| Microsoft Giving Tegra 3, Snapdragon S4 Test PCs to WOA Developers Posted: 29 Feb 2012 05:39 PM PST  Earlier today, Microsoft released the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (beta) at the 2012 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, giving the general public an opportunity to preview Windows 8 on existing x86 systems and provide feedback. But Microsoft's "Consumer Preview" event wasn't just all about the beta released today for x86-based PCs. The company also showcased a number of Windows 8 on ARM devices at today's event. Hit the jump for more.
Among the devices showcased today were tablets powered by ARM-based SoCs from NVIDIA (Tegra 3), Qualcomm (Snapdragon S4) and Texas Instruments (OMAP5430). Microsoft also announced a seeding program "to support the creation of compelling Metro style app and device experiences for Windows 8." Soon after, NVIDIA and Qualcomm announced their support for Microsoft's Windows on ARM developer seeding program in separate press releases. As part of this invitation-only seeding program, developers and device makers will be furnished with Windows 8 test PCs based on NVIDIA's Tegra 3 SoC and Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 chip. Texas Instruments has yet to make an announcement in this regard. "NVIDIA has a long record of supporting software developers working on the cutting edge of innovation," said Tony Tamasi, senior vice president of content and technology at NVIDIA, in a press release. "We're furthering this tradition by helping to realize the extraordinary potential of Windows on ARM processors, like Tegra 3." "Qualcomm is committed to the Windows on ARM ecosystem and knows that enabling developers is a crucial factor for its success," said Luis Pineda, senior vice president of product management, computing and consumer products at Qualcomm. "We are now providing Snapdragon S4 test PCs with built-in 4G LTE, activated in some regions, to software application developers." |
| PlayStation Network to be Down for Maintenance on March 1 (Update: Postponed) Posted: 29 Feb 2012 05:24 PM PST  The PlayStation Network (PSN) will be down for several hours for scheduled maintenance on March 1, 2012, Sony has announced. The maintenance window, if all goes to plan, is expected to last from 8:00 AM till 10:00 PM PST. Hit the jump for more.
In a post on the official PlayStation blog, the company described the upcoming maintenance event as "significant." However, it did not give any details as to the exact nature of the maintenance. "Unlike typical maintenance events, consumers who are already signed-in to PSN will be signed-out, and consumers will be unable to sign in for the duration of the maintenance window," reads the official announcement. "During this time, users won't be able to access the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home, Account Management or play online." "PSN enabled websites will not be able to service users, including this one. Please stay tuned to the PlayStation Twitter feed for a notice when PSN is fully back online." Update: The maintenance period that was originally scheduled for March 1, 2012 has been postponed until further notice. |
| Dell Testing ARM-based Servers Posted: 29 Feb 2012 05:10 PM PST  At a recent event organized to promote new servers from Dell, the company's eponymous founder and CEO Michael Dell described the world's third largest PC vendor as an end- to-end IT solutions provider, even going as far as saying "we're not a PC company." Actually, Dell's focus on the enterprise market has a strong arithmetical basis, with the consumer market being many times smaller than the multi-trillion dollar enterprise market. Not only is Round Road, Texas-based Dell in pursuit of a greater share of the enterprise IT market, but it wants to leave no stone unturned along the way.
For instance, it has now emerged that the company has been experimenting with ARM-based servers for quite sometime. This was recently confirmed by none other than the general manager for Dell's server solutions group, Forrest Norrod, who is reported to have told Forbes: "We've had ARM systems in our lab for over a year." "If that's what our customers demand that's what we'll offer," Norrod told Forbes at an event on Monday. "Our management is independent of the processor powering the server. If we wanted to incorporate ARM into our server lineup, to any management tool it just looks like a PowerEdge server." Even though he credited ARM for "some interesting advancements around power density," he doesn't expect ARM to take the server world by storm anytime soon, at least not until the first 64-bit ARM processors hit the market. |
| The 30 Best Tech Commercials of All Time Posted: 29 Feb 2012 11:14 AM PST 
In 2008, Microsoft smacked us up the side of our collective domes with a TV commercial campaign featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Redmond commander-in-chief Bill Gates. The banter, we'd heard, would be off the proverbial hook. It was off the hook, alright. As in lying on the floor, dead. Ultimately, the Seinfeld-Gates combo was a bomb for the ages – uncomfortable, pointless, and simply unfunny. But unlike tech product placement (which is pretty universally terrible), there are some real gems when it comes to TV commercials for tech products. We humbly suggest the following 30 commercials as the niftiest tech ads to ever hit the small screen. Ground-breaking, dazzling, uproariously funny, and sometimes simply remarkable for their uniqueness, they are, at the very least, a blast to watch. Enjoy. |
| Low Cost Raspberry Pi PC Launches Posted: 29 Feb 2012 10:36 AM PST The Windows 8 Consumer Preview isn't the only piece of newsworthy tech to hit the proverbial streets today: the much-anticipated Raspberry Pi microcomputer has launched after over six years of planning and promises. Although it looks like a simple credit card-sized circuit board with various ports attached, the Pi packs enough computing power to rock 1080p video streams, AirPlay technology and XBMC. 
A $25 version is planned, but only the $35 model is available for preorder currently. It includes a Broadcom-built ARM CPU/GPU, 256MB of RAM, and ports aplenty with an SD card slot, HDMI, RCA video and audio out, MicroUSB (for power), two USB 2.0 sockets and an Ethernet connection. (The $25 model will exclude the Ethernet and USB ports.) Wi-Fi is supported via a USB dongle. The Raspberry Pi foundation has licensed Premier Farnell and RS Components, two British companies, to sell the pint-sized PCs. Hit those links to buy some Pi of your own, but be forewarned: they're getting hit pretty hard right now and are dropping out intermittently. Update: Well, that was quick. VentureBeat is reporting that the first round of preorders are already sold out. Damn! |
| Windows 8 Consumer Preview Goes Live Posted: 29 Feb 2012 10:06 AM PST  The slow, relentless trek towards the release of Windows 8 continues. The Developer Preview released several months back was nifty, but a bit rough around the edges -- as you would expect from an early build created for development use. Now, after months of rumors, tidbits and news about features that weren't included in the Developer Preview, you'll finally get a chance to try many of them out for yourself. Today, Microsoft unveiled the more polished and user friendly Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
Here are links to the standard Windows 8 Consumer Preview setup files and another page that offers Windows 8 CP ISO images. The images are fairly big -- 2.5GB for the 32-bit version and 3.3GB for the 64-bit version -- so expect to be downloading for a while if you have a slower connection. The hardware requirements are as lax as Windows 7's. From the big ol' FAQ Microsoft released for the Consumer Preview: - Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
- RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
- Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
- Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device or higher
- To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch.
- To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.
- To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768.
We haven't had a chance to play around with the Consumer Preview too much yet (stupid work!) but hey, let's make this a group effort: if you go hands-on with the latest flavor of Windows 8, share your impressions with your fellow geeks in the comments below. |
| Authorities Arrest More than Two Dozen Suspected Anonymous Hackers Posted: 29 Feb 2012 07:30 AM PST  Several suspected members of the Anonymous hacking group have proven to be anything but anonymous. National law enforcement officers in Europe and South America unmasked and arrested 25 individuals they believe are associated with the hacking group and who were living in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Spain, Interpol said, according to an AP report. The suspected hackers stand accused of planning coordinated cyber attacks against several institutions, including Columbia's defense ministry.
The Anonymous organization garnered a ton of media attention last year after it went on a hacking spree targeting businesses and agencies around the world, each of which had done humanity wrong in some way, shape. or form in the eyes of those coordinating the attacks. Some arrests have been made up to this point, but authorities have yet to take down the organization. The most recent arrests follow an investigation that only began a couple of weeks ago, but has already begun paying dividends, including the seizure of 250 pieces of IT equipment and mobile phones in searches of more than three dozen specific locations in 15 cities. Image Credit: myce.com |
| Toshiba is Third Wheel in Western Digital's Acquisition of Hitachi Posted: 29 Feb 2012 07:01 AM PST  Western Digital would like nothing more than to finalize its proposed takeover of Hitachi's hard drive business, and to facilitate the process, WD agreed to transfer an asset package to rival Toshiba to ease concerns of regulatory agencies. The package includes equipment and intellectual property (IP) that will enable Toshiba to build and sell 3.5-inch hard drives for desktops, consumer electronics (things like DVRs), and near-line (business critical) applications.
Rather than pay cash for these assets, Toshiba in return has agreed to sign over a 2.5-inch HDD factory in Thailand that's been out of operation since severe flooding rolled through late last year. The swap in HDD technology and assets between Western and Toshiba is largely a play to satisfy regulatory concerns in the European Union. In order to merge with Hitachi, WD had to divest part of its 3.5-inch HDD business, and this agreement does exactly that while also getting WD something in return. WD expects its deal with Toshiba to close in March 2012, conditioned on WD's closing of its planned acquisition of Hitatci Global Storage Technologies (HGST). |
| AMD Slashes Phenom II CPU Prices Up to 15 Percent Posted: 29 Feb 2012 06:26 AM PST  After launching a pair of new FX Series processors yesterday -- FX-4170 and FX-6200 -- AMD decided to take a battleaxe to its processor price list and give it a hefty swing. The bulk of the blade landed on the chip maker's Phenom II CPU section, though a couple of FX Series processors also sustained pricing related injuries from AMD's attack. Several of the price kits crept into double digit percentages, none larger than the Phenom II X4 965, which was reduced by 14.8 percent.
The revised price list (in 1,000 unit tray quantities) breaks down as follows: - Phenom II X2 555: $85 down from $90 (5.6 percent)
- Phenom II X4 840: $103 down from $105 (1.9 percent)
- Phenom II X4: 955: $105 down from $117 (10.3 percent)
- Phenom II X4 965: $115 down from $135 (14.8 percent)
- Phenom II X4 970: $145 down from $155 (6.6 percent)
- Phenom II X4 975: $155 down from $175 (11.4 percent)
- Phenom II X4 980: $165 down from $185 (10.8 percent)
- Phenom II X6 1055T: $155 down from $165 (6.1 percent)
- Phenom II X6 1075T: $165 down from $181 (8.8 percent)
AMD also cut the price of its FX-8120 from $205 to $185 (9.8 percent) and its FX-6100 from $155 to $145 (6.5 percent), and added a couple of Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), including the A6-3620 ($09) and A8-3820 ($129). The new APUs were previously only available in OEM systems. |
| Intel Sells Flash Assets to Micron for $600 Million Posted: 29 Feb 2012 06:01 AM PST  Technology giants Intel and Micron hammered out revised agreements to expand their NAND Flash memory joint venture relationship, the two companies announced this week. As part of the agreements, Micron will buy back Intel's stake in two wafer fabrication plants for $600 million, half of which will be paid in cash and the rest deposited with Micron to be refunded or applied to Intel's future purchases.
"The Intel-Micron partnership has created industry-leading NAND Flash memory technology and developed a robust global manufacturing network. The new NAND Flash supply agreement with Micron gives Intel better flexibility to meet growing demand for SSDs and other products," said Robert Crooke, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group, Intel. NAND flash memory is used in a wide range of devices, including USB thumb drives, solid state drives (SSDs), tablets PCs, smartphones, and the list goes on. Intel and Micron have been working together for years to produce NAND flash memory and formed the joint venture IM Flash Technologies (IMFT). As part of these new agreements, Micron will increase its share of the overall output. The deal is expected to close during the first half of 2012. Image Credit: IM Flash Technologies |
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