Woohoo – April Fools Day.. big deal
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Title: Infectious iPhone Skins @ TestFreaks
Review Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/infectious-iphone-skins/
Review Snipit:
” Started in 2000 as creators of adhesive car art, Infectious eventually transitioned into creating skins for iPods, iPhones, and Laptops. They realized that people wanted to express themselves and have their ubiquitous devices from Apple stand out. This led to the creation of the Infectious iPhone skins. Currently they feature 53 artists from around the world and have 92 iPhone skins to choose from.”
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Today we will be looking at highly touted iPhone 3G clear film protectors– the BodyGuardz Clear Protection for Apple iPhone 3G. This clear shield is custom cut to cover every surface of the iPhone 3G to provide protection from everyday scratches and scrapes. It is composed of the same material designed to protect the paint on cars from scratches and can be easily removed without leaving any residue behind.
NLU Products is the maker of BodyGuardz and they sell this product for numerous devices including phones, media players, PDAs, gaming devices, Macbooks and more. Each BodyGuardz is custom cut for the specific device for which it was made.
The BodyGuardz Clear Protection for Apple iPhone 3G comes as a set of two front and two back shields. If you prefer just to get a screen protector for just the back or front of your iPhone 3G, NLU Products also sells each of these separately.
As a reviewer I have tested more iPhone cases and screen protectors than I dare to remember. The BodyGuardz Clear Protection for Apple iPhone 3G is definitely one of the better screen protectors that I have encountered, but there is a caveat. The application process for the back portion of the iPhone 3G is arduous. You will need a large amount of patience and some free time to get the BodyGuardz applied correctly
http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/bodyguardz-clear-protection-for-apple-iphone-3g/
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TITLE: XCM Xbox 360 Controller Case @ LanOC Reviews
DESCRIPTION: It doesn’t matter what your interest or hobbies are there will always be a group of people who aren’t happy with having the same thing as everyone else. Because of that people “mod†or modify just about anything you can think of. There are large industries just about creating parts specifically in the automobile industry and more recently the computer industry. You will find those same people in the console gaming community, people like Ben Heck have made a name for themselves doing just that. Because of that popularity there are company’s now that make parts to help you along if this is your thing. XCM is one if not the biggest company that does this. Today I will be looking at a replacement case with led lighting for your Xbox 360 controller. This is very interesting for me both because I love to mod everything and because I hate how I can’t ever tell the difference between my Xbox 360 controllers. I’m hoping that this case will satisfy both of those issues.
ARTICLE URL: http://lanoc.org/reviews/xcm-xbox-360-controller-case/
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TechwareLabs Unveils The Truth Behind The Conficker Virus. Here’s a clip from the Article:
Quote: With all of the talk lately about the April Fool’s Day Virus, what does it do really? Today, Programming Specialist Dan Shannon takes a look at the code behind the Conficker virus, and tells us what it REALLY does…
LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/articles/editorials/conflicker_virus_truth/
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So what can we expect from the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610W PSU? Well, as the name suggests … it should be pretty silent, but is 610 Watts going to be enough to cater for the needs of the mainstream user? It should be more than enough for the average gamer … however, you might want to look elsewhere if you’re a more extreme enthusiast user, who actively overclocks and use watercooling, along with running higher-end SLI/Crossfire setups.
Read the rest of the review here … http://www.cpu3d.com/review/7288-1/pc-power-cooling-silencer-610w-psu/introduction.html
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Quote: “Today, NGOHQ.com with the cooperation of Intel Israel is proud to present the immediate availability of its experimental Reverse HyperThreading Wrapper for multicore Intel processors. This revolutionary tool independently splits instructions across multiple cores more efficiently, without the need of any special multithread code inside applications or games, while combining all cores into one and allowing non-multithread applications and games to run faster and better.
The problem with multicore processors is the fact that only a limited amount of applications and games currently support multithreading and take advantage of the additional cores. Therefore, the performance gain of multicore processors is minimal. Our software is the solution to the problem! It creates a layer with its own multithreading remapping mechanism which appears as a single core to applications, fully utilizing all cores equally.
According to our internal benchmarks, we obtained up to 3.5X performance gain with a quad core processor and 1.5X performance gain with dual core processor on several applications and games. However, sadly at this stage, only Intel processors are supported, but we do have plans of adding support for AMD processors in the near future. And of course, best of all – this software is 100% absolutely free.”
Link: http://www.ngohq.com/news/15678-reverse-hyperthreading-wrapper-v0-1-a.html
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Everything USB is pleased to announce our Griffin Simplifi iPhone USB Dock w/ Media Card Reader review.
Positioned as a “3-in-1″ must have accessory for iPod/iPhone, the $69 USD Griffin Simplifi certainly looks like one of the family on your desk if you own a lot of Apple gear. Capable of serving as a charging/synching stand for almost any late model iPod or iPhone, Griffin smartly added a USB hub with two additional USB 2.0 ports out back. Front and center are two memory card slots which accept the most common formats of flash memory used in modern digital cameras these days: CompactFlash, SD, xD, and Memory Stick. Those with microSD or Memory Stick Duo cards will still be able to use Simplifi with the appropriate adapters which they likely already own. While the Simplifi contains nothing revolutionary, it could very well be an essential part of your desk arsenal. Â Read on.
http://www.everythingusb.com/griffin-simplifi-iphone-usb-dock-16394.html
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NEW CONTENT (Cases, Cooling and PSU) – IN WIN BM650 Mini-ITX Chassis
QUOTE: “Taiwan is home to a lot of technology companies and manufacturing plants, with most of the big names having a sizeable piece of Taiwan real-estate. IN WIN is no exception to this and is one of the native Taiwan companies who are producing some mighty fine products this year.
The case is designed to be oriented either horizontally or vertically, depending on your requirements. Small rubber feet are supplied to attach on both sides so that you don’t scratch your desk and to help reduce vibration noise from the case resonating through it.”
For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2701/in_win_bm650_mini_itx_chassis/index.html
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Date: 03-31-2009Â By Vlad Mihaiescu
If you are a fan of RPGs, then Drakensang is a game that you must try; it even has a multiplayer mode where you can join your friends in completing quests and solving problems. It is a very detailed game so you should allow for some adjustment time and I would strongly suggest that you make multiple saves and that you save often. I know I’ve found a good game when I keep making excuses so I can play it. If I ever end up with enough free time, Drakensang is going to be one of those games that I will play over and over again. I like my basher a lot, but I think I can make an even better archer. As for you, you might like mages or alchemists or even necromancers; the possibilities are nearly endless in this game for if you like RPGs, you will find a character that you can call your own in this game.
Link: http://www.gamepyre.com/reviews/games/pc/1078_1.html
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Hardware Bistro has announced another giveaway for readers.
Read More:
http://hardwarebistro.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=88&func=view&catid=30&id=268#268
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| AMD Phenom II X4 940 Review |  |
Author: Ben Sun Date: 03-31-2009
The reality of the economic downturn has affected every facet of our lives including the computer industry. While Intel continues to price their CPUs in the $999 price range with little change but a higher clock speed and higher speed QPI, AMD is pricing their CPUs for the mainstream user, with reasonable prices for reasonably performing CPUs. The Phenom II X4 940 CPU is available online for $219, making it price competitive with the Intel Core i7 920 CPU. Performance on the CPU is as expected and AMD is slowly catching up to the Intel platform in speed as in many cases the CPUs are identical in performance but lacking in others. Note that an AM2+ motherboard+ the other components with a 940 are much less expensive than a similar Intel platform. If you want an AM3 motherboard note that this CPU will not work with those as it has two extra pins versus the AM3 platform. In any event I will do a Socket AM3 Phenom II 710 review which will cover the AM3 platform with more detail.
Review Link: http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/hardware/1869_1.html
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We have just posted up a review of some entry level triple-channel DDR3-1333 from Corsair. This kit is priced at under $70 and offers all the performance you expect from your triple-channel Core i7 processor. While it’s not the fastest RAM around, a 30% overclock is pretty impressive for such affordable memory. Catch all the details in our full review.
Title: Corsair 3GB DDR3-1333MHz CL9 Memory
URL: http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6950&Itemid=40
Quote:
Although the Corsair kit is $230 cheaper than the 6GB Crucial DDR3-1600 kit, the performance difference isn’t that significant. The performance of this kit seems to be very solid and we actually managed to run well over stock speeds at tighter timings making this a great value.
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Article Name: Icy Dock MB882SP-1S-1 2.5†to 3.5†SATA Hard Drive Convertor Review @ Tweaknews
Article Url: http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/icy_dock_mb882sp-1s-1_sata_converter/
Article Snippet:
“To sum it up, this is a handy product for both laptop users and enthusiasts who are considering a solid state drive for their main rig. It has a simple design that does exactly what it’s supposed to do – provide a safe, secure and cool housing for a 2.5†SATA drive. The $20 price tag won’t break the bank either.”
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InsideHW.com has reviewed Silicon Power 32GB eSATA/USB SSD. Here is a quote from this review:
“On this year’s CeBIT many leading manufacturers announced that they will present (portable) eSATA SSDs during this year as step forward when it comes to transfer speeds. Silicon Power has complete lineup of these disks for some time with capacities that range from 8 to 64GB. These models have dual interface: eSATA and USB 2.0. In our test lab arrived 32GB model that presents the golden mean when it comes to capacity and price…â€
Article link:
http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Storage/Silicon-Power-32GB-eSATA_USB-SSD.html
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Mushkin Does Liquid Cooling! eXtreme Performance Liquid Tested
This week I received an unexpected delivery. The parcel was send by Mushkin Europe… I expected some new rams or a power supply, seemed I was in for a nice surprise. The package contained three white 1 liter cans. There was not much info on them, besides Extreme Performance and some technical mumbo jumbo concerning the mixture of the cooling fluid. Got your attention ? If so Read on.. if not read on too!
http://www.madshrimps.be/gotoartik.php?articID=921
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Title: InWin X-Fighter Review @ XSReviews
Review Link: http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/cases/inwin-x-fighter/
Quote: “The futuristic sci-fi Star Wars films have influenced and inspired the design of In Win’s X-Fighter case with its triangular feet, geometric lines and steel and aluminium chassis. All this makes the X-Fighter into the ultimate spaceship but how will it fare at doing its job as a PC enclosure? The aesthetics certainly look great, so let’s see what the rest is like.“
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TITLE: XCM Xbox 360 Hard Drive Shell @ LanOC Reviews
DESCRIPTION: There are quite a few reasons why a person would need a new 360 hard drive shell, which is essentially an enclosure in the console gaming world. One may be simply that the factory shell has broke, another may be that you simply don’t like the color of your current shell. But the third, and perhaps the instance where XCM holds value, is for system mods; no where on this shell do you see the company’s name, advertisements, numbers, or writing of any kind. It is simply a blank shell, ready to serve whatever your purpose may be.
ARTICLE URL: http://lanoc.org/reviews/xcm-xbox-360-hard-drive-shell/
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TITLE: ThrustMaster T-Nchuk Wireless Adapter @ LanOC Reviews
DESCRIPTION: Everyone hates cords. They’re messy, tangle easy, and are simply an unwanted restriction. With the next generation gaming consoles putting some much emphasis on wireless controllers and accessories, companies have begun to eliminate wires that do still exist. One of the more obvious is the cord that connects the Nintendo Wii’s remote the the nunchuck controller, and ThrustMaster generously sent us their solution to test.
ARTICLE URL: http://lanoc.org/reviews/thrustmaster-t-nchuk-wireless-adapter/
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iXBT Labs Review: Intel Xeon “Nehalem”
Excerpt:
“So, Nehalem processors have entered the market of multiprocessor systems. That’s good for those who use (or is going to use) such systems, but it doesn’t affect the mass market. Everything will be as it has used to be. And it won’t change until the long-awaited rollout of Core i5.”
Article: http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/intel-xeon-x5560-p1.html
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Title:
Mushkin Ascent XP3-14400 CL8 2GB Kit
Link:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Mushkin/Ascent_XP3-14400
Brief:
The Ascent series from Mushkin represents their high-end line-up with thick eVCI heatspreaders, very tight timings and fast speeds. On top of that, the memory scales extremely well with voltage and has plenty of potential for overclockers
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Title: All Core Duo and Core Solo Models
Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/311
Category: Tutorials
Summary:
A series of quick reference tables containing the main specs of all Core Duo and Core Solo processors released to date. Updated.
Here is a snippet:
“Core Duo (formerly known by its codename, Yonah) was the first dual-core Intel CPU targeted to the mobile market, i.e. inside it there are two complete CPUs. Curiously it was also the first Intel processor to be adopted by Apple Computer. In this tutorial we will present the main features of Core Duo and Core Solo and tables with all models released to date.”
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Title: OCZ 600W ModX Stream-Pro PSU Review on Technic3D
Link: http://www.technic3d.com/article-820,1-ocz-600w-modx-stream-pro-netzteil-im-test.htm
Quote: “The OCZ 600W ModX Stream-Pro arrived Technic3D. See you in the following Review from Technic3D the next modular PSU with two +12V rails, 135mm Fan (Thermal fan control), 6x SATA hard disk connectors, 1x PCI-e 6-Pin and 1x PCI-e 6+2 Pin.”
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NEW CONTENT (Networking) – ASUS WL-500g Premium V2 Multi-Function Wireless Router
QUOTE: “Wireless networking has been a standard in homes and home offices for years now. As more people move from the desktop to the laptop we will see an even bigger increase in the need for fast wireless to handle our data. The evolving of the netbook has also ignited this frenzy. But with more and more people working, un-tethered files and printer sharing becomes an increasing problem.
Enter the ASUS WL-500g Premium V2; this b and g specification wireless router has speeds of up to 54Mbps while combining the features of a NAS and wireless print server. Added on top of these features is a profile based QoS system (Quality of Service) that lets you easily prioritize the traffic on your network for the best performance. Additional FTP and Samba support round out the package.”
For more information, please visit -
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Title: Synology DS209+ NAS Diskstation at Modders-Inc
Summary: Being able to host your own website, FTP, Multimedia Server or other web based products meant that you had to rent a dedicated server. Well those days may be in the past as you can now buy your very own NAS server to do all this work for you and it is actually simpler than you think.
Articles URL: http://www.modders-inc.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=264
Site URL:Â http://www.modders-inc.com
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Title: Argosy HV675 MediaPlay HDMI Media Player
URL: http://www.bigbruin.com/2009/argosy_1
Quote: Â Geeks.com carries a wide variety of tech goodies, including a large inventory of discount electronics items that you might not necessarily see anywhere else. The Argosy HV675 MediaPlay HDMI media player is one such item, and it was chosen for this review due to its rather unique attributes. Â Basically, it connects to your television via HDMI, composite, or component video and can be used to play back a variety of audio and video files stored on a USB drive.
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Title: Gigabyte EX58-UD4P @ Techgage
Link: http://techgage.com/article/gigabyte_ex58-ud4p/
Quote: At CES earlier this year, Gigabyte showed off two new motherboards that promised both a great value and of course, good overclocking abilities. The EX58-UD4P was one of those, and we’ve now been able to put it to the test. We’re happy to report that as we had hoped, the board delivers on all fronts, and coupled with a reasonable price, it looks to be well-worth a look.
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Title:
In Win NA eSATA & USB Enclosure
Link:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/InWin/NA
Brief:
The In Win NA is a very stylish and unigue HDD enclosure. In Win has gone all out and included a porcelain plate as cover and hid the USB 2.0 and eSATA interface within the confines of the smooth white bowl.
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Article Name: Samsung SyncMaster 2263UW LCD Monitor w/ Webcam Review @ Tweaknews
Article Url: http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/samsung_2263uw_lcd_monitor/
Article Snippet:
“The SyncMaster 2263UW is a great option for the consumer who wants an uncluttered workspace by having all webcam, audio and USB hub features bundled into their monitor. This monitor on its own proves that you can have your cake and eat it too for once. No longer does a multifunction monitor have to be a jack of all trades but a master of none.”
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NEW CONTENT (Cases, Cooling and PSU) – NZXT Zero 2 Full Tower Chassis
QUOTE: “My last review of a case was a bit on the small side and slightly frustrating when trying to add all the pieces into that puzzle. That’s the good thing about what I do, though. Never fear, as something different is just around the corner. This time around, it just so happens to be a full tower case from NZXT; the Zero 2, that is up for discussion.
In the past five years NZXT has started from a fledgling company, into a name that most gamers and enthusiasts recognize. These people are who NZXT strives to please by using ideas of the masses to incorporate better ideas and technologies into their products.”
For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2699/nzxt_zero_2_full_tower_chassis/index.html