| Updated Dell XPS 15 Packs Ivy Bridge, Gorilla Glass Display Posted: 14 Jun 2012 08:45 PM PDT  Back in March, Dutch site Tweakers.net claimed that Dell was working on a new, improved version of its XPS 15 notebook. The report did not stop there though, going on to list some of the upcoming Ivy Bridge-powered notebook's important features. It turns out the site was right.
All XPS 15-related developments seem to be taking place in Europe, with the latest bit of XPS 15 news also coming from there. Dell recently flaunted the new Ivy Bridge-powered XPS 15 at a special event marking the fourth anniversary of its partnership with Romanian company Asesoft Distribution. According to Romanian site B1.ro, the new XPS 15 sports a 15.6-inch Gorilla Glass display (full HD), Core i5-3210M (2.5-GHz )/ i7-3612QM (2.10 GHz), Nvidia GT GeForce 630m/ 640m GT graphics with up to 2GB VRAM, up to 16GB of RAM, and an option of either a 1TB HDD or up to 512GB SSD. The notebook will reportedly begin shipping during the ongoing quarter. However, there has been no official word from Dell. Image Credit: B1.ro |
| Aussie E-tailer Begins Taxing IE7 Holdouts Posted: 14 Jun 2012 08:15 PM PDT When browsers overstay their welcome they not only become a security concern, but they also make cross-browser compatibility a tall order for web developers. In recent times, silent updates have emerged as an effective means of tackling this problem. Recently, Microsoft too jumped on the silent update bandwagon. While the move seems to be yielding the desired result where IE8 is concerned—IE9 is gaining market share at the expense of IE8—it has had little or no effect on IE6 and IE7. An Australian online retailer is so frustrated with all this that it has decided to take things in its own hands. In an unprecedented move, Australian online retailer Kogan has announced a 6.8-percent tax on all products purchased using the "antique browser." Avoiding taxes is usually very tough (and often criminal), but as Kogan pointed out in its announcement, the "Internet Explorer 7 Tax" can be avoided simply by updating away from IE7, which is estimated to command anywhere between 1.5-5% share of the browser market despite being released in 2006. "The way we've been able to keep our prices so low is by using technology to make our business efficient and streamlined. One of the things stopping that is our web team having to spend a lot of time making our new website look normal on IE7," Kogan said in a blog post. "This is an extremely old browser, so from today, anyone buying from the site who uses IE7 will be lumped with a 6.8% surcharge - that's 0.1% for each month IE7 has been on the market." 
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| TSMC Plans New 450mm Wafer Facility As 28nm Production Woes Continue Posted: 14 Jun 2012 11:39 AM PDT  For processors, smaller is super, but bigger is better for the wafers the processors are made from. Earlier this week, the Taiwan government gave TSMC -- which manufactures chips for virtually everybody -- permission to build a new $10 billion facility dedicated to creating 450mm-wide wafers, up from the 300mm-wide wafers being developed today. Intel also has plans to move to 450mm wafers. Larger diameter wafers yield more processors, which lowers production costs and makes everybody happy. Just don't expect them to come easy.
TSMC Chairman Morris Chang told reporters that "18-inch (450mm) is something we have to do, but the technology is not ready yet," Reuters reports. "If we can overcome it, it'll be a big breakthrough." He went on to say that the technical difficulties in creating 450mm wafers could last up to five years. Technical difficulties are nothing new for TSMC; the company has had a notoriously difficult time with its 28nm manufacturing process, which has resulted in lower than expected yields. The poor yields have reportedly contributed to the low levels of availability for Nvidia's GTX 600-series GPUs and Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 SoCs. Neither company is said to be pleased with the problems, and both Nvidia and Qualcomm have been rumored to be looking for alternative wafer suppliers. Despite the OK for the new facility for larger wafers, the 28nm woes aren't expected to end anytime soon. Yesterday, Chang said that TSMC already expects to fail to meet customer demands in both the third and fourth quarter of the year, with 2013 being the earliest that the 28nm kinks are worked out. Then again, TSMC's competitors (like Samsung and Globalfoundries) haven't exactly had the best 28nm yields either, so the grass isn't exactly greener anywhere else, either. Image credit: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. |
| AMD Reveals Trinity Desktop APU Specs, Confirms Release Is "On Schedule" Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:47 AM PDT  Intel and AMD took two completely different approaches when it came to launching their latest and greatest chips: Intel kicked off Ivy Bridge by launching its most powerful desktop units first, while AMD's Trinity APUs first popped up on notebooks. In fact, you still can't find a desktop Trinity chip -- but the company recently confirmed with HardwareCanucks that Trinity is on schedule to ship to component channels some time later this year and a full listing of the desktop APUs are up on the AMD website.
AMD has also recently confirmed reports that major OEMs such as Acer, Asus and HP are already receiving Trinity desktop chips, and in fact, the company told TechReport yesterday that Trinity desktop APUs are slated to start appearing in all-in-ones by the end of June. However, it looks like only the big name players are currently invited to the party; smaller mobo manufacturers say they aren't yet in on the hot Piledriver action. We could try to sum things up with witty speech, but since we're talking hard data, here are screen grabs of the Trinity spec table over on the AMD website. You'll notice that some of the 15 processors listed are unlocked "K" versions, while all are made for the FM2 socket. 
So, any thoughts as you're looking over the Trinity specs? |
| Innovative Rockstar Punishment Forces Max Payne 3 Cheaters To Fight Infinite Fire With Infinite Fire Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:10 AM PDT  FEAR THE BANHAMMER! That's always been the response to cheaters, modders and exploiters in online games. Screw around and you'll get the boot. Unfortunately, that means that someone who plopped down their hard earned cash to play the game no longer can (even if that person is a jerkface cheater). That's part of the reason why Rockstar's approach to cheating in Max Payne 3 is so awesome; rather than swinging the banhammer, the company will let cheaters keep on playing and cheating -- but only with each other.
"Anyone found to have used hacked saves, modded games, or other exploits to gain an unfair advantage in Max Payne 3 Multiplayer, or to circumvent the leaderboards will be quarantined from all other players into a "Cheaters Pool", where they'll only be able to compete in multiplayer matches with other confirmed miscreants," Rockstar explained in a recent blog post. We'd love to see a feed of some of those matches! In any case, spoilsports will also be scrubbed from the game's leaderboards. There's a chance that Rockstar could let reformed exploit-lovers back into the general pool, but if they flub their second chance at civilized play, the Eternal Banhammer will drop with impunity. If you see someone mucking around in the game, Rockstar encourages you to vote the transgressors onto the island by contacting maxpayne3.banhammer@rockstargames.com with the platform you were playing on, the cheater's gamer ID and a description of the exploit. Bonus points if you include a screenshot or video. So whaddaya think about the Max Payne 3 Cheater Pool? If it works, we think it's kinda elegant, in amusing sort of way. Now, Rockstar just needs to extend the Jackass Island concept to GTA IV. Hat tip to Nate Supplee for pointing this out! Image credit: Rockstar |
| Opera 12 with "Sexier Security" and Themes Galore Now Available to Download Posted: 14 Jun 2012 07:34 AM PDT  The Norwegian browser team over at Opera Software just finished putting the final touches on Opera 12, which sheds its beta digs and is now available to download as a stable release. Opera 12 features "sexier security" with an overhauled badge that makes it easier to see what websites are up to, such as trying to use your location information or flip on your webcam.
Browser themes are new to Opera 12, and there are hundreds to choose from, ranging from Cookie Monster and Halo, to nature scenes and anime, and everything in between. The neat thing about Opera 12's themes is that you can apply different ones without having to restart the browser. Plug-ins now run as a separate process in Opera 12, there's experimental full hardware acceleration, and a host of other changes and additions, which you can glance in the Changelog. If you decide to give Opera 12 a spin, you can download and install the browser by going here (including a 64-bit version), and you can find themes for it here. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Western Digital Drives Hard into Router Market with My Net Series Posted: 14 Jun 2012 07:09 AM PDT  Hard drive maker Western Digital is branching out into the realm of wireless home networking products with the launch of its My Net family of dual-band routers. It's a logical extension for WD, which makes and sells a series of WD TV media player devices capable of tapping into home networks, though the router market is perhaps an even more crowded segment. WD's focus is on ease-of-use, and the company is also debuting its FasTrack technology that instantly sniffs out and detects entertainment traffic, which it then fast forwards to game consoles, media players, smart TVs, and other Internet connected devices.
WD's flagship router is the My Net 900 Central. It boasts a 900Mbps 'combined' transfer speed (450Mbps + 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, which can't actually be combined, mind you), integrated 1TB or 2TB hard drive for automatic wireless backups, 4-port switch, a USB port, printer and media sharing, range amplifier antennas, and DLNA certification. There's also the My Net N900, essentially the same router sans integrated storage, and with a 7-port switch instead 4. Below that is the My Net 750 (300Mbps + 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands), My Net N600 (300Mbps + 300Mbps), and the My Net Switch with eight GbE ports. WD's My Net series is available today with MSRPs of $70 (My Net Switch), $80 (My Net 600), $120 (My Net N750), $180 (My Net N900), $300 (My Net N900 Central 1TB), and $350 (My Net N900 Central 2TB). Image Credit: Western Digital Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Nokia Readies 10,000 Pink Slips in Major Cost Reduction Effort, Lowers Outlook Posted: 14 Jun 2012 06:41 AM PDT  Big changes are in store for Nokia, the struggling handset maker that's decided to take some drastic steps in an attempt to return the Finnish company to profitable growth. Nokia is focused on "significantly" reducing its operating expenses, and it starts with the elimination of 10,000 jobs around the globe by 2013, a process that's already begun in earnest by engaging with employee representatives.
"These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia's long-term competitive strength," said Stephen Elop, Nokia president and CEO. "We do not make plans that may impact our employees lightly, and as a company we will work tirelessly to ensure that those at risk are offered the support, options and advice necessary to find new opportunities." It's not just employees getting the axe. Nokia plans to reduce its factory footprint by closing facilities in Ulm, Germany and Burnaby, Canada, scale down certain research and development projects, and make reductions to non-core assets, including possible divestments. While changes abound on the horizon, Nokia lowered its second quarter outlook, the third time it's down so in barely more than a year. News of the shakeup and revised outlook sent Nokia's stock into a landslide, which is down by around 13 percent. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Acer Announces Aspire S5, "World's Thinnest" Ultrabook, First to Feature Thunderbolt Posted: 14 Jun 2012 06:11 AM PDT  Acer is laying claim to the "world's thinnest Ultrabook" with the launch of its Aspire S5, available soon in the U.S. The Aspire S5 measures a scant 0.44 inches at this slimmest point, and only 0.59 inches where it's the chunkiest, if you can call it that. Wrapped in an "Onyx Black" magnesium-alloy and brushed aluminum metal chassis, the Aspire S5 barely budges the scale at a mere 2.65 pounds.
Not only is the Aspire S5 purportedly the world's thinnest, it's also the first Ultrabook to feature a Thunderbolt port, which sits behind a MagicFlip I/O panel just beneath the hinge that also hides other connectivity options, such as USB 3.0 and HDMI. A press of the MagicFlip key pops open the panel. Despite its thin and light stature, Acer managed to cram some hard hitting components inside. A 3rd Generation Intel Core i7 3517U handles the CPU chores, while storage duties are relegated to a 256GB solid state drive. It also has a 13.3-inch widescreen LED backlit display with a 1366x768 resolution, 1.3MP HD webcam, and Dolby Home Theater v4 sound technology. It will be available in the last week of June starting at $1,400. On a related note, Acer said it refreshed and expanded its Aspire S3 Series to include Core i3 and Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors, along with certain models configured solely with a 256GB SSD. These will land in the U.S. next week ranging in price from $648 to $1,000. Image Credit: Acer Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
