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Microsoft Arc Keyboard Review

jessica — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:01 +0000

The Arc Mouse from Microsoft surprised this reviewer when it combined a stylish design with a comfortable device. Now that its sister product, the Arc Keyboard, has made its debut, can it live up to the family name? Read our full hands-on review to find out.

Image courtesy of Microsoft

Microsoft Arc Keyboard Review originally appeared on About.com Computer Peripherals on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 20:37:26.

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source : peripherals.about.com

Do elephants run?

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:03 +0000

Read more: www.newscientist.com A jumbo treadmill helped reveal details of an elephant’s gait.

Black hole tour

dave — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:02 +0000

Read more: www.newscientist.com A new simulator lets you tour black holes from the safety of your own home.

Updated: Tuning Cool’n'Quiet: Maximize Power And Performance

dave — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:00:02 +0000

Editor’s Note: This story first went live in November of 2009. After its publication, we went back and forth with AMD’s power experts, discussing some of the conclusions drawn. With feedback from AMD, we have retested to clarify where optimizations are most likely to be made. We’ve also addressed a problem with Cool’n'Quiet observed in the previous piece, which turned out to be caused by an implementation of the technology, rather than the technology itself. Special thanks to AMD for its input.

Choosing the right processor is never an simple task. Like other choices in life, there are so many to select from, and many factors to be considered.

Today, performance and heat are not the only factors we all have to consider. Power consumption is becoming increasingly important. However, most reviews and articles about processors still focus on performance for the most part. Often times, review benchmarking is performed without power management features turned on (an especially flagrant faux pas in the era of Intel’s Turbo Boost, which requires those abilities be enabled).

Athlon II X2 Dual Core… TigerDirect $69.99 Newegg.com $64.99 CDW.com $83.99 Amazon.com $64.99

Is this a bad thing? It doesn’t have to be in the context of testing specific theories. Performance is very likely the penultimate factor we all think about when buying a processor, or any other component for that matter. But as concerns about power consumption becomes increasingly important, we should try to always look at performance with power management features enabled.

Many view power management features as detriments to processor performance. Indeed, most reviews and articles that include performance evaluation with power management features turned on usually shows slightly lower numbers than when those features are turned off. However, many do not realize that, just like hardware and software, we can fine tune power management features either for more performance or lower power consumption. It’s not unusual to tweak the BIOS, drivers, and operating systems for maximum performance, so why not the same with power management features?

Getting to Know Power Management

This article is an answer to that question. In order to fine tune power management, first we have to comprehend how it works. Power management throttles down the processor (or any other component for that matter), slowing it down to save energy when the workload is low. When a user alters the workload (by opening an application, for instance), power management throttles the processor back up to a higher clock rate until the workload changes again (basically, when the application or task is complete).

Although clock throttling is the most obvious effect of power management, it’s not the largest influence in lowering power consumption. Reducing voltage is what has the most significant impact. By throttling down the clock, processor manufactures can settle in on a much lower voltage for their processor. In addition to lowering power consumption, throttling clock and voltage will also reduce operating temperatures. Less voltage equals less power consumed and thus less dissipated as heat.

Today’s processors offer fine-grained power management, able to run at a number of different clock rates and at many voltage levels. These different clock and voltage settings are called p-states (you know them as SpeedStep on Intel CPUs and Cool’n'Quiet on AMD chips). A modern processor can have at least two p-states–one for performance and another for power-saving mode. However, it’s not unusual to see processors with more than two p-states. In addition to p-states, power management settings also include transition time and a workload level required to switch between p-states.

source : www.tomshardware.com

Razer and Sixense distribute SDK and FPS shooter utility through Steam

dave — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:00:06 +0000

Surely you remember those Sixense motion controls that we caught lounging around at Razer’s CES booth, right? Yeah. Today at the Game Developers Conference, both outfits have teamed up in order to distribute the Ultra-Precise Motion Controller SDK and FPS utility library via Steam, which should give devs the capability to create new games and port existing titles for use with the aforementioned sticks. We’re told that these new tools will require “require virtually no knowledge of the inner workings of the controller,” enabling coders to craft titles that take full advantage of the six degrees of freedom. Will this turn the PC into the next Wii? We kind of doubt it, but at least someone’s looking out for non-console gamers who have a secret obsession with Nintendo’s Wiimote.

Continue reading Razer and Sixense distribute SDK and FPS shooter utility through Steam

Razer and Sixense distribute SDK and FPS shooter utility through Steam originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:55:00 EST.

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source : www.engadget.com

MSI starts shipping two 12.1-inch, AMD-powered Wind12 U230 netbooks

chuck — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:00:03 +0000

It sure took ‘em long enough — just over four months if you are keeping score — but MSI has finally shipped its next-generation netbook. The AMD-powered Wind12 U230 has left the docks this day in two distinct flavors (the U230-033 and U230-040), with both touting Windows 7 Home Premium, a 12.1-inch WXGA (1,366 x 768) display, ATI’s Radeon HD3200 graphics, 2GB of RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a 6-cell battery and a 1.3 megapixel camera. The duo also features three USB sockets, VGA / HDMI outputs, an Ethernet port, audio in / out, a 4-in-1 card reader and a chassis that weighs in at 3.3 pounds. As for the differences? The former ships with an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 under the hood and a 250GB HDD, while the latter sports an Athlon X2 L335 CPU and a 320GB platter. Both are available for the taking right now at NewEgg, though it’s on you to decide if the the second model is really worth the extra $50 over the $429.99 base price.

Continue reading MSI starts shipping two 12.1-inch, AMD-powered Wind12 U230 netbooks

MSI starts shipping two 12.1-inch, AMD-powered Wind12 U230 netbooks originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:37:00 EST.

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source : www.engadget.com

HTC Supersonic Teaser Video

samantha — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:10 +0000

We have a teaser video of the upcoming HTC Supersonic. According to rumor, this Android-powered phone is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor with a 4.3-inch full touchscreen display, and HTC’s Sense UI. Watch the video after the jump to get more details.

[MobileCrunch]

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HTC Supersonic Teaser Video

alliana — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:10 +0000

[MobileCrunch]

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HiPhone W008 Cell Phones

alliana — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:05 +0000

HiPhone has launched their latest handset namely the W008. Priced at $130 each, the handset comes with dual cameras, a slideout keyboard, and support for JAVA, MP3 and MP4 files. What makes the HiPhone W008 special is that it has the “shake-function”, so you can browse music in a different way. [Product Page]

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HiPhone W008 Cell Phones

dave — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:05 +0000

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