultra HD resolution and display to dual monitors. Speaking of monitors, Dell also unveiled the new Dell 55 Monitor which is a 55-inch widescreen display. It delivers full HD resolution and a 3000:1 contrast. For a more desk-friendly display Dell also announced the Dell UltraSharp 27 Ultra HD 5K Monitor. Capable of Ultra HD 5K resolution (5120x2880), it also has two 16W integrated Harmon Kardon speakers and offers six USB ports and one media card reader (Godon Mah Ung was able to see Dell's 5K monitor in action). Be sure to check out the gallery for the prices and release dates. Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Dell 5K Monitor Hands-On [Updated] Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:12 PM PDT Just bought a 4K panel? Well guess what, it's obsolete already. Yes, Dell's new UP2715K packs in an astounding 5120x2880 pixels into a 27-inch Crystal Clear panel. That's roughly 14.7 megapixels, versus the measly 8.3 megapixels of your 4K panel. Yes, 70 percent more pixels. Can you even run this over DisplayPort? Of course not. To push this many pixels, you need to use not one, but two DisplayPort 1.2 ports. For this demo, Dell had the monitor running off of a Quadro K5000 card. And I misspoke. The video being shown here was actually a 5K resolution H.265 video, but it showed considerable compression artifacts from being upsampled. Price? Unknown, but you know it won't be cheap. Availability? By the end of this year, so you maybe you'll get it under the tree if you're a good nerd. Bad nerds, as we know, get stuck with low res TN panels and a lump of coal. Update: Dell didn't know the price this morning, but according to a press release from the company this afternoon, the monitor will cost $2,499.99. Whew, we thought it might actually cost $2,500, but that's much cheaper. All snark aside, the price is lower than expected, as 32-inch 4K panels came in at $3,500 last summer. Also not revealed to us is the type of technology used in the panel. As this is not cheap, and a commercial monitor for medical, scientific and gas exploration (and bad-ass PC enthusiasts) uses, it's not likely to be a TN panel. Other specs we just dug out of our reporters notebook: 218 pixels per square inch, and color depth of 1 billion colors. Oh, and it has a miniDisplayPort which can be used to operate in a 4K mode. |
| McAfee Threat Report Details Heartbleed Fallout and Surprising Effectiveness of Phishing Scams Posted: 04 Sep 2014 11:12 AM PDT  Heartbleed affected around 17 percent of all TLS-enabled websites
McAfee Labs today released its Threats Report for August 2014. The lead topic for the last quarter concerns the Heartbleed vulnerability, which McAfee Labs says was the most significant security event since the Target data breach in 2013. Heartbleed affected more than 600,000 websites, and in its aftermath, the cost for repair is likely to be hundreds of millions of dollars, McAfee Labs said. "Due to its prevalence, many consider this the worst vulnerability ever disclosed," McAfee Labs states in its report (PDF). "Because of the popularity of OpenSSL on commercial servers, Heartbleed affected a significant portion of the Internet, estimated to be around 17 percent of websites using TLS. This estimate includes some of the most often visited websites on the net as well as many smaller, less well-known sites." While Heartbleed was an eye-opener, phishing is still a major problem. McAfee Labs said it collected more than 250,000 new phishing URLs since its last report, thereby bringing the total to one million new sites in the last year. Phishing isn't just becoming more widespread, it's also becoming more sophisticated. McAfee Labs asked business users to take a phishing quiz that consisted of 10 email messages presented in emulated email clients. Respondants were asked to identify which of those samples were real and which were phishing scams. Out of the 16,000 business users who took the quiz, 80 percent fell for at least one phishing email. "We find this figure shockingly high," McAfee Labs said. "It takes only one successful delivery of malware to a vulnerable system to establish a foothold in almost any business." Even worse, McAfee found that the departments holding the most sensitive data performed far worse in identifying phishing scams. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Asus GeForce GTX 770 Graphics Card, Intel Core i5 4690K, and More! Posted: 04 Sep 2014 10:27 AM PDT |
| Microsoft Announces "Affordable Flagship" Lumia 830, Adds Lumia 730 and 735 for Taking Selfies Posted: 04 Sep 2014 09:12 AM PDT  Phones for narcissists and budget constrained power users
Microsoft kept itself busy today by unveiling three new Nokia handsets -- the Lumia 730, Lumia 735, and Lumia 830. Out of the three, the first two are billed as being "the ultimate selfie and Skype phones" courtesy of a Full HD 5-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera with a focal length of 24mm, while the third is what Microsoft is pitching as an affordable flagship handset. Starting with the selfie phones, the dual-SIM 730 and single-SIM 735 share the same spec sheet (minus the SIM count), which includes a 4.7-inch HD OLED 1280x720 display, 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 8GB of internal storage with 15GB of free OneDrive cloud storage, a microSD card slot, 6.7MP rear-facing camera, 2220 mAh battery, and Windows Phone 8.1 software. The Lumia 730 Dual SIM and Lumia 735 will start shipping in September for around 219 euros (~$285) and 199 euros (~$259), respectively. As for the Lumia 830, it has a 5-inch ClearBlack IPS display with a 1280x720 resolution. 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 16GB of built in storage plus 15GB of OneDrive space, microSD card slot, PureView 10MP camera with OIS and Zeiss optics, and Windows Phone 8.1. The Lumia 830 will be available this month around the world for around 330 euros (~$429). Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Kingston's HyperX Genesis Memory Turns Savage Posted: 04 Sep 2014 07:55 AM PDT 
New Savage line replaces mid-level Genesis family Most of the memory announcements we're seeing lately have to do with new DDR4 RAM kits for Intel's X99 chipset and Haswell-E processors. However, if you're not ready to make the leap to DDR4, don't sweat it -- companies aren't turning their backs on DDR3 memory kits just yet. Hence we have Kingston announcing its new HyperX Savage DDR3 memory line with red aluminum heatspreaders. Kingston's HyperX Savage replaces the HyperX Genesis. It's a mid-range line that sports a black PCB encased in an asymmetrical heatspreader with a diamond cut finish. Though it has an aggressive look to it, the kits are low profile, giving system builders a bit of extra room for oversized CPU coolers. "After replacing HyperX blu with Fury for entry-level gamers, it was time to refresh our mid-level Genesis line with HyperX Savage," said Lawrence Yang, business manager, HyperX. "The bold and stylish red heatspreader offers enthusiasts and gamers a radical new look combined with high performance and capacities to match." Speaking of which, capacities range from 4GB and 8GB single modules to 8GB to 32GB dual-channel or quad-channel kits. Frequency options run the gamut from 1600MHz to 2400MHz with CAS latencies between 9 and 11. Kingston's HyperX Savage memory kits are available now. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Lenovo Launches ThinkPad Helix and Several Other PCs Posted: 04 Sep 2014 07:00 AM PDT  New systems for the board room, game room, and beyond
Lenovo already blitzed the IFA 2014 convention in Berlin with a number of product announcements yesterday, but as it turns out, the company was just warming up. Picking up where it left off, Lenovo today announced a new portfolio of devices that include the ThinkPad Helix, Horizon 2s, Horizon 2e, ThinkCentre Tiny-in-One (TIO), and Edge 15 with starting prices ranging from $279 on up to $999. The ThinkPad Helix is a 2-in-1 Ultrabook for business users. In tablet mode, the Helix weighs just 1.8 pounds and measures only 0.38 inches, which is 15 percent thinner than its predecessor. Inside is an Intel Core M processor, 11.6-inch display with a Full HD 1080p resolution, and a battery that's good for up to 12 hours of run time. Lenovo still thinks there's a market for tabletop computing, hence the Horizon 2s and 2e. The "s" denotes "slim" with a profile that measures just 0.59 inches and weighs barely more than 5 pounds, which is 10 pounds lighter than the original Horizon 2. 
Both the 2s and 2e sport up to a 4th Generation Intel Core processor, NFC support (optional on the 2e), Bluetooth 4.0, integrated Dolby Home Theater stereo speakers, Windows 8.1, and over 40 pre-installed gaming and education programs. The ThinkCentre Tiny-in-One 23 is purportedly the world's first modular all-in-one desktop for business users. It has a 23-inch Full HD 1080p display, front-access USB 3.0 ports, optional ODD, and an ergonomic stand that allows for tilt and height adjustment. 
Finally, the Edge 15 is a touch-friendly 15.6-inch laptop with an IPS display and 1080p resolution. It's encased in a premium aluminum chassis with a 300-degree hinge that allows it to transition from Laptop mode to Stand mode. Other features include Intel Core i5/i7 processor options, 8GB of DDR3L, and choice of up to 1TB of HDD with integrated 16GB NAND or up to 256GB SSD storage. The ThinkCentre Tiny-in-One 23 starts at $279 and will ship in the beginning October. Both the Lenovo Edge 15 and ThinkPad Helix will also ship in October starting at $899 and $999, respectively, along with the Horizon 2e for $749, while the Horizon 2s will be available this month starting at $949. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
