| Intel CEO Announces Incoming Flood of Touchscreen Ultrabooks, Still Expects Sales To Spike Posted: 18 Jul 2012 11:25 AM PDT  The Ultrabooks are coming, the Ultrabooks are coming! Wait, aren't they already here? Sure they are, but during a recent quarterly earnings call, Intel CEO announced that a flood of new Ivy Bridge-packing ultraportable laptops is heading our way, and a big chunk of them are shipping with touchscreens -- just in time for the release of the touchscreen-friendly Windows 8.
According to eWeek, Paul Otellini said that Intel is keeping tabs on a whopping 140 Ivy Bridge-based Ultrabooks currently being designed by various OEMs. Of that number, 40 should ship with a touchscreen to make swiping charms as second-nature as pinching and zooming. Fudzilla says the company is also aware of 20 Windows 8 tablets being developed around the upcoming dual-core 32nm Atom "Clover Trail" chip. (Is that enough adjectives for you?) Additionally, Otellini said that Ultrabook sales were on target with Intel's projections and he still expects the ultraportable notebook PCs to account for 40 percent of the overall laptop market by the end of the year. That seems a bit… optimistic. While recent headlines (our own included) heralded an NPD report that said Ultrabooks were taking off wonderfully, actually digging into the numbers showed that Ultrabooks accounted for just 11 percent of all sales of $700-plus notebooks… and $700-plus notebooks only comprise 14 percent of the overall notebook market. In fact, Acer -- a strong Ultrabook supporter -- recently downgraded its Ultrabook sales forecasts and its European head flat-out said that "Overall the Ultrabook segment is developing much slower than projected by Intel." However, Otellini also said he expects sub-$700 Ultrabooks to start popping up later in the year, and by that, we mean $699 Ultrabooks. That's in line with a March prediction by Acer CEO Jianren Weng, in which he said he expects $500 Ultrabooks to start popping up by the 2013 CeBIT exhibition. Would you be in the market for a touchscreen Ultrabook with Windows 8 looming? |
| YouTube Adds Privacy-Protecting Face Blurring Option Posted: 18 Jul 2012 10:42 AM PDT The rise of the smartphone camera mixed with the ability to freely post video visible to anybody in the world has the power to shake nations, as we've seen around the globe in recent years. It also has a chilling side effect: dissenters are now easier than ever to identify and track down, as we saw vigilante groups doing following the London riots. Dictator haters have a little less to worry about now, as Google has added a free, easy-to-use face blurring tool to YouTube. 
"Whether you want to share sensitive protest footage without exposing the faces of the activists involved, or share the winning point in your 8-year-old's basketball game without broadcasting the children's faces to the world, our face blurring technology is a first step towards providing visual anonymity for video on YouTube," policy associate Amanda Conway wrote on the YouTube blog. It's pretty straightforward: load your video in YouTube's Video Enhancements tool, then click the "Blur All Faces" option in Additional Features. Done! A blurry second video pops up for publishing. The face blurring tech is still in its infancy, however, and Conway warns that tricky lighting or odd angles can throw the feature for a loop, so be sure to preview any privacy-sensitive vids before you unleash them on the world. "Visual anonymity in video allows people to share personal footage more widely and to speak out when they otherwise may not," Conway says. Way to stand up for free speech and stick it to The Man, Google. |
| D-Link's Cloud Router 5700 (DIR-865L) is Its First 802.11ac Device Posted: 18 Jul 2012 08:27 AM PDT  D-Link just dove into 802.11ac territory with the introduction of its new Cloud Router 5700 (DIR-865L). This dual-band device takes advantage of the upcoming 802.11ac standard currently under development, which makes this a draft 802.11ac router. D-Link advertises up to 1750Mbps of throughput, though that's spread across two bands as 1300Mbps (Wireless-AC) and 450Mbps (Wireless-N).
A Broadcom 5G Wi-Fi chip makes all the magic happen. In addition to Wireless-AC speeds, D-Link's Cloud Router 5700 comes equipped with four Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports, amplified wireless signal, USB drive sharing, and app-enabled remote monitoring and control. "D-Link's support of 802.11ac technology underscores an ongoing commitment to provide the industry's latest and most comprehensive home network," said Ken Loyd, director, consumer products, D-Link Systems, Inc. "Powered by 802.11ac technology, the Cloud Router 5700 not only tackles all the wireless needs of today's connected home with unparalleled wireless signal and strength, but also caters directly to today's mobile lifestyle with D-Link's mydlink Cloud Services that enable consumers to monitor internet activity and access content saved onto a USB thumb drive via the SharePort app." D-Link's Cloud Router 5700 is available now for $190 MSRP. More info can be found on the item's product page. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Crucial Begins Shipping mSATA-enabled m4 SSD for Ultrathins Posted: 18 Jul 2012 08:18 AM PDT  With PC vendors focusing on Ultrabooks these days, the market for cache SSDs is expected to explode in the near future. Joining the cache SSD fray is the Crucial m4 mSATA SSD. Actually, it can not only serve as a cache SSD, but can also be used as a primary storage solution.
Aimed at ultrathin laptops and available in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage capacities, the Crucial m4 mSATA SSD is one-eighth the size of a full-size m4. The 3cm x 5cm (1.2-inch x 2-inch) drive is capable of up to 500 MB/s and write speed of up to 260 MB/s. Prices are $52.99, $80.99, $121.99, and $225.99 for the 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, respectively. "With the rapid growth in ultrathin laptops and the adoption of smaller system builds, consumers are increasingly in need of SSD performance in a smaller form factor. The Crucial m4 mSATA is designed for users who want the flexibility that a micro-sized SSD offers," said Robert Wheadon, senior worldwide product manager, Crucial. "In a form factor that's about a third the size of your business card, the Crucial mSATA SSD can also be used as a standalone SSD or as a cache for an existing drive." The Crucial m4 mSATA SSD available now and can be purchased through select channel partners around the world, or directly from Crucial's website. |
| Sapphire HD 7970 6GB Toxic Edition Totes World's Fastest GPU Posted: 18 Jul 2012 08:04 AM PDT  GPU bragging rights now belong to Sapphire, which claims its new HD 7970 6GB Toxic Edition graphics card features the highest clockspeeds of any consumer grade videocard on the planet. It also has a massive 6GB frame buffer, which is twice as big as your 'run-of-the-mill' Radeon HD 7970 graphics card, if there can be such a thing. Getting back to the clockspeeds, however, this thing comes straight from the factory sporting a 1050MHz GPU (1100MHz via PowerTune Dynamic Boost) and 6000MHz (effective) memory. That's just the beginning.
"By pressing the new Sapphire exclusive Lethal Boost Button, the beast is unleashed, boosting the core clock speed to 1100 MHz with PowerTune Dynamic Boost to an industry first of 1200 MHz on the engine while the memory is further overclocked to 6400 MHz effective," Sapphire says. "The fan profile and PowerTune limit is also changed to performance settings. In addition, users will be able to individually tune the card with SAPPHIRE TriXX, the company's free to download software tool that allows key parameters to be adjusted for maximum performance." Making all this possible is a new power control system Sapphire developed called Lethal Power Suite. This consists of an 8-phase power design for the GPU VDDC, an additional 1-phase design for VDDCI and MVDD, and a new double-sided Black Diamond Choke. The card also features DirectFET technology and a 12-layer PCB. Sapphire said it's only making a limited number of these cards available, though didn't say exactly how many or how much it will cost. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Wall Street Analysts on Edge After Intel Cuts Revenue Forecast Posted: 18 Jul 2012 07:00 AM PDT  By all means, Intel was on top of its game in the second quarter of 2012. The Santa Clara chip maker reported quarterly revenue of $13.5 billion, operating income of $3.8 billion, and net income of $2.8 billion. Talk all you want about the PC sales slump, Intel still performed well, with its PC Client Group pulling in $8.7 billion in revenue, up 3 percent sequentially, along with its Data Center Group adding another $2.8 billion (up 14 percent sequentially). If the numbers are so strong, why is Wall Street on edge?
It has to do with the fact that Intel cut its full-year revenue forecast. Intel projects revenue growth of 3-5 percent year-over-year, compared to the prior expectation of "high single-digit growth." According to Reuters, at least four brokerage firms lowered their price targets on Intel as a result. There's also concern over Intel's inventory level, which rose roughly 9 percent sequentially in the second quarter. Intel is sitting on a mountain of Ivy Bridge processors, which could be hard to move if Windows 8, due out in October, fails to excite people into purchasing new PCs. High price Ultrabooks also pose a problem for Intel, though during a conference call, company chief Paul Otellini stated that $699 Ultrabook models are headed to stores this fall. "In a softer selling season, these devices become even more attractive," Otellini said. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| SteelSeries Sensei [RAW] Mouse Trades 32-bit ARM Processor for a Cheaper Price Tag Posted: 18 Jul 2012 06:33 AM PDT  SteelSeries' original Sensei mouse featured a 32-bit ARM processor that allowed it to double up laser sensitivity to 11,400 DCPI (double counts per inch), which is one of a handful of amenities that added up to a $90 price tag. That's not terribly obscene for a gaming grade mouse, though it is on the higher end. If you can do without the 32-bit ARM chip, SteelSeries is now offering a slightly stripped down Sensei [RAW] model for $30 less ($60 MSRP).
The Sensei [RAW] also does away with the LCD menu system and onboard memory, which could be deal killers if you're a frequent LAN party goer always on the move. Otherwise, it's essentially the same rodent. It has 7 programmable buttons, a braided anti-tangle cord, three zone illumination, and 90-5,670 CPI. There are two versions of the Sensei [RAW] to choose from, including one with a glossy black surface, and another with a rubberized coating. Both refrain from playing favorites with right- or left-handed gamers and sport an ambidextrous design. The Sensei [RAW] is available now online at SteelSeries. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Firefox 14 Brings HTTPS Search, Click-to-Play Plugins Posted: 18 Jul 2012 05:00 AM PDT  Mozilla has once again done what it has been doing every six weeks for over a year now. Confused? Well, we're talking about the highly controversial tri-fortnightly practice of bundling up a handful of new Firefox features, tweaks and bug fixes, and pretending that the ensuing software package is significant enough to be rolled out as a major version update. In other words, Mozilla has once again updated its flagship browser.
According to Mozilla, Firefox 14 offers a much more secure browsing experience than before. This is not only due to its various bug fixes, though. The latest stable build of Firefox includes HTTPS support for Google searches and an improved site identity manager. "We automatically make your Google searches secure in Firefox to protect your data from potentially prying eyes, like network administrators when you use public or shared WiFi networks," Mozilla said in a blog post Tuesday. "Google is currently the only search engine that allows Firefox to make your searches private, but we look forward to supporting additional search engines with this feature in the future." Another useful feature is the ability to click-to-play plugin loading. This feature can be turned on by enabling the "plugins.click_to_play" option from the about:config page. |
