Dell Buys Alienware

Dell in a positive step has bought enthusiast PC assembler Alienware. Putting an end to several weeks of speculation, this move will enable Dell to make its presence felt in the ultra enthusiast market. The move also helps Alienware, as it helps cut down on the time it takes to assemble a new PC. Normally from the time an Alienware customer orders the PC, building and delivery can take as much as 3-5 weeks. With Dell, this assembly time will go down to 3-5 days.

Dell is the world's biggest personal computer maker, whereas Alienware is known as a provider of high-performance, "bleeding-edge" computer systems for gaming enthusiasts and other power users. With this purchase, Dell can finally move to shed its image of being a staid “Family PC” maker. With Dell maintaining a good presence here I hope they bring Alienware products to this rapidly growing gaming market.

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Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror edition

Western Digital introduces the big brother of the older My Book and this time it's a gigantic block of an external hard drive. Western Digital has a reputation for high reliability and the Mirror edition of the My Book, which sports two hard drives of 1 terabyte each that can be configured in RAID 1, seems tailor-made to further that legacy.


Specifications


Design and features

Despite its immense block-like looks it's actually rather light at a mere 2.3 kg. The drive feels a bit rickety and not nearly as solid as its smaller sibling. This one also claims that it can be serviced by the user himself. However, the enclosure can only have WD GreenPower drives inserted into it. It follows the My Book tradition of having a blue Cyclops-like led display on the front.

This serves as a capacity indicator, if you're running on RAID 1, then it starts off as half full. There are slits for ventilation along the top, back and bottom, which is good considering it has no fan.

These allow glimpses of its two hard drives, each with a terabyte of capacity. A unique feature of this drive is that the top can pop open and hard drives can be removed and replaced without any tools.

There's a plate to secure the drives in place, it has a screw but with a mechanism to let users unscrew it with their hands. The drives are meant to be pulled up by the hard plastic loops attached to the back.


However, the drives require a lot of force to be pulled out.

Software

It manages this seamlessly and can easily be converted to RAID 1 or back to full capacity. It supports data striping so that the two drives appear and can be used as one when in RAID 0.

Another of the trialware programs that you get with this drive is the Memeo AutoSync program that lets you keep two folders synchronized completely and automatically. The sync is bidirectional meaning that changes made to either directory will be reflected in the other. This is fine but there are Open Source alternatives like SumSync.


The Anywhere Backup program makes it easy to choose a destination to save your data, choose exactly what gets backed up and whether it should be encrypted. It also allows you to choose the number of versions of each file to keep in case they are altered. You can choose to have the program carried on the backup destination as well to restore your data onto any computer.

This is also a trailware application and its 'powered by Memeo' logo ensures that it is merely a skin for the previous application. Again, you might be better off with alternative backup programs.
Performance

HD tach shows a good performance of 32.6MBps read and a slightly below expected 29.6MBps write speed.

HD tune reinforces Tach and shows an average read speed of 32.5MBps.

Physical tests


It looks like it's taken quite a beating during the physical tests,
scoring lower than you might expect from a drive so large. The sequential read speeds are good and the write speeds lag slightly behind with 30.12. However, it's not a bad speed. The multiple write speed is 26.94MBps, which is quite average and 28.25MBps for the multiple read is acceptable.

Conclusion

The software that you get with the drive is nearly all trialware and
freeware, the only exception being the RAID manager, which is also probably the most usable software that is provided. The RAID mirroring and data striping works well, one surprising thing was that despite having no fans, the drive barely heats up. The open nature of the drive and plentiful ventilation slits do a remarkable job of keeping it cool.

Not having a fan also results in very silent operation. The system they have set up for manually replacing the drives is impractical at best. The transfer speeds were slightly disappointing, despite the speed itself being average to good, the amount of data that will be transferred with this drive is anything but average.

At a cost of Rs. 28,500 with a 5-year warranty this is obviously not for the home user. The proper place for this is in an office environment where data integrity is the priority. With this is mind, it seems slightly below average. Sure it will secure your data once it's on the drive but it might take forever to get there thanks to the limitations of a USB only interface. Its silent operation will suit an office environment well and as long as you value data security over speed of transfers this may be the storage solution you need.

XFX 9800GTX+

It's really been a struggle for NVIDIA ever since ATI dropped a bomb on them with the RV770. It completely caught them off guard and which is also the primary reason for the existence of the 9800GTX+.

We've already reviewed one 9800GTX+ from Zotac which incidentally is clocked at the same frequency as the XFX one, so it should be interesting to see jut how much two cards, based on the same core and same panel, but from different manufacturers actually differ in performance. Let's take a quick look at the specifications of the card and the different models available.


Like I said, the specs are virtually identical to the Zoatc card except for maybe the memory, which is around 50Hz more for the Zotac. The rest is the same including the reference cooler from NVIDIA.

You would think that since they are clocked at the same speeds the performance would also be similar, well that's not always the case and you'd be surprised at how much performance can differ between two identical cards from different manufacturers.

There are four different variations for the 9800GTX+, the one we have is the overclocked version without the Assassins Creed game. There is no indication on the box, so you have to go by the product id.

The GPU-Z screenshot still recognizes the fabrication process as 65nm but all 9800GTX+ are indeed 55nm.

Bundle

XFX bundles the following accessories with their 9800GTX+
Installation manual
Driver CD
SPDIF cable
DVI to VGA adapter
S-Video to Component dongle
PCI-E to Molex power adapter
PCI-E power cable extender
One thing I liked is the PCI-E power cable extender. This should come in handy for people with cramped cases and is also the first I've seen bundled with any graphics card
The Card

The box is designed differently compared to the rest of the 9 series cards but still looks quite good.

The front of the card is exactly the same as the Zotac since it uses the same reference cooler that Nvidia specifies. The only thing different is the sticker on the card.

The front panel consists of the same dual DVI ports and a single S-Video our port. Above that we have the exhaust grills for dumping the hot air outside the case. There is also a LED at the back and lights up when the card is powered.

The power connectors are still at the same and there are two 6-pin connectors to supply additional power to the card.

Here we have the 3-way SLI connectors allowing you to configure three GeForce cards in SLI.
Testbench
CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme X9770 @ 3.2 GHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS3 RAM 2 x 1GB DDR2 1066 MHz (5-5-5-15)
HDD: Hitachi 250 GB SATA II (7200 rpm)
PSU: CoolerMaster 1000W SMPS
Monitor: Viewsonic G90fB Monitor (19-inch, Max Res. 1920 x 1440)
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate
VGA Driver: Forceware 177.79

3D Mark 06

Things started off quite well for XFX as it flies past Zotac's 9800GTX+ and even the Radeon HD4850.
3D Mark Vantage

Overclcocking
For the overclocking bit, I used RivaTuner v2.1 which now adds support for all the new ATI cards as well including the HD4870 X2 . Remember this card already comes pre-overclocked from the stock frequency of 738MHz but we'll still try and overclock it.

After a couple of crashes and reboots I finally got a stable overclock of 790MHz for the core. The shaders and the memory refused to go higher, so I settled for what I could get.


Conclusion

You can get this card for around 15.5K with a 3-year warranty from your local vendor. After reviewing a couple of XFX graphics cards, this price does not surprise me. Needless to say that it's expensive. You could probably get the Zotac card for less or even better a HD4850.

This card definitely runs a lot cooler compared to any HD450, so it has that going for it. But other than that the HD4850 still makes better sense not only because of it's lower price but also stronger AA performance if you can ignore the heat issues.

It all depends on what you're looking for. If you want a card with a performance similar to the HD4850, runs cool and don't mind shelling out a little more, then yes this will do the job but definitely not at this price.

Instead if you want to save some cash and don't mind the higher temperatures then look no further, ATI's HD4850 is still the best at that price.

NVIDIA's sub-$100 GeForce 9500 GT gets introduced and review

Should the GTX 280 be a bit too rich for your blood, NVIDIA's lookin' out. Introduced (and reviewed) today, the PCIe 2.0-compatible GeForce 9500 GT checks in a few bucks south of $100 depending on where you go and provides a 550MHz core clock, 1,400MHz shader clock, 32 stream processors, 800MHz memory clock, 256MB / 512MB of RAM and twin dual-link DVI ports. Assuming the specifications meet your standards, you're probably curious about performance. Based on the first reviews, it was found to be "measurably faster than the Radeon HD 3650, and pretty much on par with the GeForce 8600 GTS." For under a C-note, it's a solid buy for those okay with being a few steps behind, and HTPC builders will find the low power consumption, quiet operation and small size to be quite appealing.

EZ Commander Trackball Remote

Perfect For Your Living Room PC


The EZ Commander might look like an ordinary TV remote, but look closely and you'll find a tiny trackball in the center. Rather than control your stereo system the EZ Commander Trackball Remote acts as a wireless keyboard and mouse replacement for your PC. Perfect for use with a media center PC or running a presentation from your laptop. The included IR receiver plugs in to a USB port and gives you full control up to 30 feet away. Use the keys to execute common PC functions or control your audio and video files with the "media center" mode which supports Windows Media Center. The trackball works just like a mouse. Push down on the ball to left click, or use the buttons above the trackball for right or left clicks. You can even type simple text using a T9 input method similar to texting on your cellphone. The included laser pointer lets you gesture at those all important PowerPoint slides.



Product Features
Wireless remote features a trackball and can be used as a keyboard and mouse
USB Plug-and-Play Trackball Mouse / Keyboard (USB 1.x/2.x Compatible)
The keypad has 2 working modes - PC and Media modes. In PC mode, most function keys are defined to manage the PC desktop and working applications. In Media mode, the defined media control keys can control the Windows Media player (v.10)
EZ Input software allows users using the number keys to input text for up to 10 languages (in PC mode)
EZ Input software supports universal remote control of most popular media applications, such as PowerPoint, Real Player, iTune, WinDVD etc. (in Media mode)
Class II Laser Pointer (red) for Conference Presentation (FDA compliant)
Windows XP or Vista required for EZ Input software
The EZ Commander will work under Mac or Linux, but you cannot run the EZ Input software are not able to enter text using the remote

India developing $10 laptop, Gartner says $100 laptop "at le

A pair of Indian universities -- the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Technology -- have teamed up to produce a $10 laptop for "higher education applications." The Indian government is clearly involved in the project, and there's no telling if that price involves subsidies, but however and whenever they pull it off, a $10 laptop would certainly be landmark event for all parties involved. To supplement the project, the government is also working on a low-power, low-priced access device to help with internet proliferation. On the other side of the world, the folks at Gartner have tacked on an extra zero, and are saying that a $100 laptop "will not be a realistic target for the next three years," and that the pursuit of such a pricepoint could be detrimental to companies chasing the mini laptop market. While Sony's Mike Abary might agree with the conclusion, one little fact disagrees with the premise: Jointech's $99 laptop (pictured). We know, the truth hurts

GX-10 Interactive Gaming Cam

Put yourself inside the game

Price: $29.99

Web cameras have revolutionized the way people communicate. Board meetings can be held across the planet, parents can monitor their kids in school, you can even monitor your jerk neighbor as he sneaks into your yard and steals your tomatoes. Webcams extend your vision by huge distances, but did you know that webcams can actually inject you into your videogames?

No, it's not quite as sinister as it was in Tron. There's no Master-Control-Program to force you to play. No Sark demanding you join with the MCP or die in the games. Still, these games can be so addictive and fun, you may never want to leave the world of the games!

Three games, Kung Fu, Super Knight, and Funny Stair will have you fending off Ninja attackers, running jumping and avoiding falling deadly spikes, and shooting down rocket-powered mutants by swinging your arms up down, left and right. The camera and the sophisticated software included, interprets your movement, and makes your on-screen doppelganger fire devastating lasers or issuing the virtual smackdown to flying martial assassins.

GX-10 Webcam In Action


Features
3 different interactive games
Dimension: 60 x 60 x 124mm (approx.)
Weight: 210g
Specifications:
Resolution: 1280 x 960 / 1280 x 1024
Chip Type: Color CMOS image sensor
Video Format: 24-bit RGB
Interface: USB
Frame Rate: 30fps
Sensor Size: 4.86 x 3.64mm
S/N Ratio: <48dB
Dynamic Range: 5cn - infinity
Built-in image compression
Automatic white balance
Automatic color compensated
Dynamic image E-MAIL
Manual Focus
Package Contents:
ANEO GX-10 Web Camera With PC Video Interactive Games
CD Driver
User Manual

H4 Pocket-Size Digital Audio Recorder

Portable Recording Powerhouse

Price: $299.99

If the this diminutive H4 audio recorder had its own infomercial it would be one of those 30 minute jobs listing features out the yin-yang. But because you're a good friend we're ditching the marketing mumbo-jumbo and cutting straight to the chase. Basically the H4 is a portable field recorder that does everything you would expect, plus a bunch of other things you wouldn't. Of course you can record straight from the two built in studio-quality electret condenser microphones direct to .wav or .mp3 format with bitrates up to 320kbps -- perfect for recording those live shows. But you can also jack-in some external mics or an electric guitar or two and do your own impromptu digital 4-track recording -- then monitor the whole mess with the built-in headphone jack. You can even connect the H4 to your computer with USB and record directly to your hard drive.

Mobile Field Recording
Fits in the palm of your hand
Ideal for infinite variety of mobile recording applications
Records 24-bit/96 kHz digital audio as well as MP3 format with bitrates up to 320kbps
Two studio quality X/Y pattern condenser microphones for true stereo recording
Two combination XLR-1/4-inch input jacks with phantom power
Onboard studio effects compression, limiting and mic modeling
1/8-inch headphone jack provided for monitoring
128MB Secure Digital (SD) card included.
Using a 2GB SD memory card provides 380 minutes of recording with CD Quality sound
Up to 34 hours recording in MP3 stereo mode
USB mass-storage interface
Four hours of continuous recording operation from 2 AA batteries
Back-lit, 128x64 pixel LCD provides the visual interface
AC adapter, windshield cover, USB Cable and tripod adapter included

4-Track Recording
4-track audio in CD quality 16-bit PCM, 44.1 kHz sampling
Combination high-impedance phone inputs for vocals, guitars, bass or keyboards.
Built in guitar amp modeling equivalent to the Zoom G2

Audio Interface
Records directly to your computer as a USB audio interface
Bundled with Cubase LE, 48-Track Digital Audio Workstation software

FireWire 1600 and 3200 approved by IEEE

While FireWire 800 gear is still pretty rare and we've only seen one piece of FireWire 1600 kit, the IEEE is still pushing the standard forward -- it's just approved the 1394-2008 spec, which includes both FireWire 1600 and 3200. Interestingly, the spec is fully backwards compatible with both 400 and 800 ports, but it remains to be seen which connector gets used more prevalently. We'll find out in October, when the spec is made available to manufacturers -- looks like that controversial 2010 launch of USB 3.0 just got upstaged a little, huh?

Toshiba intros 'stylish' line of hard drives to match your p

Toshiba -- clearly feeling the heat from other fashionable external hard drive makers -- has introduced a new line of disks guaranteed to bring on a neon flashback from your disco days (or Eurotrash nightmares). The three new models come decked out in the 160GB "Gecko Green," 250GB "Hot Rod Red," and 320GB "Carbon Grey" variations, with USB 2.0 ports and 8MB buffers on-board. The drives are Mac and PC compatible, and are available now for $89.99, $179.99, and $199.99, respectively.

Efix dongle allows an OS switch.

If your demands start to push limits of your PC, and especially limits of your operating system, you might have found yourself on a blind alley then. The latest gadget that might be helpful to you in the case is Efix dongle. This new device allows installation of any operating system next to the one preinstalled on your computer. Efix dongle provides an easy and instant switch from one OS to another and backwards as may be needed.

The gadget itself isn't complicated to operate at all. Frankly to say, its design isn't elaborate either. To make Efix dongle work, you just need to connect it to your motherboard via USB, and once it is there, it is ready to work. Choose any operating system you need and install it on Efix dongle. While working on your computer, there appear no reasons to remove the gadget from its socket (I mean whether the installed OS on is enabled or not, the device can still be attached). The process of installation of chosen OS is the same as usual, not one supplement condition intervenes into it from the part of the gadget.

The only aspect to take care of before you decide to buy the Efix dongle, is compatibility. Efix dongle is a very fresh gadget, and so it is compatible only with latest models of motherboards. Due to this I wouldn't advice you to make haste. If you really face the necessity of an ancillary operating system or maybe if you just got bored of your old one, take your time and wait for the next generation of dongles like Efix. Actually we expect an Efix dongle upgrade pretty soon, and announced gadget has a wider compatibility list.

Hitachi introduces 610 Gb Storage per inch square

Hitachi has again set another record of setting up records every year. They are growing the rate of amount of data that can be stored per inch square in a magnetic recording disk. The rise which is being seen is nearly 40% per annum is giving the feeling that we are now finally entering the terabyte age.

hard-drive

Back in April 2005 Hitachi demonstrated 230 Gbit/in2 storage capacity, then it grew to 345 Gbit/in2 in September 2006, and it is now finally been raised to 610 Gbit/in2. The other prediction is that this perpendicular recording will finally reach its maximum level & thus further it cant be improved. Thus the need for another recording media & technology will be needed soon.

Hitachi has squeezed the head size size to just 65nm which makes data to use a very less area on the disk, and thus increasing the space. As the head narrows, the magnetic field from the write-head interferes with the data recorded in near-by tracks, causing problems such as rewriting or even deletion of data. To solve this problem caused by this nano-head, Hitachi and Hitachi GST developed a (WAS) wrap-around shield. The main magnetic pole of the write-head is wrapped with a magnetic shield and Tunneling Magneto-Resistive (TMR) head which is able to maintain a sufficient S/N ratio, was also developed for when the sensor width is narrowed.

So this annual increase indicates the tera-age is not too far nor now. But some people have to develop another storage media soon as the hard drives are reaching their maximum limits as the reading & writing heads cannot be compressed further.

Fabrik Launches World’s most Eco-Friendly External Drive

As time passes, most of the companies are focused on making there products energy efficient as well as Eco friendly. And going green can also serve for a better looking gadget as can be seen from Fabrik external drive. Fabrik is claiming the title of the World’s most Eco friendly external drive with the launch of SimpleTech [re]drive. The company also claims that it can cut energy usage by upto 90% over some competitors.

The external drive’s enclosure is made of bamboo which is known for its sustainability and recyclable aluminum. Bamboo is a favorite among some environmentalists, who say it makes for more sustainable wood because of how fast it grows. It also makes for a rather fetching drive, looking at the photos. The bamboo provides durability to the casing, while the aluminum not only adds protection, but also serves as a heat sink which cools the hard drive without the use of a fan, thereby saving energy in the process. Fabrik has also paid attention to recycled content in the packaging, and has slimmed down the packaging to just the bare essentials to create as little waste as possible.

It has a turbo USB 2.0 connectivity which promises 25% more performance than standard USB 2.0. The drive will work with both Windows and Mac computers and ships with automated backup software. The capacity of the drive is 500GB. It also has automated Backup software that saves copies of stuff on the drive, and on encrypted, secure servers using Fabrik Ultimate Backup for online backup protection.

The backup software also lets users create a disaster recovery CD that can be used to boot the system in case of system failure. It is available online at a price of $159.99 for 500 GB capacity.

Phillips redefines Web-Camera’s with Wireless Spider Cam

When you think about a web camera the first thing strikes your mind is a black round dot glaring at you embedded inside a round or cube like box having a wire at its back which connects the thing with the PC. Braking the current trend, Phillips has redefined the way that webcams exist currently with their new monster-spider shaped camera.

They have launched a spider shaped camera which is having no wires. The camera connects to the PC via Bluetooth 2.0 This camera can be tilted to adjust the camera angles. It has a weird shape like the monsters we see in sci-fi movies who try to destroy the earth. Fortunately, this thing just looks like it but does not have a destructive mind. It is bundled with a USB Bluetooth 2.0 dongle, though you can use your inbuilt or other Bluetooth adapters also.

webcamorthographic_DOKnC_3342

The camera is made up of ABS and Polypropylene and stands on its three balanced legs. This high-definition camera is light-weight and is surely for those who love to show around their house while on a video call. As seen in the picture above it is having a green light below the camera which indicates whether the camera is on or off. The upper portion of camera is flexible which makes it easy to adjust the position of camera, which is a major problem with the current cameras. The wireless freedom experienced with this camera, sounds good but it may be limited to just 10 meters from the PC as the Bluetooth quality drops with increasing distance.

Not much info about cost and the real specs are currently available about the camera but the concept is really good and unique, now lets see if it works out in market or not.

Fingerprint Encrypted Mouse

Now here’s a mouse that will help you keep your precious data safe and sound - the Biometric Fingerprint Encrypted Mouse. This $116 peripheral comes with the following specifications and features :-

PC-Lock
Windows login and Screen Saver prevent the unauthorized user access the computer (only the registered fingerprint is accessible after successful verification!)

Web bank
The Web Bank can “remember” personal data (i.e. user names and passwords), once it’s been typed into a webpage form. It can also automatically access and enter this data for you in the future, with just a simply swipe of a registered finger. No worries about the hacker taking the password.

Virtual Disk
Virtual Disk can hide the confidential data partition (i.e.: you can install the important application programs onto virtual drive, so that nobody can use the programs, only the authorized user can see partition label and manipulate after virtual disk is activated and fingerprint verification is passed).

File encryption/decryption
File encryption/decryption by fingerprint for particularly important or confidential files (encrypted File/folder cannot be copied).

You can store up to 10 fingerprint templates in this mouse, so choose carefully. Oh yeah, I’d look out for my hands even more vigilantly from now on lest somebody walks by and hacks it off to gain access to all my passwords stored in the PC.

What is the difference between dual core n core 2 duo

ANSWERS:


1.Dual Core is a "class" or architecture of processors which refers to any processor with two cores on the same chip.
Core2Duo is a regitered trademark [™] of the Intel Corporation.

2.Intel Core 2 Duo processors are next gen processors from Intel on 65 nm platform… developed from Ground up with new Architecture called Core… so they are whole new Processors just Jump like Pentium 2 to Pentium 3 or Pentium 4… Expect one Core 2 Duo Lowest End Processors like E4400/E4300

Intel Dual Core Processors are just launched striped down version of Core 2 Duos.. there are 2 in Market for Desktop range, E2140 runs at 1.6 GHz with 1 MB L2 and 800 MHz FSB and E2160 with 1.8 GHz with same specs of E2140…. these are not Pentium D rather they are same batch like Core 2 Duo based on the new Core Technology

3.In Dual core both the cores share same cache memory
In core2Duo both the cores have separate cache memory

4.The Core 2 Duo is Intel's second generation (Hence, Core 2) processor made for desktops and laptops designed from the ground up to be fast while not consuming nearly as much power as previous CPUs, Dual core is simply a generic term referring to any processor package with two physical CPUs in one.

Dual Core is better because it has 2 processors. The more the better. (Dell has a Quad Core, 4, processor computer and Mac has a Dual Quad Core processor, yes 8 processors). The main difference is that core duo is 32-bit processor, where as Core 2 Duo is 64-it processor, also for Core 2 Duo, the cache memory is 4MB compared to 2MB of Core Duo.

Intel saves batteries and pumps multimedia with Centrino 2

ntel on Monday launched Centrino 2, its latest mobile platform, which the company claims will increase laptop battery life while delivering speedier performance and faster wireless connectivity...



Laptops with the Centrino 2 platform include Core 2 Duo processors running between 2.26GHz and 3.06GHz, a graphics chipset capable of handling high-definition graphics and a wireless chipset. Three of the new Core 2 Duo processors run at 25 watts for lower power consumption compared to earlier processors, which ran at 35 watts of higher.

Chipset wise things look good as well, with three new offerings available, named the GM45, GM47 and PM45. GM45 and 47 will offer support for DDR2 and (for the first time in notebooks) DDR3 memory and boast integrated graphics under the label of X4500 HD, which will offer improved performance from X3100, as well as DX10 support along with HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. Supposedly GM47 is twice as fast in 3DMark06 as its predecessor, although you still won't be playing Crysis on it.