March 29th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks!VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publicationcovering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

The Daily VR-Zone NewsSummary - 29 Mar 2011Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-daily-vr-zone-news-summary--29-

mar-2011/11460.html

March 29th, 2011

In today's news roundup: A guide to turn your Radeon 6950into a Radeon 6970; SilverStone GF06 HTPC chassis getsreviewed ; New York Times introduces online content paywallwith monthly subscriptions ranging from $15 to $35; AcerIconia dual touch-screen notebook, now available for pre-order; First DLC characters for Mortal Kombat revealed , andReview of console game WWE All Stars.

Hardware news

Description: Point of View is a long time specialist for GeForcecardsand has recently increased the highly overclocked TGTEditions in the overclocking segment.

Description: Swiftech has been a major name in air cooling inthe past and with the Polaris 120 they are solidly throwing theirhat back in the ring. The tower style cooler is a break from theirHelicoid design but the performance shows they have donetheir homework.

Description: ITShootout provides a step by step visual guideon how to unlock your Radeon HD6950's latent shaders andturn it into a fully fledged Radeon HD6970 - a card costingalmost twice as much

Description: The Fractal Design Define XL Full TowerComputer Case is the flagship offering into the U.S. marketfrom the Swedish based manufacturer. The Fractal DesignDefine XL offers some very unique features and a great amountof flexibility in a very stylish, yet minimalist design case.

Description: SilverStone Technologies launched a successfulline of home theater cases back in 2009 with the Grandia series(GD04 and GD05) and this review is going to cover the newand improved model, the Grandia GDO6.

Description: The version of the Colossus I received was the allblack version with optional blue or red LED lighting, with thecontrols hidden in a lockable front storage tray. On top of that,I haven't even gotten to the wire management on the front ofthe chassis or the tool-free interior.

Description: Featuring the industry's largest 3TB capacity andthird-generation SATA 6Gb/s controller interface, the SeagateBarracuda XT is also the first product to create a Windows XP-safe software solution for overcoming the 2TB barrier.

Consumer Electronics and Software news

Description: Visitors to the New York Times website will nowbe charged for access to news articles following the startof the publication's new strategy yesterday, with monthlysubscriptions ranging from $15 to $35.

Description: GIGABYTE has done quite a good job on theAivia M8600. The box packaging is very, very unique with acylinder tube that comes apart in 3 pieces - the mouse in itsown section, with a bag of goodies (charger, batteries, etc) inanother section.

Description: For those of you that took a look at the AC RyanPlayon!HD2 1TB and thought to yourself, well that looks great,but I already have a PC full of movies, why do I need one in mylounge too? Well, that’s a good question and here to answerit is the Mini 2, the storage free, networking content hub thatyou’ll soon want in your living room setup.

Description: Google Inc. is teaming up with MasterCard Inc.and Citigroup Inc. to embed technology in Android mobiledevices that would allow consumers to make purchases bywaving their smartphones in front of a small reader at thecheckout counter.

Description: Acer's Iconia notebook doesn't have a keyboardor trackpad - instead, it features two 14-inch touchscreendisplays. And it's available for pre-order now.

Description: Amazon has just entered the streaming musicbusiness with the launch of Cloud Player, a music player thatlets anyone upload their music to Amazon's servers and playthem via the web or Android.

Description: The Choiix Cruiser mouse does exactly what itis designed to do, which is provide smooth and accuratecursor movements on a wide variety of surfaces. That alonemakes it a great choice for traveling laptop users, and the tinyUSB receiver and adjustable height round out a well-made,affordable input device.

Gaming news

March 29th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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Description: Mortal Kombat isn't in stores for a few moreweeks, but Netherrealm has already revealed the first twocharacters you'll be able to add to the game's alreadyimpressive roster as download content.

Description: The game, which is being developed by SOCOMstudio Slant Six, looks to be quite a departure for the ResidentEvil series, with 4-player squad shootouts replacing thetraditional slow-paced monster scares.

Description: No matter the wrestling video game, it seemsplayers always want to be WWE Legends like Hulk Hoganand the Ultimate Warrior. This hunger has been satiated inthe past with unlockable characters in the SmackDown vs.Raw series and the standalone (yet lackluster) WWE Legendsof WrestleMania. Now, the big names of yesteryear are backalongside some of the current headliners in WWE All Stars.

Description: Today, fans of BioWare's incredible intergalacticadventure Mass Effect 2 will get another chance to explorespace. A scene from 'Mass Effect 2. The studio has released anew episode, "Arrival," that is available for download on PC,PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Corsair Releases 2000MHzVengeance DDR3 Memory KitSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/corsair-releases-2000mhz-vengeance-

ddr3-memory-kit/11745.html

March 29th, 2011

Corsair today announced the availability of 2000MHzversions of the award-winning Vengeance™ family of DDR3memory. The new 2000MHz kits are equipped with aluminumheat spreaders anodized in Jet Black. They join the 1600MHzVengeance DDR3 memory kits, which are available in eitherJet Black or Cerulean Blue, and the 1866MHz VengeanceDDR3 kit, available in Jet Black. Corsair Vengeance memorykits, including the new 2000MHz versions, are availableimmediately from Corsair's worldwide network of resellersand distributors.

FREMONT, California — March 17, 2011 — Corsair®,a worldwide designer and supplier of high-performancecomponents to the PC gaming hardware market, todayannounced the availability of 2000MHz versions of the award-winning Vengeance™ family of DDR3 memory.

The new 2000MHz kits are equipped with aluminum heatspreaders anodized in Jet Black. They join the 1600MHzVengeance DDR3 memory kits, which are available in eitherJet Black or Cerulean Blue, and the 1866MHz VengeanceDDR3 kit, available in Jet Black.

"Our new 2000MHz Vengeance memory is perfect for PCgamers and enthusiasts, as well as systems integrators whovalue the outstanding overclockability of the Vengeancefamily, and are looking for even more speed." said Thi La,Vice President of Memory Products at Corsair. "They're a great

choice for anyone looking to make the most of their high-performance system."

The 2000MHz kits, and the entire Vengeance family of DDR3memory, are compatible with all current Intel® and AMDplatforms. They will initially be available in the followingconfigurations:

Size Speed # of DIMMs Part Number4GB 2000MHz 2 CMZ4GX3M2A2000C106GB 2000MHz 3 CMZ6GX3M3A2000C1012GB 2000MHz 3 CMZ12GX3M3A2000C10Corsair Vengeance memory kits, including the new 2000MHzversions, are available immediately from Corsair's worldwidenetwork of resellers and distributors.

About Vengeance Memory

The Corsair Vengeance family of DDR3 memory provideshigh performance, aggressive styling, and attractive pricing.Vengeance memory runs at 1.5V for maximum compatibilitywith all Intel and AMD platforms, including the new 2ndgeneration Intel Core™ processor family (Sandy Bridge).Vengeance memory is assembled using DRAM ICs speciallyselected for performance potential and include heat spreadersfor improved performance. Like all Corsair DRAM modules,Vengeance memory kits are tested to our exacting standardsand come with a limited lifetime warranty. For moreinformation on the Vengeance family of high-performanceDDR3 memory, please visit the Corsair web site.

March 29th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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More Alienware M14x details,refreshed M11x R3 alsoexpectedSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/more-alienware-m14x-details-

refreshed-m11x-r3-also-expected/11744.html

March 29th, 2011

Dell's Alienware division is getting ready to launch a new 14-inch gaming notebook according to leaked information posedon a blog that tend to have accurate details of upcoming Dellproducts and among other things predicted the M17x R3. Thesame site is also saying that we can expect Dell to launch theupdated M11x R3 sometime early next month as well.

Dell's Alienware division is getting ready to launch a new 14-inch gaming notebook according to leaked information posedon a blog that tend to have accurate details of upcoming Dellproducts and among other things predicted the M17x R3. Thesame site is also saying that we can expect Dell to launch theupdated M11x R3 sometime early next month as well.

The M14x is said to come with a selection of second generationCore i processors ranging from the Core i3-2310M all theway up to the Core i7-2820QM. It will come with a range of7,200rpm hard drive options, but also with two choices of256GB SSDs, one being a Samsung P810 SATA 3Gbps modeland the other being a yet unknown SATA 3Gbps model. SomeCPUs will be available with DDR3 1600MHz SO-DIMMs as thehigher-end Core i7's support this.

Sadly there's no info on the graphics option, although anearlier leak suggests that there will be various Radeon HD67x0M options as well as a potential GeForce GT 555M option.The really good news is that Dell will offer the M14x with a1920x1080 display which is very rare on 14-inch notebooks,although a cheaper 1366x768 option is also available. Otherfeatures are said to include an UWB HD video streamingoption as well as optional LTE/WiMAX connectivity.

As for the M11x R3 the CPU line-up will consist of Intel's 17WULV processors which are the Core i5-2537M, Core i7-2617Mand 2657M with base clock speeds of 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6GHzrespectively. In this case the 11.6-inch display remains at1366x768 resolution, but this was expected. Drive optionsinclude a selection of 7,200rpm hard drives and the sameSamsung P810 SSD as on the M14x. Once again the sourcedoesn't have any details as to what graphics options Dell willoffer, but we should see this model launch within the nextcouple of weeks.

Both models should come with an 8-cell 63Whr battery packwhich suggests that the battery life of the M14x won't bethat great, whereas it should be pretty decent for the M11xconsidering it's using ULV processors. It looks like mobilegamers are going to be spoilt for choice from Dell shortly, asthe company is also said to be launching an 18-inch modelwhich could feature CrossFireX or SLI graphics as per ourearlier story from a couple of weeks back.

Knowles Acoustics launchesMEMS joystick for mobiledevicesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/knowles-acoustics-launches-mems-

joystick-for-mobile-devices/11743.html

March 29th, 2011

It's not the world smallest joystick, but we can't imagineit being far from at 9.8x9.8x1.6mm, but Knowles AcousticsKMJ0401IC MEMS joystick has the potential to simplify andlower the cost of a wide range of handheld mobile devices thatrely on physical input for navigation. Knowles Acoustics alsoclaim that its joystick can help improve battery life by beingmore power efficient than other alternatives.

It's not the world smallest joystick, but we can't imagineit being far from at 9.8x9.8x1.6mm, but Knowles AcousticsKMJ0401IC MEMS joystick has the potential to simplify andlower the cost of a wide range of handheld mobile devices thatrely on physical input for navigation. Knowles Acoustics alsoclaim that its joystick can help improve battery life by beingmore power efficient than other alternatives.

MEMS or micro electromechanical systems is a type of ICfused with mechanical functionality and is most commonlyfound in various types of sensors, such as motion sensors.The advantage of using this technology for a joystick isobviously the fact that you can create a very small, inexpensiveand simple device. The KMJ0401IC replaces the need for aseparate controller IC which would be needed if a traditionalanalogue joystick was used.

March 29th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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The KMJ0401IC only draws a tiny 40μA in use, 25μA in idlemode and 3μA in sleep mode and Knowles Acoustics claim thatthis can help reduce power drain on battery powered devicesby a factor of 25 compared to optical joysticks found on manysmartphones. The joystick allows for 360 degree movementand variable scroll speeds and is meant to deliver a “trueanalog joystick feel”.

As for the types of devices we can expect to see the KMJ0401ICin, well no firm partners have been announced but KnowlesAcoustics is hoping that it'll make its way into smartphones,tablets, portable gaming devices and just about anything elseyou can think of that would need a small, cheap, reliablejoystick controller in.

HTC EVO 3D heading forEurope?Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/htc-evo-3d-heading-for-

europe-/11737.html

March 29th, 2011

Once again, the best toys always find their way into otherplaces well before they ever show up in most parts of SouthEast Asia, and it appears that HTC's latest smartphoneis an excellent example of the aforementioned situation.Apparently, the upcoming HTC EVO 3D has been confirmedfor both an American and European launch, with no mentionabout a possible Asia-Pacific launch anytime soon.

For a smartphone OEM that has its roots in Asia, HTC does notseem to be interested in giving first dibs to the Asian marketswhen it comes to introducing new smartphones. Rather, it isusually the American markets that score bragging rights for

being the first to get new smartphones, with Europe coming inat a close second place.

Unfortunately for Asian HTC fans, it seems that this status quois not going to be changed any time soon, especially if the latestnews about the new HTC EVO 3D smartphone is to be takeninto consideration. While most Americans are fully aware ofthe fact that they will be able to get their hands on an EVO 3D"sometime this summer", Europeans were left guessing as towhether the smartphone will ever make its way over to theirshores.

Well, the good news (for the Europeans) is that HTC hasseemingly confirmed that the EVO 3D will eventually beavailable for sale in some European countries. According tovarious online reports, HTC France spilled the beans about theHTC EVO 3D's availability by posting in the company's officialTwitter feed that the smartphone will be available in France,and that it will even be sold under the same name.

The launch date and retail price for the HTC EVO 3D in Europehas yet to be confirmed, although we'd suppose Europeanconsumers would be able to take comfort in the fact that theyare secure in the knowledge about a certain device having beenconfirmed to be (eventually) made available for sale in theirregion. That being said, the hardware specifications remainunchanged, so Europeans can also rest assured that their EVO3D will be the very same 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon totting,dual-camera, glasses-free 3D smartphone that is due to startselling in the US sometime this summer.

At the very least, having some knowledge about productavailability is definitely much better than being keptcompletely in the dark, don't you think?

March 29th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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US Government developinga Panic Button for mobilephonesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/us-government-developing-a-panic-

button-for-mobile-phones/11735.html

March 29th, 2011

Do you fancy owning a mobile phone which comes with a built-in feature that allows users to immediately delete all availabledata stored on it, all with the press on a single button? Well,the good news is that such a feature is currently in the worksas a joint project by the US Department of State and "a groupof unspecified technology providers". The bad news? You gotto be in a real political pinch to be able to use it.

Picture this situation: you are an activist who happensto be involved in staging some rather spectacular politicalprotests in order to bring about change to a certain regime.Unfortunately for you, the regime's secret police catches windof your involvement, and sends down a task force with theobjective to throw you behind bars and confiscate your mobilephone. Which, ever so conveniently, happens to have thecontact details of countless other activists stored within.

Naturally, the most logical course of action would be to destroymost of the data stored in the mobile phone's memory toprotect your fellow activists from coming to harm. However,manually going through SMSs and phone book contacts isdefinitely not the fastest way to get rid of incriminatingdata, especially if you are already fighting against time. Thesolution? Simple: a US Department of State-developed featureknown as the Panic Button, which is designed to protect anactivist's fellow companions in the event of a crackdown..

According to a report published by Reuters, the so-called PanicButton was designed primary for use by democratic activistswho might be targeted by foreign law-enforcement officialsover their involvement in various protests or demonstrations.When such demonstrations get broken up and the riot police

goes into full gear attempting to arrest such troublemakers,the Panic Button, when activated, will not only wipe out yourpersonal data such as contact details and messages, but alsosend out a message to like-minded activists over various socialnetworks to let others know that someone has gotten intoserious trouble with the long arm of the law, and that they facethe possibility of being targeted.

Of course, the feature is still currently under development, butits potential cannot be denied. After all, there is nothing moreselfless than offering oneself up to law-enforcement agents asa scapegoat while protecting the larger community by ensuringthat they remain un-harassed to campaign for another day.At the same time, there is also a very high possibility of thefeature being misused for other not-so-noble purposes, suchas terrorists using it to mask their tracks. But we shall see, no?

Aston Martin CPT002luxurious transparenttouchscreen phone leakedSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/aston-martin-cpt002-luxurious-

transparent-touchscreen-phone-leaked/11736.html

March 29th, 2011

Aston Martin may be renowned for their luxury cars, especiallyin the popular British secret agent 007, James Bond, movies,but it seems like the car manufacturer is also going to come upwith their smartphone, in the form of CPT002.

Recently, another concept phone has come up on the web andthe design features a stylish transparent display that lookselegant.

Aston Martin, a British car maker, is collaborating withCanadian mobile phone manufacturer Mobiado to launch aAston Martin branded phone, model CPT002. The CPT002concept phone isn't the first to sport a transparent design;LG has launched the GD900 Crystal in 2009 which offers atransparent keypad. However, it may well be the first to havea transparent touchscreen. As a luxury phone, the CPT002 isadorned with sapphire crystals, while the sides are made ofplatinum. The internal will hold the battery and SIM card

March 29th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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The phone will also function as the key to your Aston Martincar. It als features various social network apps includingFaceBook and Twitter, and you can also use the vehicle's GPSto show your current location, friend's location and places ofinterests on FourSquare.

More details of the Aston Martin CPT002 concept phone willbe revealed in May.

Fujifilm X100 production toresumeSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/fujifilm-x100-production-to-

resume/11732.html

March 29th, 2011

Did the recently-announced X100 camera from Fujifilmcapture your attention? If it did, chances are you might havebeen disappointed to find out that the camera's productionwould be delayed due to Fujiflim's factories being affected bythe recent earthquake in Japan. However, it seems that goodthings come to those who wait: Fujifilm has released a reportclaiming that they have been able to resume production of thecamera recently.

Does anyone remember the Fujifilm X100 camera? You know,the recently-launched compact camera that features an APS-C sensor and bears an uncanny resemblance to the old 35mm

rangefinder cameras of the past? Well, it turns out that theshort period of disruption caused to Fujifilm's production lineshave been resolved, and the camera should be making its wayto US shores soon.

According to an official announcement posted by FujifilmJapan, the company's production plants and factories wereindeed affected by the recent earthquake which levelled muchof North East Japan. However, the report also goes on to claimthat Fujifilm has been able to recover its production lines, andthat the manufacturing and assembly of the X100 cameras willresume, with a shipment slated to arrive in US in the first weekof April.

UPDATED: AMD Radeon HD6790 Specifications RevealedSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/updated-amd-radeon-hd-6790-

specifications-revealed/11733.html

March 29th, 2011

Not long after AMD's upcoming Radeon HD 6790 was firstrevealed, Nordichardware is reporting the final specificationsfor the HD 6790. It is indeed a Barts derivative, codenamedBarts LE and it is to the HD 6850 much like the HD 5830was to the HD 5850. The HD 6790 disables a further 2 SIMDsfrom the Barts die, now left with 800 SP and 40 TMU. TheGPU is clocked at 840 MHz, so thus far, it looks much like aHD 5770. However, the HD 6790 thankfully retains all 256-bitmemory bus with surprisingly the same memory bandwidth asthe HD 6870 - more than twice than the HD 5770. All 32 ROPsare retained too - once again, twice that of the HD 5770. TheHD 6790 also features the enhanced Barts architecture withimproved tessellation, and this along with far superior pixelfillrate and memory bandwidth are the areas where the HD6790 will gain a significant advantage over the HD 5770 (andalso the GTX 550 Ti).

It's not all rosy however, as the HD 6790 suffers fromone of the same crippling flaws of the HD 5830 - highpower consumption for the performance. As the HD 6790 isbuilt around salvage dies, it requires a higher voltage thanthe regular Barts products to keep its clock speeds highsufficiently. The result is a 150W power consumption andrequirement for 2x6-pin. For buyers in this segment, that canbe a big decisive factor, and the GTX 550 Ti and even the fasterHD 6850 offers a clear advantage in that regard - requiringonly a single 6-pin PCIe connector. Perhaps moreso than theHD 5830, this can be a fatal flaw of the HD 6790.

However, the HD 6790 also succeeds in avoiding HD 5830'sbiggest flaw - pricing. At $130, the HD 6790 will provide veryimpressive bang-for-the-buck.

March 29th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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The HD 6790 is set to release on March 31st. We can only hopeAMD has worked on the power requirements as apart fromthat, the HD 6790 looks like great value for money.

LG Optimus 'Big' surfaces inonline photosSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-optimus-big-surfaces-in-online-

photos/11731.html

March 29th, 2011

So LG has got the Optimus One, the Optimus 2X and theOptimus Black smartphones to cater to a wide variety ofaudiences seeking to purchase a smartphone, along with anOptimus 3D for those who simply have to be ahead of thetimes. That is fine and all, but it seems that these are notthe only Android-based smartphones that LG has in storefor consumers, and leaked pictures appear to indicate thatthe Korean OEM has got one more product up its sleeve: asmartphone with a larger display.

With smartphones getting more and more popular with eachpassing day, it should probably be a given that manufacturersand OEMs are scrambling to design a wide range of productswhich will cater to multiple target market segments. After all,the concept of a 'one size fits all' design does not always workwhen it comes to something as personal as mobile phones:some people might prefer to have their devices as small aspossible, while others may require a larger display to make thetask of handling their smartphones a little easier on the eyes.

That being said, if you happen to fall into the second group ofusers as listed above (or if you are just an Android smartphoneaficionado), this bit of information might just be enough tobrighten up your Tuesday. Apparently, LG has a new Optimussmartphone in the works, and this one is going to feature alarger display, as shown in the leaked image below, courtesyof Korean website XportsNews:

Details about the phone are scarce, but the device has beenreportedly dubbed the 'Optimus Big' by netizens due to thesize of its display, especially when placed in comparison withmost typical smartphones available on the market today.Additional leaked hardware specifications seem to indicatethat the 'Optimus Big' will utilize a 4.3-inch NOVA display,which puts it near the five-inch Dell Streak in terms of size.

Last but not least, the Big will reportedly come standard witha 1GHz single-core processor and a built-in T-DMB TV tuner,which supposedly allows users to watch broadcast televisionprograms on their smartphones.

No other information about the smartphone has been releasedyet though, so do check back for updates.

Amazon may launch OnlineMedia 'Locker'Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/amazon-may-launch-online-media-

locker-/11729.html

March 29th, 2011

Amazon is intending to introduce a new service that lets usersstore music and video online and access it from various digitaldevices, which could come as early as next week. The movecould well be seen as competing against Google and Apple,whereby both are also working on similar offerings.

Amazon.com is planning to offer a service for users to storemusic and video online (not necessarily purchased fromAmazon.com) and access it from various digital devices. The

March 29th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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company is currently still ironing out legal issues as wellas securing content licenses from major record labels andmovie studios. But if everything works out, the service couldbe launched as early as next week.

The online retailer seems to be competing against Apple andGoogle, both which are also working on similar offerings,known as "locker" or "cloud" services. The services wouldcreate an online music or video collection identical to the oneon a user's computer hard drive, and user can choose to accessthe collection from anywhere he or she may be.

Amazon has also mentioned that users could also choose toupload their personal videos via the new service. However,it is unclear how the company would implement controlover the upload of actual personal video footage from moviesthat are ripped from DVD or even Bluray discs withoutpermission.

While Intel has SNSD,Kingston has Dream GirlsSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/while-intel-has-snsd-kingston-has-

dream-girls/11730.html

March 29th, 2011

It seems more tech companies are getting female celebritiesand models as their brand ambassadors in Asia recently.During CES, Intel has engaged SNSD, a famous Korean popgroup to promote their brand in Asia and now Kingston toohas also engaged a new girl group known as the Dream Girls topromote their brand in the APAC region. A series of productslike USB flash drives, memory cards and even HyperX DDR3memory modules have been announced using Dream Girls asthe advertisement covers. Would you get one?

It seems more tech companies are getting female celebritiesand models as their brand ambassadors in Asia recently.During CES, Intel has engaged SNSD, a famous Korean popgroup to promote their brand in Asia and now Kingston toohas also engaged a new girl group known as the Dream Girls to

promote their brand in the APAC region. A series of productslike USB flash drives, memory cards and even HyperX DDR3memory modules have been announced using Dream Girls asthe advertisement covers. Would you get one?

Additional photos are available here

Below is a press release :

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All of us might have dreams since childhood and most of timewe can not make it to go after our dreams, due to the lack ofcourage and determination. To encourage everyone to pursuedreams, Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independentworld leader in memory products, today announced thatDream Girls will be the 2011 Kingston brand spokespersonsin APAC region. Partnering with Kingston, in 2011 DorianInternational Entertainment Corporation presents “DreamGirls,” the new girl group in the limelight. The three dreamgirls, Tia Li, Puff Kuo, and Emily Song, have been workedhard for realizing their dreams since childhood. How they havedone and achieved shows the Kingston spirits, such as beingdetermined to pursue dreams and never giving up. Kingstonconsiders Dream Girls the best brand spokesperson for 2011to show the “Only Kingston Can” corporate spirits. A seriesof “Dream Girls” special edition products will be launched atthe 2nd quarter of 2011. It is expected to inspire more dreamholders to persist in going after their dreams as well as makingtheir dreams come true!

Listed by Fortune Magazine as "100 Best Companies to WorkFor" for five consecutive years, Kingston was founded bytwo dreamers, John Tu and David Sun. They persisted intheir beliefs even when bankruptcy, and eventually led theenterprise to be the world’s largest independent memorymodule manufacturer. Many people are impressed by thissuccessful legend as well as by the Kingston’s image, “OnlyKingston Can”.

In 2011, “Kingston + Dream Girls” delivers the belowmessages:

Pursuing dreams and then realizing dreams;

Don’t wait, just go for your dreams;

Bravely, confidently, passionately;

For those who have dreams;

Only Kingston Can!

“Dream Girls” special edition products include “Dream Girls”Limited-Edition Album Version USB Flash drives, customizedSD cards, USB drives, memory cards, and etc. It’s time to goafter your dreams with Kingston and Dream Girls now!

For detailed information please visit the Kingston Web site atwww.kingston.com/asia.

Xbox 360 Game Review:ilomiloSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/xbox-360-game-review-

ilomilo/11722.html

March 29th, 2011

If you like cute puzzle games, then you probably would wantto try out Ilomilo. Developed by SouthEnd Interactive andMicrosoft Game Studios, this Xbox Live arcade game is alsoavailable on Windows Phone 7 for AT&T customers in US.Read on for the full review.

It's a colourful kaldeiscope world of cutesy cubes and cuddlycharacters

This game is best summarised in two words: ‘Cute’ and ‘cubes’.Ilomilo is a puzzle game of sorts where you have to guide cutesybest friends, Ilo and Milo — no prizes for spotting where thename of the game comes from — to meet each other. These‘Safkas’ forever need your help to meet each other. While thismay seem like a simple fable, there is always the hint of a biggerstory and the essence of lost memories.

But what will steal your breath away is a whimsical, wondrousworld of many platforms, built out of interlocking cubesthat extend into different directions and form all sorts ofdimensions-defying structures. It’s like living in a world madeup of the same rules that govern a rainbow Rubik’s Cube – oryou can think of it as a pastel-lined blanket quilt universe.

How to meet up if you see me no up?

There are twists and turns aplenty: Both Ilo and Milo oftenhave to walk all around the cubes to the point of defying gravityin some cases. That’s right, you get to control both Ilo and Miloone at a time, as both characters need to make their own way

March 29th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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through the mazes to meet each other somewhere in the —metaphorical, not always literal — middle.

Of course, the path to friendship does not run smooth. Thereare obstacles like big gaps, strange creatures that block you oreven steal your blocks. You can’t jump over these obstacles,sadly. However, all is not lost — although you might often be.

Here's a short trailer of the Ilomilo game:-

The Daily VR-Zone NewsSummary - 28 Mar 2011Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-daily-vr-zone-news-summary--28-

mar-2011/11726.html

March 29th, 2011

In today's news roundup: Intel's latest line of SSDs, known asthe 320 series, get reviewed; Crucial's m4 SSD, which has beentouted to be one of the most highly anticipated SSD launchesfor 2011, get a little preview; Dell releases new notebooksin the US with a Spanish keyboard; Gateway has announceda new line of entry-level notebooks based off AMD's Fusion(Brazos) platform; The Sony vs Hotz drama gets a new twistin the form of Hotz's defense counsel claiming that muchof Sony's evidence against him are factually inaccurate, andValve's Steam service might eventually be extended to themobile platform, especially for iOS and Android.

Hardware news

Enermax T.B. Fan-Series Review on Technic3D (German)Description: (Machine Translation) The Enermax T.B. FanSeries arrived Technic3D. Seven 80,- 120,- and 140mm Fansfor your Case or CPU-Cooling can you see in the followingReview on Technic3D. The new Fan Series better than theSilence or Apollish?

Intel 320 Series 300GB SSD Review w/ 25nm Flash @ LegitReviewsDescription: As a follow-up to their very successful X25-Mseries of drives, Intel has launched their 320 Series driveswhich feature a host of new features while being driven by theirown proprietary controller. With the SATA 3Gbps SSD marketbeing so crowded, can Intel tempt consumers to look theirway? See the outcome of the testing and judge for yourself.

Crucial m4 256GB SATA 6G SSD Preview and Next Gen 2x0+GB ShootoutDescription: The Crucial m4 needs little introduction since it isone of the two most anticipated SSDs of 2011. The truth is thatmost of you are planning on skipping the next handful of pagesto get right to the benchmarks. Don't do that! Take everythingyou've already read about the Micron C400 / Crucial m4 andtoss it out of your mind, because mumble - mumble - mumbleisn't exactly accurate. Let me explain with swollen tongue.

Inno3D GTX560 Ti 1GB OC Review @ VortezDescription: Some may remember Nvidia first using "Ti" onthe GeForce 2 cards until its demise on their 4th generations of

graphics cards. Representing Titanium, the cards boasting themoniker were renowned to be popular, hence Nvidia bringingthe name back. The GTX560 is set to succeed the GTX460but not replace it based on their differing price points. At$249/£200, it is meant to fit in between AMD’s HD6870 andHD6950.

Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3 PC3-12800 Memory KitReview @ MadshrimpsDescription: The Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3PC3-12800 BL2KIT25664ST1608OB memory kit comes withtwo interesting features: fully customizable lighting system,along with thermal sensors that can be monitored via theM.O.D. software utility.

Thermalright Shaman VGA Cooler Review @ TweaknewsDescription: Thermalright has continued their success withthe Shaman. This oversized aftermarket cooler has taken theperformance charts by storm and easily claimed the top spot inour VGA testing and it is evident that Thermalright's Shamanis aimed directly at power hungry that produce equal amountsof heat.

Swiftech Polaris 120 High Performance CPU Cooler ReviewDescription: It looks like a few things have changed over atSwiftech since the last time I visited their site and had thepleasure of testing, and still using to this day, the H20-320kit they introduced back in November of last year. A couple ofweeks ago I started getting correspondence of this new coolerin the works from Swiftech, and to my first surprise, it’s an aircooler. Now I’m not positive you all remember the MCX seriesof air coolers from a few years ago. While the idea was verydifferent, and the thinking was outside of the box in its design,the cooler had limited success, and I don’t remember it beinghighly recommended as were the other leaders in that day ofair cooling.

Xigmatek Durin D982 Review @Hi Tech LegionDescription: Weighing in at only 200gr, the Xigmatek DurinD982 is certainly no heavyweight, but small size certainlydoesn’t stop the Durin from packing a punch. The XigmatekDurin D982 is a low profile Heat Pipe Direct Touch CPUcooler, which is a very unusual combination. With two 8mmpipes directly touching the CPU and running through a 90mmaluminum fin array, the Durin D982 is capable of heatdissipation typically reserved for larger coolers.

Consumer Electronics and Software news

Apple Announces June 6 Start Date for WWDC 2011Description: Apple’s annual Worldwide DevelopersConference will be held beginning June 6 this year at MosconeWest in San Francisco. While Apple makes no mention of itin its press release, the company typically unveils its annualiPhone hardware refresh at the keynote for WWDC.

Fujitsu AH572 15.6" 3D laptop now shipping for $1,399Description: Fujitsu's Lifebook AH572 3D laptop is nowshipping in the US for $1,399. The AH572 has a 15.6" passive3D display (it comes bundled with one pair of polarizedglasses) and also a dual-lens 3D camera and a 3D blu-raydrive. Other specs include Core i5-2410 (2.3Ghz) processorand an Intel HD 3000 graphics GPU. It runs Windows 7 HomePremium 64bit.

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Dell freshens up Inspiron M5030 with Spanish-languagekeyboard, claims it's first of its kind in USDescription: The Athlon-powered M5030 from Dell hardlylooked like a machine that would be bearing an "industry first"label when it launched in September of last year, but now it'sdoing exactly that thanks to an intriguing new mod from itsmaker. The 15.6-incher is being released with its keyboardand Windows 7 installation customized in Spanish, neither ofwhich would be unusual were it not for the fact that it's goingto be on sale in the US. It's not exactly a vast overhaul, as onlya couple of physical keys are swapped out and switching Win 7into and out of Spanish mode can be done in the time it takesto click a mouse...

Gateway's New Notebooks for the Extreme Budget: 15.6" withAMD FusionDescription: Gateway announced this past Moday that they'rereleasing to the market a trio of value-oriented desktop (well,really nettop) replacement notebooks built around AMD'sFusion platform. Brazos has been a big hit with OEMs asnearly every major manufacturer is producing machines basedaround it, particularly the extremely popular E-350 APU.

MobileMe to become cheaperDescription: It remains to be seen whether Apple wouldexperience more people flocking to their MobileMe service if itwere free, and perhaps Apple is testing this ground by loweringthe current $99 price point to just $20 annually, at leastaccording to the latest rumors concerning the cloud-basedservice. MobileMe will not stream songs like other services,instead, it will perform back-ups of individual songs that havebeen downloaded from iTunes, which means on paper, theycan be downloaded again in the future for free to individualiDevices without having to go through the synchronizationprocess.

Gaming news

Sony v. Hotz: mismatched serial numbers and sealed manualsDescription: The case of Sony Computer Entertainment LLCvs. George Hotz et al is the gift that keeps on giving whenit comes to bizarre filings and odd claims. Hotz's attorneysclaim that he couldn't have known that Sony ComputerEntertainment of America existed, since the manuals for hisnew PlayStation 3 remained sealed and the box only mentionsJapan.

Valve's Steam Coming to Apple iOS and Android?Description: The company is reportedly looking at possibilitiesin extending Steam to the iOS and Android platforms. Agaming service like Steam has done wonders on the PC andMac; and with mobile gaming already having solid ground onthe phones, PMPs and tablets, it seems only natural.

Some Nintendo 3DS users face 'black screen of death' crashesDescription: Early Nintendo 3DS buyers in the US and Europehave reported encountering sometimes serious crashing bugs.Nicknamed the "black screen of death" for the error messageit brings, it simply says that an "error has occurred" and forcesa hard reset. Some have only had it happen periodically, butothers have been caught in a permanent loop that gives themno choice but to swap out the 3DS for a replacement.

NVIDIA Releases 267.91 WHQLDrivers for GeForce GTX 590Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/nvidia-releases-267.91-whql-drivers-

for-geforce-gtx-590/11728.html

March 29th, 2011

NVIDIA has released a new driver today specifically forGeForce GTX 590 but not much information has beenrevealed. However, we suspect that it might somehow relate tothe recent incidents of their flagship cards going up in smoke.NVIDIA has urged their partners to dump their few days olddriver CD loaded with version 267.84 with this updated 267.92WHQL.

NVIDIA has released a new driver today specifically forGeForce GTX 590 but not much information has beenrevealed. However, we suspect that it might somehow relate tothe recent incidents of their flagship cards going up in smoke.NVIDIA has urged their partners to dump their few days olddriver CD loaded with version 267.84 with this updated 267.92WHQL.

Here's the drivers information :

This driver adds support for the new GeForce GTX 590 dual-GPU graphics card, including support for Quad SLI whenpaired with a second GeForce GTX 590 card. For 3D Visionsupport, you will also need to install the NVIDIA 3D VisionController Driver v266.21.

Other

Installs HD Audio driver version 1.1.13.1

Installs PhysX System Software to version 9.10.0514

Users without US English operating systems can select theirlanguage and download the International driver here.

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3rd Gen Intel SSD 320 SeriesLaunchedSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/3rd-gen-intel-ssd-320-series-

launched/11727.html

March 29th, 2011

Intel announced today third-generation SSD the Intel Solid-State Drive 320 Series. Based on 25-nm NAND flash memory,the Intel SSD 320 replaces and builds on its high-performingIntel X25-M SATA SSD. The Intel SSD 320 Series comes in40GB, 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 300GB and 600GB versions.Intel SSD 320 produces up to 39,500 IOPS random reads and23,000 IOPS random writes, 220 MB/s sequential writes and270 MB/s sequential reads. Intel SSD 320 prices, based on1,000-unit quantities, are as follows: 40GB at $89; 80GB at$159; 120GB at $209; 160GB at $289; 300GB at $529 and600GB at $1,069.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 28, 2011 – Intel Corporationannounced today its highly anticipated third-generation solid-state drive (SSD) the Intel® Solid-State Drive 320 Series(Intel® SSD 320 Series). Based on its industry-leading 25-nanometer (nm) NAND flash memory, the Intel SSD 320replaces and builds on its high-performing Intel® X25-M SATA SSD. Delivering more performance and uniquelyarchitected reliability features, the new Intel SSD 320 offersnew higher capacity models, while taking advantage of costbenefits from its#25nm process with an up to 30 percent pricereduction over its current generation.

"Intel designed new quality and reliability features into ourSSDs to take advantage of the latest 25nm silicon, so we coulddeliver cost advantages to our customers," said Pete Hazen,director of marketing for the Intel Non-Volatile Memory(NVM) Solutions Group. "Intel's third generation of SSDs addsenhanced data security features, power-loss management andinnovative data redundancy features to once again advance

SSD technology. Whether it's a consumer or corporate ITlooking to upgrade from a hard disk drive, or an enterpriseseeking to deploy SSDs in their data centers, the new Intel SSD320 Series will continue to build on our reputation of highquality and dependability over the life of the SSD."

The Intel SSD 320 is the next generation of Intel's clientproduct line for use on desktop and notebook PCs. It istargeted for mainstream consumers, corporate IT or PCenthusiasts who would like a substantial performance boostover conventional mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs). AnSSD is more rugged, uses less power and reduces the HDDbottleneck to speed PC processes such as boot up and theopening of files and favorite applications. In fact, an upgradefrom an HDD to an Intel SSD can give users one of the single-best performance boosts, providing an up to 66 percent gainin overall system responsiveness.1

The Intel SSD 320 Series comes in 40 gigabyte (GB), 80GB,120GB, 160GB and new higher capacity 300GB and 600GBversions. It uses the 3 gigabit-per-second (3gbps) SATA IIinterface to support an SSD upgrade for the more than 1 billionSATA II PCs installed throughout the world. Continuing tooffer high-performing random read and write speeds, whichmost affect a user's daily computing experience, the IntelSSD 320 produces up to 39,500 input/output operations persecond (IOPS) random reads and 23,000 IOPS random writeson its highest-capacity drives. In addition, the company hasmore than doubled sequential write speeds from its secondgeneration to 220 megabytes-per-second (MB/s) sequentialwrites and still maintains one of the highest read throughputsat up to 270 MB/s sequential reads. This greatly improves auser's multitasking capabilities. For example, a user can easilyplay background music or download a video, while working ona document with no perceivable slow down.

Already one of the most solid-performing SSDs over time, Intelcontinues to raise the bar on SSD reliability in the way it hasarchitected its third generation, using proprietary firmwareand controller, to further demonstrate that not all solid-statedrives are created equal. In this rendition, Intel creatively usesspare area to deploy added redundancies that will help keepuser data protected, even in the event of a power loss. It alsoincludes 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard capabilitieson every drive, to help protect personal data in the event oftheft or loss.

"Solid-state drives continue to be one of the hottest trends incomputing," said Bernard Luthi, vice president of marketing,Web management and customer service at leading e-retailerNewegg.com. "Intel remains a top brand because of itsconsistent performance and extremely low return rate. We aresure customers will welcome the new higher capacity drives,and now is a great time for consumers to upgrade their PC toa fast new SSD."

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Intel SSD 320 prices, based on 1,000-unit quantities, are asfollows: 40GB at $89; 80GB at $159; 120GB at $209; 160GB at$289; 300GB at $529 and 600GB at $1,069. Check retailers/e-tailers for consumer pricing. All models include a limited 3-year warranty from Intel.

"With recent announcements, we have expanded our SSDproduct line and now offer both consumers and computerOEMs more SSD choices," said Tom Rampone, vice presidentand general manager, Intel NVM Solutions Group. "We see theIntel SSD 320 as a solid advancement to our SSD roadmap,and will continue to upgrade and refresh our SSD product lineas we add more enterprise options for our business customersthroughout the year."

Another benefit for Intel SSD purchasers is the Intel® SSDToolbox with Intel® SSD Optimizer, a free utility whichprovides Microsoft Windows* users with a powerful setof management, information and diagnostic tools to helpmaintain the health and out-of-box performance of the drive.To help ease the installation process, all Intel SSD users candownload the free Intel® Data Migration Software to helpclone the entire content of a previous storage drive (SSD orHDD) to any Intel SSD.

Intel SSDs can be purchased in the United States from suchretailers as Best Buy or Fry's Electronics, plus a variety ofresellers, retailers or Internet e-tailers such as Newegg.com orAmazon.com worldwide. To download the multimedia presskit go to Intel® Solid-State Drives (SSD). A special enterpriseaddendum for data center customers and more informationon Intel SSDs can be found at www.intel.com/go/ssd. FollowIntel SSDs on Twitter: @intelssd, Facebook: Intel Solid StateDrive (Official) or communities.intel.com.

Kingston Advises SSDNowV100 Users To UpgradeFirmwareSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/kingston-advises-ssdnow-v100-users-

to-upgrade-firmware/11725.html

March 29th, 2011

Kingston has learned that a small percentage of their SSDNowV100 sold in the past has experienced a technical issueon the firmware. Kingston strongly recommends that afirmware update be applied to all SSDNow V100 drivesto prevent possible data loss. The firmware update canbe downloaded from www.kingston.com/support/ssdnow/v100_firmware.asp

Kingston has learned that a small percentage of their SSDNowV100 sold in the past has experienced a technical issue onthe firmware. Kingston strongly recommends that a firmwareupdate be applied to all SSDNow V100 drives to preventpossible data loss. The firmware update can be downloadedfrom their dedicated support page: www.kingston.com/support/ssdnow/v100_firmware.asp

Description of issue:

We have discovered a technical issue with ourSSDNow V100 which could result in drive failure.While we have observed this issue in only a smallpercentage of drives, Kingston strongly recommendsthat a firmware update be applied to all V100 drivesto prevent possible failure.

Customers can also contact their customer service hotline at800-8861042 (toll free) or more information.

Affected Part Numbers are:

SV100S2/64GZ, SV100S2D/64GZ, SV100S2N/64GZ

SV100S2/128GZ, SV100S2D/128GZ, SV100S2N/128GZ

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SV100S2/256GZ, SV100S2N/256GZ, SV100S2N/256GZ

It is important to note that none of Kingston’s other SSDNowproducts -- with part numbers beginning with SNE, SNM, SS,SNV, SNVP and SVP -- are affected by this potential issue.

Lenovo finally launches theThinkPad Edge E420s, E220scoming soonSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lenovo-finally-launches-the-thinkpad-

edge-e420s-e220s-coming-soon/11724.html

March 29th, 2011

As far as notebooks go, Lenovo’s ThinkPad range isconsidered the most reliable and hard wearing out there, butfar from the best looking notebooks. The ThinkPad Edge triedto change this perception but didn’t really go far enough. NowLenovo has announced its latest addition to the ThinkPadEdge series, the E420s and the soon to launch E220s and thecompany has taken things to the next level in business casualnotebooks.

As far as notebooks go, Lenovo’s ThinkPad range is consideredthe most reliable and hard wearing out there, but far from thebest looking notebooks. The ThinkPad Edge tried to changethis perception but didn’t really go far enough. Now Lenovohas announced its latest addition to the ThinkPad Edge series,the E420s and the soon to launch E220s and the company hastaken things to the next level in business casual notebooks.

Due to Intel’s chipset problem the new ThinkPad Edge modelsgot delayed after having been initially announced back at CESin January, but the E420s has gone on sale in the US todaywith the smaller, lighter E220s model expected to follow earlynext month. The E420s will come with a selection of Core i3,i5 and i7 processors while the E220s will feature a selection ofULV Core i5 and i7 processors.

As the name suggests, the E420s is a 14-inch model, althoughat 1.88kg it’s as light as most 13.3-inch notebooks if only asmidgen wider at 349x236x31.2mm (WxDxH) at its thickestpart. That’s pretty impressive if you take into account thatthe E420s has a built in slot-loaded optical drive, as well asa space for both a 2.5-inch hard drive and a mSATA SSD.Lenovo is offering configurations in some markets where youcan get an 80GB mSATA SSD as well as a hard drive fitted fora combination of speed and storage space.

In the US it appears that the E420s will only be available withIntel’s integrated HD 3000 series graphics, but we noticed thatin Taiwan Lenovo will offer it with switchable graphics in theshape of an AMD Radeon HD 6630M with 2GB of dedicatedgraphics memory. As for other markets we’ll just have to waitand see until Lenovo introduces the E420s as Lenovo alwaystend to offer different SKUs in various markets.

Other features include up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, 802.11a/b/g/n, WiMAX option, Bluetooth 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMIand D-sub connectivity, a standard USB 2.0 port, an alwayspowered USB 2.0 port and an eSATAp (powered eSATA/USB combo) port, a memory card reader, a biometric securityfingerprint scanner, a combo headphone/mic jack and a 720pcapable webcam. The only really disappointing feature is thecomparatively small 4-cell 48.8Whr battery pack, althoughLenovo claims that it’s good for up to 5.4h of usage.

Rumour: AMD Radeon HD 6790releasing March 31stSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/rumour-amd-radeon-hd-6790-

releasing-march-31st/11723.html

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March 29th, 2011

The release of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 550 Ti promptedseveral rumours regarding AMD's response. DonanimHaberis now reporting that AMD is all prepared to release a directcompetitor - Radeon HD 6790 - later this week, on March 31st.

The Radeon HD 6790 will be taking on the GeForce GTX550 Ti, potentially replacing the now ancient HD 5770.Considering the GTX 550 Ti only barely edged out the HD 5770on average, a tweaked and overclocked Juniper chip was muchrumoured. However, the Radeon HD 6790 is said to be a Bartscard, a heavily crippled and underclocked version of the HD6850. If that is so, perhaps a HD 6830 nomenclature will bemore accurate?

Very little else is known about the HD 6790, except the price- $130. With performance almost certainly well ahead of theGTX 550 Ti, and such an aggressive pricing, the HD 6790 mayturn out to be an excellent value. If this is true, NVIDIA will beforced to sharply cut GTX 550 Ti prices in order to compete.

Crysis 2 PC ReviewSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/crysis-2-pc-review/11713.html

March 29th, 2011

Crysis. The game that made mainstream rigs come to acripple back in 2007. Its lush graphics and physics that boast"realism" remains as a visual and performance benchmark fortoday's games and hardware. We find out if Crysis 2 is worththe bang for the buck for the hardcore gamer in you.

A look at the front of the box

At look at the rear

In the box, we find the manual and the disc

If you purchased the game with the word “Limited Edition”on it, there is a special key to unlock some lovely bonusessuch as in-game dog-tags, weapon attachment, skins and youbegin on the multi-player at level 5. Installation of the gameis straightforward though I did encounter a problem with theinstaller.

The installer forces some kind of detection mechanism on yourC drive for free space, it will not proceed if it has less than 9GBof space. Not really a good thing for folks who partition theirdrives and allocate limited space for their operating system.Do bear in mind however, you are still able to choose whereyou can install the game after the initial detection.

After installation, you will be prompted with a one-timeactivation with your serial key before you enter the game. Youwill then need another one-time activation for multi-player in-game.

And finally, get ready to rock and bust some alien butts.

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Story

Crysis began as a sci-fiction first person shooter developedby Crytek, the story took place in 2020 in Lingshan islandswhere a team of supersoldiers equipped with a Nanosuits wereordered to save a team of archaeologists. The team, led byProphet, uncovered an alien structure and this was where itbegan.

Moving forward to 2023 in Crysis 2, the developers took a boldstep forward and puts the player right in the thick of urbanwarfare and alien invasion right at The Big Apple.

A huge contrast to the predecessor’s jungle warfare.

The aliens have returned and they bring with them a full scaleinvasion bent on destroying mankind and all that we stand for.New York City is in shambles, its populace almost decimatedand buildings in ruin. To put things in a better perspective, aplague is spreading amid the survivors and the town is undera brutal military scrutiny, CELL, a funded private militarycompany under the control and part of Crynet Systems.

You are "Alcatraz", a soldier who will inherit the strength,speed and stealth of the Nanosuit from the original game’s"Prophet". You will play the last stand against the fury andmight of the alien invasion force and CELL, both who arehappy to put you down.

Crysis 2 did a great job in portraying a city under a mass-scale invasion and hats off for Richard Morgan who does thestoryboard for the game. Plenty of small details in the storywere given the attention it deserve and the right to keeps theadrenaline pumping and to keep going.

Plot development is gradual with a few twists that lead to anunexpected ending, I will not say what but my advice is tokeep exploring in the game. Several plot details were unveiledeven in enemy’s radio communication chatter or tell-tale signson the walls. The story is long unlike some popular first-person shooters and once you completed the game, you wouldwant to recall some awesome firefight scenes that you hadexperienced.

the launch trailer for Crysis 2

Apple posts job openingsfor iOS mapping applicationdevelopersSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-posts-job-openings-for-ios-

mapping-application-developers/11718.html

March 29th, 2011

Well, it seems like the whole 'Apple vs Google' saga is aboutto enter the next stage, especially after both companies havebeen reported to be attempting to foil each other's businessacquisitions through various methods. And with Apple postingof job openings for iOS map application developers, could thisbe a sign that the Cupertino company is attempting to breakaway from its reliance on Google's various online services,especially Google Maps?

Do you happen to have experience in developing apps forthe iOS platform? Or more specifically, apps that deal withdigital maps? If so, you might want to head down to Apple'swebsite and try our luck out at employment opportunities: thisis because the Cupertino giant has postedtwo job openings foran iOS mapping application developer and software engineer.

Both openings feature identical descriptions: essentially,the company's iOS map team is seeking out softwareengineers who are not only proactive and hardworking,but are also equipped with "excellent skills in object-oriented software design and programming", with real-worldexperience developing sophisticated user interfaces beinganother pre-requisite. The job description also goes on to statethat the candidate must also possess excellent communicationskills, as he or she will be required to liaise with Apple's humaninterface team to ensure consistency in the delivery of newfeatures.

Needless to say, the job openings have fueled speculationsthat this is Apple's latest attempt to break away from itsdependence on Google's online service, a claim which doeshave some degree of credibility to it. After all, Apple hasrecently acquired a couple of companies which specialize inthe creation and implementation of digital maps on mobileconsumer devices, and chances are that Apple will want tomake use of the acquired technology to build a suitablealternative to Google's mapping service.

Furthermore, Apple is already well behind the curve in theimplementation of digital maps on mobile devices such assmartphones, considering that its iPhone is not known tobe able to function like a GPS navigational device, a featurewhich is available in certain Android-based smartphones. And

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being 'behind the curve' is a position which innovation-centriccompanies like Apple are known to loathe being situated in.

Of course, there is also a possibility that these job openingsare nothing more than the typical recruitment drives, and thatthe rumour mill is reading too much into what might just be amundane move from Apple. But we shall wait and see.

That being said, what do you think? Could this be a sign thatmajor things are about to take place in the way future versionsof iOS will handle digital maps?

Source: Apple via ZDNet

Lenovo announces newThinkCentre desktop PCs forbusinessesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lenovo-announces-new-thinkcentre-

desktop-pcs-for-businesses/11715.html

March 29th, 2011

Most people will probably get on fine with their office workon a simple desktop PC that comes equipped with a dual-coreprocessor and decent amounts of RAM. However, for thosewho work in environments which demands that only the latest,greatest and fastest PCs be used at all times, Lenovo might justhave the answer for your office computing needs. How wouldsupport for SATA3, USB 3.0 and multiple displays sound likefor an office PC?

What is the average hardware configuration of a PC commonlyfound in an office environment? For the most part, a dual-coreprocessor, probably up to 2GB of memory and onboard Intelgraphics would probably sound a lot like a typical office PCissued to employees in order to facilitate the accomplishmentof various standard tasks such as word processing, handlingemails and the occasional image editing.

However, not all careers are created equal, and it goes withoutsaying that for certain jobs, a PC with the aforementionedhardware specifications just will not cut it. And if your jobrequires that all employees be fitted out with nothing but thebest, fastest and most powerful PCs that money can buy, youmight want to start making friends with the staff at the ITdepartment, and in the process suggest that they upgrade yourPC to one of Lenovo's recently launched ThinkCentre PCs: theM91 or the M91p.

According to Lenovo, the new ThinkCentre M91 and M91pdesktop PCs for businesses are available in three form factors:tower,small form factor and eco small form factor. Thismeans that users can choose between the aforementionedform factors in order to ensure that their PCs come in sizesthat maximize the amount of real estate available in an officecubicle.

In addition to offering customizable form factors, Lenovoclaims that the new ThinkCentre M91 and M91p desktop PCs,being the fastest ThinkCentre PCs ever, have the capability tospeed up daily tasks, due to the usage of Intel's Core i3, i5and i7 processors (pre-Sandy Bridge), while vPro technologyallows various security feature to be hard programmed intothe processors themselves. Further performance boosts to thePCs come in the form of support for up to 16GB of memory, aswell as the inclusion of SATA III and USB 3.0 technology, bothof which are capable of data read/write speeds significantlygreater than that of their predecessors.

Those who crave expandability in the form of external storagedevices will probably feel right at home with the new M91 andM91p, as both desktop PCs come standard with eight USBports. Alternatively, users who need their PCs to come bundledwith more options for upgrades can also choose to customizetheir machines to come with an additional hard disk, two PCIslots and an eSATA port.

Last but not least, customers will also have the option toupgrade the M91 and M91p's graphics processing capabilitiesby opting for a discreet graphics card which is capable ofsupporting up to four discreet displays, instead of using theprocessor's built-in GPU core

The ThinkCentre M91 and M91p desktops (tower andsmall form factor) will be available on April 11 throughbusiness partners and www.lenovo.com/sg. Models for theThinkCentre M91 and M91p desktops will start at S$1,035.

LG Optimus Pad Android tabletto retail in Japan end MarchSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-optimus-pad-android-tablet-to-

retail-in-japan-end-march/11717.html

March 29th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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March 29th, 2011

It looks like the highly anticipated LG Optimus Pad will be onthe shelves in Japan this Thursday, 31 March. The 8.9-inchAndroid tablet is one of the latest tablet devices this year thatis powered by Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) mobile operatingsystem.

NTT DoCoMo have announced the preorders for the LGOptimus Pad L-06C in mid-March, and the company will beselling the product and the end of this month, which is thisThursday. The Optimus Pad will be selling at 60,000 yen(approximately S$926.56) on contract - two payments of30,000 yen. For consumers with constraint budget, they canopt for the 12-month (6650 yen) or 24-month (3325 yen)installments.

The LG Optimus Pad features an 8.9-inch TFT LCDtouchscreen display (1280x768) and runs Android 3.0Honeycomb operating system. Powered by 1GHz NVIDIATegra 2 dual-core processor, the tablet comes with dual 5-megapixel camera sensors that can capture 3D images andvideos, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth (HID compatible).

No word as to when the LG Optimus Pad will be availablein Singapore yet, but with the tablet selling soon in Japan, itshould be fairly soon.

USB 3.0 controllers: a victimof the Great Tohoku KantoEarthquakeSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/usb-3.0-controllers-a-victim-of-the-

great-tohoku-kanto-earthquake/11714.html

March 29th, 2011

Remember how we posted news about various hardwarereportedly in short supply as a result of factories eithershutting down or operating at less than optimal productivity?Well, the latest information we have seems to suggest that

DRAMs are not the only products facing shortages: USB 3.0controllers have also been affected as well.

With Intel's Light Peak (aka Thunderbolt) still in the earlyphase of its product life, it should come as little surprisethat users who seek a high-speed data transfer interfacefor external device are turning back to the trusty USB 3.0specification for their needs. After all, USB 3.0 still offers ahuge performance increase over that of USB 2.0, and is wellsuited to handle most data transfer-related tasks until LightPeak eventually becomes mainstream.

Unfortunately, the latest developments in Japan might meanthat users may have to start paying more for consumerelectronic devices fitted with USB 3.0 ports, USB 3.0 controllercards or motherboards with USB 3.0 capabilities. This isbecause NEC is reporting that it is currently dealing with tightsupplies of its first-generation USB 3.0 controllers, and thatthe shortage might result in a complete dry up of stock.

According to Chinese technology website Inpai.com.cn, NEC isclaiming that the uPD720200 line of USB 3.0 controllers werealready in short supply before the earthquake struck due to itbeing widely used in most modern motherboards, especiallyin boards marked with the B3 stepping. With the earthquakealso affecting NEC's product lines, it is estimated that existingsupplies for the uPD720200 USB 3.0 controller might only beable to last till May this year.

To address the problem, NEC has requested that motherboardmanufacturers start adopting its second-generation USB 3.0controllers, which are currently undergoing tests and areexpected to be released for sale in a month's time. Fortunately,it would seem that NEC's third-generation controllers willnot be affected due to the fact that they are only for volumeproduction by September, which is approximately five monthsfrom now - and five months is (hopefully) sufficient enough forJapan to recover from the immediate effects of the earthquake.

Google releases securityupdate for Chrome, modifiesexisting logoSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/google-releases-security-update-for-

chrome-modifies-existing-logo/11712.html

March 29th, 2011

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Do you use Google Chrome as your default web browser onWindows, Mac OS X or Linux? If so, this might be a good timeto ensure that the browser's auto-update feature is workingproperly, for Google has released a patch which it claims isaimed at fixing a few serious security vulnerabilities in itsbrowser. And apparently, it has decided to give its existing logoa little makeover in the process.

Chrome may be one of the better browsers available for useby end-users today, but it does not change the fact that webbrowsers require constant updates to ensure that they supportmost, if not all of today's existing standards, as well as to patchvarious security holes that could potentially allow maliciouswebsites to compromise the user's PC. After all, there is nodenying that the Internet is home to all kinds of content, andmalware is definitely one of them.

That being said, if you happen to be using Chrome asyour primary web browser, you might want to check if theapplication's auto-update feature was successful in pulling andinstalling the latest update rolled out by the search giant.According to a blog post made by the Chrome developmentteam, version 10.0.648.204 was released on March 24 (lastThursday) and is targeted at both the Stable and Beta versionsof the Chrome browser. This update reportedly resolves sixhigh-risk flaws found in the earlier version of Chrome 10 andapplies to all three major operating systems, as shown in thescreenshot below.

Additionally, users who have updated their copy of the Chromeweb browser might have realized that the typical, 3D-ishChrome logo has been replaced by a flat, 2D colour wheel. Thisis not a bug though: rather, it is the new Chrome logo that wasannounced by the Chrome team on March 21.

Dual-booting x86 tablet showsup in ChinaSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/dual-booting-x86-tablet-shows-up-in-

china/11711.html

March 29th, 2011

Have you ever found yourself wishing that your tablet comeswith more than one operating system installed so that you canswitch between either OS to suit various needs? Well, it turnsout that the Chinese are already one step ahead in the game:a new x86 tablet that comes pre-loaded with both Windows7 and an x86 port of Android has started making its roundsaround Shenzhen.

With tablets starting to retail for a dime a dozen down in China,one might be tempted to think that there is no more room(or desire) for innovation in this particular class of consumerelectronic devices in that country. After all, common logicwould state that there is no point trying to be different in anoversaturated market when one company's advancements orinnovation are immediately copied by rivals in no time.

However, the latest report we have received from the Chinesetablet market seems to suggest that the spirit of innovationis still alive and well, despite what many others will believe.At least, that is what we are inclined to think, especially afterseeing images of a certain dual-booting tablet from Shenzhencirculating on the Internet. Anyone fancy being able to choosebetween both the Android and Windows 7 operating systemsin a tablet?

According to Chinese gadget website M.I.C Digi, this tablet isthe product of a company known as Bben, and is known to theChinese market as the Bben A-97. M.I.C Digi claims that the

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A-97 makes use of a 9.7-inch, capacitive IPS touchscreen (1024x 768) for its display, while processing power is provided byIntel's Atom Z530 processor which is clocked at 1.6GHz. Inaddition, the A-97 boasts 1GB of memory and a 32GB SSD tohouse the operating systems. This makes perfect sense whenyou think about it: after all, Windows 7 cannot be installed toROM, unlike Android.

The A-97 uses version 2.2 of the Android operating system,which is an old built known mainly for its stability andmajor improvements over 2.1, such as support for Flash, WiFihotspot and tethering.

If you were expecting the A-97 tablet PC to come bundledwith a cheap, no-frills copy of Windows 7 known as Windows7 Starter Edition, this revelation would probably be quitethe welcome surprise. Apparently, Bben was savvy enough toload the tablet up with Windows 7 Home Premium to takefull advantage of the operating system's built-in multitouchcapabilities.

The Device Manager in Windows 7 reveals that the Bben A-97tablet PC comes bundled with a built-in 3G modem and aninternal WiFi card based of the USB interface, while graphicsis handled by the onboard Intel GMA 500 processor.

Interestingly, Bben's A-97 product page makes no mentionabout support for dual-booting. Of course, it is entirelypossible that Bben's product page contains information aboutan older version of the A-97 tablet PC, and that the informationwill eventually be updated to reflect that of the one we haveshown here.

That being said, how much do you think the Bben A-97 tabletPC will cost? Well, Bben's product page lists an RRP of 588yuan (approx US$90). Considering that users get both an SSDand two operating systems loaded into a single package, thatprice is definitely quite the steal. Of course, you will have tobe in China to get one, for these products are seldom (if ever)found outside of the Chinese domestic market.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10gets Android 2.3 GingerbreadupdateSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-ericsson-xperia-x10-gets-

android-2.3-gingerbread-update/11710.html

March 29th, 2011

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In November last year, Sony Ericsson Xperia have released theAndroid 2.1 update for its X10, X10 mini and X10 mini proAndroid smartphones. Today, the company has announcedthat the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update will be available forthe X10.

Initially, there wasn't any plans to offer Android versionhigher than 2.1 (Eclair) to the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10,according to the company's blog post. However, that decisionhad been changed and that Android 2.3 Gingerbread will beavailable for the X10 at the end of Q2 or early Q3.

There are also some of the questions and answers on the blogincluding what are the components of the upgrade and thedifferences compared to the current Android 2.1. However, itseems that some of the phone's functionality will be lost orchanged due to the upgrade.

- The current plan is that the Xperia X10 will get the Androidstandard Camera user interface and therefore features likee.g. face recognition, smile shutter etc will be lost.- Moxier is replaced by the gingerbread native EASfunctionality.

- Mediascape is being replaced by the media experiencewidgets and music player included in our new 2011 products.

- DRM keys for protected content on your phone will be lostin the upgrade process.

- The Sony Ericsson Backup and Restore client is notsupported in the Gingerbread version and will therefore belost.

- Support for bi-directional languages will be reducedcompared to the latest version of the 2.1 version of the XperiaX10.

Also, note that the upgrade will only be available through PC-based upgrade clients as it cannot be done over the air. No luckof Android 2.3 Gingerbread update for owners of X10 mini andX10 mini pro though.

PSU Review - FSP Aurum Gold700Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/psu-review--fsp-aurum-

gold-700/11709.html

March 29th, 2011

FSP (also known as Fortron-Source) is one of the world’slargest PSU manufacturers. They have been around since 1993but it was not until 2003 that FSP started their own retailbrand, offering their products directly to consumers. Today weare going to have a look at one of the latest and greatest FSPpower supplies, the Aurum Gold 700. As its name suggests,this product offers a maximum power output of 700W and hasan 80Plus Gold certification.

Model AU-700Efficiency 90% typicalInput Voltage 90 ~ 264VacFrequency 47 ~ 63HzPFC Active PFC (0.99)Power Provided 700WOver-Current Protection VOver-Voltage Protection VShort-Circuit Protection VLine Type/ Main connector 20+4 PinsLine Type/ 4 pins + 12VPower Connector

4 Pins, 4+4 Pins

Line Type/ 4 pins FloppyConnector

1

Line Type/ S-ATA Connector 7Line Type/ 4 pins Connector 4Line Type/ PCI-ExpressConnector

6 + 2 Pins x 4

Case Color BlackChassis Fan 120mmNoise <21 dBAForm Factor ATX 12V V2.3 & EPS 12V

V2.92Safety Approval cUL, FCC, CE, TUV, GOSTDimensions(Lx W x H)mm 150 x 140 x 86

10 recommended apps for yourNokia phoneSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/10-recommended-apps-for-your-nokia-

phone/11707.html

March 29th, 2011

Nokia may be going the Windows Phone 7 way, but it will bea long before we see the device retailing in stores. Meanwhile,the Finnish phone maker is not going to phase out its Symbian

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offerings, seeing there are more than 200 million Symbian-based devices on the market to date. If you are still holdingon to a Symbian smartphone, why not maximize it fully withsome of these apps featured here? Note that not all the featuredapps are free. All apps are tested on the Nokia N8 touchscreensmartphone.

Most smartphones on the market have basic call managementfeatures including mute, call logs, incoming and diallednumbers, as well as check call duration. If you want morefeatures, check out the Advanced Call Manager app.

The Advanced Call Manager can handle numerous phoneand offers call blocking options too, including busy tone,SMS auto-reply, mute, divert calls, personal voice greeting(available for Nokia phones only). You can also create listsof contacts, choose how to filter their calls, save profiles andschedule them to change depending on the time of day or yourlocation.

Record Labels Claim LimewireLiable For $75 Trillion inDamagesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/record-labels-claim-limewire-liable-

for-75-trillion-in-damages/11706.html

March 29th, 2011

Judge Wood probably checked his calendar to see if what hejust heard was an April fools' day joke before calling the claim"beyond absurd". The 13 record companies currently suingpeer-to-peer filesharing service Limewire have estimated...

...that the company owes them between $400 billion and $75trillion USD, which converts to about 94.65 trillion SGD, a sumhigher than the estimated GDP of the entire planet!

"As defendants note, plaintiffs are suggesting an award thatis 'more money than the entire music recording industry hasmade since Edison's invention of the phonograph in 1877'," shewrote.

ASUS ROG Rampage IIIBlack Edition - The Best X58Motherboard?Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asus-rog-rampage-iii-black-edition--

the-best-x58-motherboard-/11656.html

March 29th, 2011

Gamers and Overclockers, you’re in luck as ASUS’s newoffering, the Republic of Gamers Rampage III Black edition ishere to stay.

Introduction

ASUS Republic of Gamers(ROG) series of motherboard areASUS’s top of the line motherboard which gives extremeoverclocking capabilities as well as features which give gamersan edge in their games. Living up to the ROG name, theRampage III Black edition is a tool for power gamers to fragtheir opponents in the matter of seconds.

The word black is often used in naming computer hardwarewhich shows ultimate performance. This is shown in AMDblack edition processors are those with unlocked multipliersfor extreme overclocking. However, the Rampage III Black

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Edition motherboard also took it the literal way. The wholemotherboard is in black which can thermally dissipate andradiate heat away faster, proving it to be one reliable and cooldude in the market.

Hidden at the MOSFET heat sink is supposedly a ROG logowhich not many have noticed. Not forgetting the all-timefavorite ROG logo which lights up red, bringing out themotherboard aesthetically.

SpecificationsCPU Intel® Socket 1366 Core™ i7

Processor Extreme Edition/Core™ i7 Processor/

Supports Intel® Turbo BoostTechnology 2.0* Refer to www.asus.com forIntel CPU support listChipset Intel® X58 / ICH10RSystem Bus Up to 6400 MT/s ; QuickPath

InterconnectionMemory 6 x DIMM, Max.

48 GB, DDR32200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066Non-ECC,Un-bufferedMemory

Triple channel memoryarchitecture

* Hyper DIMM supportis subject to the physicalcharacteristics of individualCPUs. Some hyper DIMMsonly support one DIMMper channel. Please refer toMemory QVL for details.Expansion Slots 4 x PCIe 2.0 x16 , support x16;

x16/x16; x16/x8/x8 and x8/x8/x8/x8 configurations

2 x PCIe x1Multi-GPU Support Support NVIDIA 3-Way

SLI™ / ATI CrossFireX™Technology

4 PCIe x16 slots ready for4 single PCB 2-slot widthgraphics cardsStorage Intel ICH10R controller6 xSATA 3.0 Gb/s portsIntel® Rapid StorageTechnology Support RAID0,1,5,10JMicron® JMB363 controller2 xExternal SATA 3.0 Gb/sportsMarvell® 9182 PCIe SATA6Gb/s controller2 xSATA 6.0 Gb/s portsWireless IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi

Compliant, Bluetooth v3.0 +HS

GeForce GTX 590 Goes Up InSmokeSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/geforce-gtx-590-goes-up-in-

smoke/11705.html

March 29th, 2011

Sweclockers has discovered that when using the supposinglypress driver for GeForce GTX 590, the card overheats andburns during a 3DMark11 run at a slightly overclocked andovervolted condition. This certainly got NVIDIA scrambling tocome up with a new driver revision just a day before launch.More juicy info included.

Sweclockers has discovered that when using the supposinglypress driver for GeForce GTX 590, the card overheats andburns during a 3DMark11 run at a slightly overclocked andovervolted condition. This certainly got NVIDIA scrambling tocome up with a new driver revision just a day before launchand issued the following statement according to NGOHQ:

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"The few press reports on GTX 590 boards dying werecaused by overvoltaging to unsafe levels (as high as 1.2V vs.default voltage of 0.91 to 0.96V), and using older driversthat have lower levels of overcurrent protection. Rest assuredthat GTX 590 operates reliably at default voltages, and our267.84 launch drivers provide even more additional levels ofprotection for overclockers.

VR-Zone learned that recently, NVIDIA has sent out acautionary to their partners regarding possible componentdamage due to high temperature when running Furmark 1.9as it bypasses the capping detection. The risk increases if thegraphics card is overclocked, overvolted or has insufficientcooling around the PWM area. This is something not able tofix through drivers nor it is just applicable to GeForce GTX590 only but any overclocked/performance cards out there. Itseems like an overclocked/overvolted GTX 590 using 267.52drivers with Furmark 1.9 is almost a road of no return.

GIGABYTE launches GeForceGTX 590 graphics card,bundles M8000Xtreme gamingmouseSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-launches-geforce-gtx-590-

graphics-card-bundles-m8000xtreme-gaming-mouse/11704.html

March 29th, 2011

GIGABYTE has launched its latest premium graphics card, theGeForce GTX 590 (GV-N590D5-3GD-B). With two NVIDIAGeForce GTX 500 Series GPUs on a single PCB and high speedGDDR5 memory, the GV-N590D5-3GD-B is "the world'sfastest DirectX 11 graphics card on the planet for gamers whoneed top performance". The M8000X gaming mouse that isbundled with the card, has a high-resolution 6000dpi sensorand supports up to 70 macros.

GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards andgraphics cards, has launched its latest premium graphicscard, the GeForce GTX 590 (GV-N590D5-3GD-B). With twoNVIDIA GeForce GTX 500 Series GPUs on a single printedcircuit board (PCB) and high speed GDDR5 memory, the GV-N590D5-3GD-B is the "world's fastest DirectX 11 graphicscard on the planet for gamers who need top performance".The GeForce GTX 590 supports Microsoft's DirectX 11, andfeatures many innovative NVIDIA technologies including 3DVision Surround, Quad SLI, CUDA, and PhysX.

To cater to hardcore gamers, GIGABYTE has come up witha premium package consisting of the GV-N590D5-3GD-Bgraphics card and the M8000Xtreme gaming mouse.

Heart-pounding gaming experience

The GV-N590D5-3GD-B features two GeForce GTX 500 seriesGPUs on a single PCB, providing a total of 1024 CUDAcores (512 CUDA cores per GPU) and 3072MB of memory(1536MB per GPU). The monster card delivers massivetessellation performance thanks to its GPU architecture andcan provide incredibly detailed environments and characters.In addition, the GV-N590D5-3GD-B is equipped with onemini DisplayPort and three dual-link DVI outputs to enablepanoramic gaming across multiple screens from a single card.

Ready to conquer with GV-N590D5-3GD-B premiumpackaging

Hardcore gamers deserve the most powerful gaming gearand the GIGABYTE GV-N590D5-3GD-B premium packagingwill fit the bill. Having the GV-N590D5-3GD-B andM8000Xtreme gaming mouse in one package, gamers canconquer any game easily.

The M8000X gaming mouse has a high-resolution 6000dpisensor and a built-in 32KB GHOST engine supporting 70onboard macros. Its powerful macro editor is able to record,read, and edit desired scripts. In addition, M8000X's second-generation GHOST Engine software features an easy-to-usedrag and drop structure. The M8000X also provides weightbalancing and adjustment ranging from 6g to 38g.

Reference: GIGABYTE Press Release

TRENDnet Wireless-N RouterComparison: TEW-691GR vs.TEW-673GRUSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/trendnet-wireless-n-router-

comparison-tew-691gr-vs.-tew-673gru/11688.html

March 29th, 2011

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In this roundup, we are going to test two of TRENDnet's latestWireless-N routers, the TEW-691GR 450Mbps wireless routerand the TEW-673GRU 300Mbps dual-band wireless router.

TRENDnet was one of the first to launch Wireless-N productssupporting up to 450Mbps throughput, thanks to a triple-stream radio implementation. The TEW-691 was launchedin June last year, not too long after Ralink announced andstarted shipping their triple-stream 450Mbps chipsets in thefirst quarter that year.

The TEW-691 is a single 2.4GHz band, triple-stream wirelessrouter with speeds of up to 450 Mbps. Like its predecessors, itcomes dressed in the same shiny piano black overalls.

The power jack, reset button, color-coded RJ45 jacks (1xWAN , 4x LAN) are found at the back of the router. TheTEW-691 also features a physical power switch as well as aWLAN ON/OFF switch, providing easy access to power cyclethe router.

The three 4dBi dipole antennas are fixed, making it impossibleto upgrade to higher dBi antennas.

The WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) button is located on the leftside of the router. WPS allows devices to connect to the routersecurely with ease.