NEW CONTENT (Motherboards) - GIGABYTE’s Dynamic Energy Saver Detailed

QUOTE: “First of all, DES is not a fad and it will be available on pretty much all GIGABYTE motherboards bar the really low-end models. However, the roll-out will take some time but the good news is that GIGABYTE has already shipped motherboards with DES.

As you surely have figured out, Dynamic Energy Saver is something that will save power; but it’s not very clear how this works from a marketing name alone, so let’s take a closer look at how it all works.”

For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1272/gigabyte_s_dynamic_energy_saver_detailed/index.html

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 -Kinda makes me now really want to go out and buy a Playstation3 or Xbox 360… I guess this is as good of a reason as any eh?

NAMCO BANDAI Games and LucasArts Announce Landmark Partnership

2008 International CES

LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Swords and Lightsabers will be drawn as NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. and LucasArts today announced that iconic Star Wars characters will appear in Soulcalibur® IV for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. As part of this monumental collaboration, the Sith Lord Darth Vader will appear as a guest character in the PLAYSTATION3 system version of the title, and Jedi Master Yoda will be available for the Xbox 360. Delivering a robust offering of new gameplay modes and enhanced features, Soulcalibur IV will raise the bar of excellence for all next-generation fighting games when it is released in Summer 2008.

Read the rest of this entry »

TITEL:
Brandnew Razer Mako Gaming Soundsystem

DESCRIPTION:
The Razer Mako 2.1 bi-amplified multimedia speaker system is co-developed by
the audio scientists of gaming audio leader Razer and audio industry pioneer
THX Ltd. It is the first desktop speaker system to incorporate the THX
Ground Plane and THX Slot Speaker technologies, as well as ClassHD Digital
Amplifier Technology, which is supposed to enable rich, omnidirectional
audio effects. How good this new system really is can be read in our test.

LINK GERMAN:
http://www.pc-max.de/forum/article.php?&a=686

LINK ENGLISH:
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.pc-max.de/forum/article.p
hp?&a=686

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An Introduction to the new nVidia nForce 780/750 Series SLI Chipsets @ OzHardware

Brief Intro:

Motherboards based on the 780i chipset have very slowly started showing up on hardware review sites in the last few weeks, but what are they offering? And why do you want one? Read on to find out.

Direct Link:

http://www.ozhardware.com.au/Hardware-Articles/An-Introduction-to-the-new-nVidia-nForce-780-750-Series-SLI-Chipsets.html

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Last year we took a look at a few useful programs from SmarThumb, these programs are small and made to be installed on a USB Drive and taken with you as a portable suite of  different types of software. They’ve recently released Vista compatible versions of their more popular tools and have me to check them out and give my impressions.

One thing interesting about working with companies is that I sometimes get to actually help in the development of products, especially software like this. When I first received it I found a couple bugs and of course reported them and asked to be advised on how to proceed. So of course I got on IM with the developer and we spent a few hours bouncing back and forth and trying out different versions of the software to make sure it’s 100% compatible with Vista. I’m not going to go into boring details about all that, but with my help new versions of the software were released that now function as they should. I’m sure I won’t get credit or anything but that doesn’t really matter, it was fun to do, and just knowing that I was part of the process is kinda cool…

So, read on to check out the four new versions of the SmarThumb Software, myBackup, myEncoder, myShredder and myZip. This review will be done a bit differently than others, in that each page will be devoted to one of the programs…

Full Review HERE

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-File this under “Whudda thunk it?” What’s music coming to when this happens?!?!

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ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Climbs into Top 15 of Billboard Top 200 Album Chart

Film Box Office Gross is Over $250 Million Worldwide to Date

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The original motion picture soundtrack ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS continues to buck the post-holiday sales slump by selling over 250,000 units to date. This week the soundtrack climbs to #13 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart, #2 on the Billboard Soundtrack chart, and #5 on the Billboard Digital Sales chart. The album has sustained unparalleled digital sales and remains in the top 10 on the iTunes Top Album chart (climbing as high as #2 earlier this week)! Cumulative sales for individual tracks from the soundtrack are fast approaching 1 million. Celebrating their sixth decade on the charts, the Chipmunks are also the only artist with four songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week, with more songs charting than Kanye West, Rihanna and Alicia Keys.

In the fourth week of release, the 20^th Century Fox live action/CGI motion picture Alvin and the Chipmunks is still one of the Top 4 movies in the country with over $250 million box office gross worldwide. Both soundtrack sales and box office projections remain strong for the coming week. Alvin and the Chipmunks is now the highest grossing talking animal or live action cartoon adaptation on record, grossing more than movies like Stuart Little and Scooby-Doo.

The original motion picture soundtrack showcases the Chipmunks’ signature sound and modern takes on rock, pop, reggae and hip hop, produced by Ali Dee (Mya, Shakira). Included among the songs are renditions of classics such as “Funkytown,” “Witch Doctor,” and “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”. Stand out new songs include “Get Munk’d,” “Coast to Coast,” “Follow Me Now,” as well as a cover of the Top 40 hit “Bad Day.”

A global phenomenon to generations of fans, Alvin and the Chipmunks have sold more than 43 million albums worldwide and won three Grammy awards. The Chipmunks have engaged audiences for decades with animated television shows, feature films, album releases and video games. In 2008, Alvin and the Chipmunks will celebrate their 50^th Anniversary.

TechwareLabs has published spotlight coverage Thermaltake. Here’s a clip from the event coverage:

Quote: “Today we take a spotlight look at Thermaltake, their booth at CES which included some amazing products and amazing booth babes. Sizzling hot!”

LINK:
http://www.techwarelabs.com/articles/events/ces08-thermaltake

Title:
CES 2008 Coverage Spotlight: Thermaltake @ TechwareLabs

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Just a quick note to let you know we’ve uncovered a tid-bit of interesting Mobile GPU info in our travels at CES.

Link:
http://www.hothardware.com/News/Asus_Notebook_With_GeForce_9500M_GS_Mobile_GPU

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Otterbox makes some of the toughest cases for electronic devices in the world. In another DragonSteelMods review, I called one of their cases “armor for your iPod”. Now, the folks at Otterbox have unleashed their version of an iPhone case.

This case encapsulates the iPhone and keeps it safe from most every form of elemental danger. Does the OtterBox for iPhone (Otterbox 1940 Case) live up to the standards of the OtterBox for iPod and Treo cases? Today, we will look at it and see if this case is truly, the Ultimate protection for ones iPhone. Let’s get started…..

Full Review HERE 

Title: Zalman Z-Machine LQ1000 Case
Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/512
Category: First Look

Summary:
We took a look on the forthcoming Zalman Z-Machine LQ1000 case, a blend between their Z-Machine GT1000 case and their Reserator XT water-cooling system.

Here is a snippet:
“During CES 2008 Zalman displayed their next high-end case, Z-Machine LQ1000, which is basically their Z-Machine GT1000 with a Reserator XT water-cooling system added. Let’s take a look on this forthcoming product from Zalman.”

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Day 2 is over.

” Lastly, Crucial has unveiled the Ballistix Tracer Red series of modules. These modules are basically the same as the normal Tracer ones, but bathed in total red. ”

Link: http://www.aselabs.com/articles.php?id=230

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Investors Said to Seek a Takeover of CNet

Posted: 08 Jan 2008 09:03 AM CST

CNet Networks, one of the original online media companies, would typically write about all the gossip and speculation at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas. Now, however, the company is likely to be the one talked about.

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Facebook widget installs Zango spyware

Posted: 08 Jan 2008 09:03 AM CST

Fortinet Global Security Research Team discovered a malicious Facebook Widget actively spreading on the social networking site which ultimately prompts users to install the infamous “Zango” adware/spyware.

The malicious widget, called “Secret Crush” first appears as a Facebook request, as shown below in Figure 1:

In opening the request, the recipient is informed that one of his/her friends has invited him/her to find out more information by using “Secret Crush” (this happens frequently with Facebook’s Platform Application). Figure 2 exhibits the social engineering speech employed by the malicious widget to get the user to install it. On first glance, it does seem like the friend who has sent the notification is the one having a “crush” on the targeted user. This is actually not the case, as discussed further below.

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Article Name: Thermaltake SwordM Full Tower Case Review @ Tweaknews.net
Article Url: http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/thermaltake_swordm_case_review/

Article Snippet:

“Overall, the SwordM is an exciting case to work with. The thick aluminum construction is expertly manufactured and aggressive styling throughout give it a look all its own. The hydraulic-powered top and side panels will surely turn heads, even if their usefulness may be questionable. This chassis comes equipped with just about every feature imaginable and then some, so it can easily be a case that lasts through several more system builds.”

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Day 2 at CES took us to the LVCC where we saw a lot of sweet stuff from companies such as Crucial, D-Link, Netgear and more.  Here is my (Benjamin “Zeus” Heide’s) coverage.

CES Day 2 - Benjamin “Zeus” Heide - http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5091&Itemid=102

CES Gallery - http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?set_albumName=CES2008&option=com_gallery&Itemid=96&include=view_album.php

CES Coverage - http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=6&id=97&Itemid=102

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Day 2 at CES took us to the LVCC where we saw a lot of sweet stuff from companies such as Cooler Master, Thermaltake, Zalman and more.  Here is Jason “Fujitsu’s” Day 2 coverage.

CES Day 2 - Jason “Fujitsu” Schneider - http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5092&Itemid=102

CES Gallery - http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?set_albumName=CES2008&option=com_gallery&Itemid=96&include=view_album.php

CES Coverage - http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=6&id=97&Itemid=102

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NEW CONTENT (Motherboards) - GIGABYTE X48-DQ6 Mobo - DES Arrives!

QUOTE: “Today we have a look at the Intel X48 chipset for the first time. While it has a new name, things haven’t changed; in fact, X48 is essentially an X38 chipset that has been hand picked to run higher clock speeds and to support the 1600MHz FSB CPU when Intel finally releases it sometime this year.

We have our first X48 board in hand from GIGABYTE; dubbed the X48-DQ6 it packs in some mighty features including a new heat and voltage management technology. Let’s see how it all comes together.”

For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1271/gigabyte_x48_dq6 _mobo_des_arrives/index.html
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TITLE: NZXT Rogue Crafted Series SFF Gaming Case @ Benchmark Reviews

DESCRIPTION: As an Enthusiast I have always considered many Small Form Factor cases to host my gaming rig, and I can comfortably state that a large number of members of gaming community consider SFF cases as well, but in my case full or mid tower cases have always been my choice due to higher cooling potential and better airflow they have been known to offer. Today at Benchmark Reviews we have the new NZXT Rouge Crafted Series SFF gaming chassis which focuses on key-points such as higher cooling potential, supporting bigger power supplies and most importantly hosting the highest end gaming cards with no size restrictions. Please join us as we explore NZXT’s newest addition to SFF gaming cases.

ARTICLE URL: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=124&Itemid=1

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Title: SplashTop Running On Prototype ASUS Notebook @ Phoronix
Direct Link: http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=11675
Summary: “DeviceVM’s SplashTop, a product we had named as one of the
greatest Linux innovations in 2007, is sharing a booth this week at the
Consumer Electronic Show (CES) with ASUS. At their booth we were allowed
to check out a SplashTop demo running on an ASUS notebook! This notebook
has yet to be introduced by ASUS, but it’s intended for high-end gaming
and comes with SplashTop Linux as a complementary operating system. This
version of SplashTop is slightly updated and has new features too.”

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