TechNews - New Blu-ray Laser Could Enable 100GB - tech
(hx) 06:20 PM CEST - Sep,14 2009
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- Intel DP55KG Motherboard Tested - The
most obvious advantage is the support for SLI,
the presence of three x16 PCI Express 2.0 slots (although they run at
lower speeds when more than one video card is used) support for RAID,
use of only solid capacitors and a high-end voltage regulator. It also
brings the unique memory compatibility test (MemOK!) and way more
overclocking options than other boards on the same price range, plus
the interesting idea of adding a physical switch for limiting memory
overvoltage and thus preventing users from frying their CPUs.
- ASRock P55 Lynnfield Motherboard Video
Preview - Watch
the video to find out if either of these boards is
for you and to seat your new Socket 1156 Lynnfield Core i5 or Core i7
processor.
- ASUS P6T SE X58 i7 Motherboard Tested - In
all the tests the Asus P6T SE performed very well
to standards expected from much higher end X58 motherboards. But that's
hardly surprising, as the P6T SE is pretty much a P6T with a few minor
features and SLI removed.
- AMD Shows off 24 Panel Eyefinity on DirectX 11
Graphics Cards - MD obviously spent a lot of time on the Eyefinity drivers and they seem to be fairly
solid
even though the graphics cards won't be launched for a number of weeks.
AMD had a system up and playing the upcoming DX11 racing game, Dirt 2,
at 7680 x 3200 with solid performance from the looks of it. Playing
games at this resolution will tax the system, but obviously the new
Evergreen DirectX 11 graphics card has the muscle to run the game just
fine. We got our hands dirty this morning and tried out gaming across
three 30" displays in a 3 x 1 configuration and we must say it's very
different as there is just so much screen to look at. It's a game
changer for sure, as the gaming experience is a lot different.
- Microsoft unveils its thinnest Bluetooth-powered
Keyboard - Microsoft announced today its thinnest
keyboard dubbed 'Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000',
which if you didn't notice in the name is designed exclusively for
Bluetooth enabled PC's. The keyboard itself is just a few millimeters
thicker than an AAA battery, with Microsoft's Comfort Curve design for
a more natural wrist posture when typing. The keyboard will be
available in October of this year with an estimated retail price of
$89.96 for both the keyboard and number pad, and $44.95 for the number
pad itself. Both are backed by a worldwide three year limited hardware
warranty from Microsoft.
- Firefox 3.5.3 Released - For all you
Firefox users that haven't updated already - automatically, Firefox
3.5.3
is out. Aside from a handful of stability issues, version 3.5.3 also
address a number of security problems as well. The download weighs in
at just under 8MB.
- Microsoft releases first Windows 7 ad (video) - With
Windows 7 set for release in a little over a
month, Microsoft will be airing the following Windows 7
commercial, titled 'Good News'.
- Camera-Equipped Apple iPod nano 5G Tested - Dan
Nosowitz of
Gizmodo couldn't help himself after the It's Only Rock and Roll Event
hosted by Apple earlier this week. During that event, Steve Jobs
officially unveiled the iPod nano 5G, saying that the new MP3 player is
on sale right away. Going through Gizmodo's review, we learn that the
screen goes from the 2.0-inches on the 4G nano to the 2.2-inches on the
5G nano. The resolution, as a result, gets a bump from
240×320 to
240×375. The embedded VGA camera will only do video (no
stills), but it
does come with a series of built-in effects and filters, including heat
vision, tunnel vision, and security cam vision.
- Apple releases 3.1 iPhone & iPod touch
firmware; iTunes 9 - Apple has announced the release of
iPhone and iPod Touch firmware 3.1, available for download.
The free download, for both iPhone and iPod Touch 3.0 users, is said to
improve battery life. The 3.1 firmware will improve video editing on
the iPhone 3GS, that won't overwrite the original clip when editing
videos, preventing the loss of the original film. The new developer
API's allows third-party applications access to the videos and edit
them, without having to use Apple's editing tools for the iPhone 3GS.
The update is said to increase the boot time of devices. The device
will now vibrate when moving icons around to different locations.
AT&T users will get an update to profile 4.2, but many users
will
still need to wait till September 25 before using their MMS feature.
Apple also updated their modem firmware to 5.08.01. The update also has
improvements to OpenGL and Quartz. The 3.1 iPhone and iPod Touch
firmware is available for download with iTunes 9.
- New Blu-ray Laser Could Enable 100GB Media - Sharp
announced that they have developed a new Blu-ray laser that
can read triple- and even quadruple-layer media, which could me 75GB or
100GB recordable discs. This light is extremely strong at 500mW and is
made possible thanks to an aluminum oxynitride layer that is located
between the laser's crystal and the standard dielectric film which is
meant to protect the laser. Among the benefits include the ability to
read a drive twice as deep as current dual-layer Blu-ray drives as well
as writing at 8X speed across all four layers. This could potentially
mean 75GB or 100GB recordable discs. However, ther's no word on pricing
or maturity of the technology.
- BlackBerry 9700 Bold (Onyx) Comparison Video - The
new BlackBerry Bold 9700 is smaller and sleeker than the
original Bold 9000 in just about every way. The backside is much more
conventional in appearance, departing from the all-leather back of the
9000 for a two-parter back like most other phones. The Bold 9700 has a
smaller footprint, a thinner profile, and an overall better-looking
appearance. The trackpad, speaker quality, and keyboard build are all
taken into consideration.
- Huge Multi-Touch Wall at Hard Rock Cafe -
The multi-touch wall in the Las
Vegas Hard Rock Cafe is a great example of the tech in action in a
consumer setting.
- Mexican Ford Focus commercial (video) - The
commercial appears to be some sort of
Skip-Barber-meets-Tim-Burton driving school, with a Bourne
Supremacy-style pursuit and an ass-kicking parallel parking job. At the
end of the video, members of the Mexico viewing audience gets a quick
glimpse of a lime green 2010 Focus RS in all its 300 horsepower glory.
Hit the jump to view the video - and if you can't remember where you've
heard that soundtrack before, watch the second video as well.
- Final Trailer for Mike Dougherty's Trick 'r Treat
- Warner Brothers has debuted one
final trailer for Mike Dougherty's new cult classic horror
film Trick 'r Treat, which will sadly go straight-to-DVD in early
October.
- Jason Reitman's Up in the Air Teaser Trailer! - Paramount
has launched the teaser trailer for Jason
Reitman's Up in the Air. While this is a full 2-minute trailer, it's
much more of a teaser, featuring a great voiceover from George Clooney
(rather, a speech) and a clips of scenes and great moments from the
film. It's a brilliant first-look at this and it should definitely have
you hooked.
- First Full Trailer for Solomon Kane with James
Purefoy - An official full-length trailer
for Michael Bassett's Solomon Kane that stars James Purefoy has finally
debuted online today. What do you think. Are you digging it?
- Official Black Dynamite Trailer - Apparition
has debuted the official theatrical trailer for Black
Dynamite,
the blaxploitation throwback starring Michael Jai White. This film is
so badass that I can't even use the word badass to describe it because
it would be way too tame of a term! Black Dynamite will arrive in
limited theaters starting on October 16th this fall.
- Short TV Spot for James McTeigue's Ninja Assassin
- A badass short 30-second TV spot
for James McTeigue's Ninja Assassin has appeared online in high def
recently and it's a definite must watch.
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Updated:10:44 AM CEST Sep,20
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