Deal of the week: A $550 ultraportable and a $225 home server
by Cyril Kowaliski — 2:48 PM on November 20, 2009

Black Friday isn't here quite yet, but that doesn't mean you can't find any good bargains around—you might just need to look a little harder than usual. For instance, Newegg is currently selling a 13.3" Aspire Timeline 3810 consumer ultraportable for $550 with free shipping, a cool $150 below the the regular asking price.

This laptop is fully loaded with a dual-core Pentium SU4100 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Windows 7 Home Premium x64, and a six-cell battery that'll give you around five hours of web surfing time. It only weighs 3.5 lbs, too. We recently reviewed a very similar version of this laptop, and we thought it was nice enough to earn our TR Recommended award. At that price, you can't go wrong.

We've also been talking about cheap, Atom-based home servers and Microsoft's Windows Home Server operating system this week. As luck would have it, Newegg is currently running a promotion on HP's MediaSmart LX195 home server. The system normally sells for $400, but there's a $100-off instant rebate going on, and you can cut the price a further $75 by entering the promo code "SERVER1119" on the checkout page.

Total price: $225 with free shipping for a small-form-factor server with an Atom processor, a 640GB hard drive, Gigabit Ethernet, and four USB 2.0 ports. (The device measures roughly 4" x 8" x 8", so you should be able to tuck it away out of sight just about anywhere, and HP quotes only 3W power draw in sleep mode.) Just don't wait around too long, because the promo code is only valid until tomorrow.

10 comments —
Last by wibeasley at 3:51 PM on 11/20/09

Name Your PC Day Shortbread
by Ronald Hanaki — 1:34 PM on November 20, 2009

Name Your PC Day

1. AMD stock upgraded to 'buy'
2. The Register reports Dell is beat by The Street
3. State of Mozilla and 2008 financial statements
4. Will AOL's implosion ever end?
5. TechFlash reports shareholders quiz Ballmer about Macs, Windows, mobile phones
6. BJ court (in China) rules against Microsoft (thanks glacius555)
7. Ars Technica reports FCC outlines seven biggest barriers to broadband adoption
8. Spain declares broadband a legal right
9. DailyTech's interview with AT&T about Verizon's "deceptive" ads
10. Report: How risky is cloud computing?
11. Fudzilla: After Cedar Trail in 2011, new Atom in 2013
12. DRAM spot pricing weakens on stock dumping, says inSpecturm
13. AMD speaks to Heaven Media regarding HD 5000 shortages
14. Barnes & Noble says Nook shipments will be delayed
15. DigiTimes reports Blu-ray Disc gaining popularity in consumer segment
16. Google adding automatic captions to YouTube videos
17. TorrentFreak reports UK's terrifying anti-piracy plans leak
18. HardwareZone's Sitex 2009 preview
19. PCPer podcast #82
20. Ultimate Nvidia 3D Vision gaming PC - charity auction

Software

1. DailyTech reports hackers reverse ill-effects of Apple's update, restoring Intel Atom support
2. Computerworld reports Microsoft denies it built 'backdoor' in Windows 7
3. C|Net on Sinofsky's Windows plan: More data, less testosterone
4. TechSpot on unearthing region-specific Windows 7 themes
5. Ars Technica on Microsoft's problematic lack of nightly builds for IE
   and Microsoft Surface SDK now available to all
6. Office Starter 2010 private beta, with 'Office to Go,' goes to testers
7. SuperSite for Windows has Office 2010 public beta review part 1 and part 2
8. Ars Technica on Chrome OS: Internet failing at PC > PC failing at Internet
9. Google says PC will start in seven seconds or less
10. Will Microsoft's Silverlight dampen the appeal of Google's Chrome OS?
11. Why Chrome OS will fail—big time
12. C|Net: Browser security features compared
13. AnandTech tests GPU-accelerated Flash 10.1 prerelease
14. Microsoft finds security flaw in Google Frame
15. Fudzilla reports Palm caves in to Apple
16. C|Net reports Cisco launches iPhone security app
17. Update rollup 1 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2

Gaming

1. Shacknews reports PlayStation 3 getting 3D games as Sony examines subscription services,
   return to profitability and Dragon Age 'Return to Ostagar' DLC announced
2. Kotaku reports the BioShock 2 Special Edition is gorgeous, groovy
3. Shacknews reports BioShock 2 multiplayer trailer shows killing spree
4. Eurogamer has Serious Sam HD launch date trailer
5. Rage to feature classic id weapons
6. Techgage reviews Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
7. [OC]ModShop's Modern Warfare 2 walkthrough and guide
8. Ars Technica explains the reasons you need to buy Left 4 Dead 2 on PC
9. PCGH on playing Left 4 Dead 2 maxed out - Source engine on highest quality
10. FiringSquad and TweakPC (in German) review Left 4 Dead 2
11. Games for Windows - Live client 3.1
12. Shattered Horizon patch 1.0.2.3
13. Steam's weekend deals: Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online Adventures
    now available and 50% off until November 26th and Frontlines 75% off

Systems and storage

1. Gizmodo: What happens when you bring a 22-year old Mac to the Genius Bar?
2. TechReviewSource on hp TouchSmart 300-1025 desktop PC
3. DriverHeaven reviews Novatech X16 HD Pro notebook
4. Rbmods on Athlon II X3 435
5. Tech ARP's BIOS option of the week: Burn-in mode
6. OC3D reviews Asus Sabertooth 55i TUF P55 motherboard
7. Neoseeker reviews 4GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Intel XMP LV memory kit
8. Hardware Secrets reviews 2TB Seagate Barracuda XT
9. TweakTown reviews AXUS FiT 500E 5-bay RAID DAS server

Multimedia

1. OCC reviews Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 OC
2. XSReviews on Sapphire Radeon HD 5850
3. Ultimate Hardware reviews Sapphire Radeon HD 5750
4. techPowerUp! reviews Palit GeForce GT 240 Sonic 1GB
5. Björn3D reviews Leadtek GeForce GT 220
6. Hexus.gaming reviews Sharkoon X-Tatic Digital v3 5.1 headset
7. OC3D reviews Asus HP-100U Dolby headphone set
8. InsideHW reviews HTC Hero
9. Guru3D reviews Ozone Smog gaming mouse
10. OverclockersHQ reviews Cooler Master Choiix Accu-Mouse
11. [OC]ModShop reviews Razer Sphex gaming mouse pad
12. BCCHardware reviews Zowie Gear G-TF mouse pad

Power and casing

1. ThinkComputers reviews Cooler Master SNA95 slim universal notebook adapter
2. Ninjalane reviews Cooler Master Sileo 500 case
3. TWL reviews SilverStone SG04B-H case
4. Legit Reviews on Thermaltake SD100 HTPC mITX case
5. CowcotLand reviews In Win Fanqua case (in French)
6. BayReviews on Thermaltake BlacX Duet docking station

20 comments —
Last by Walkintarget at 3:29 PM on 11/20/09

Chrome OS VMware image pops up on BitTorrent
by Cyril Kowaliski — 9:35 AM on November 20, 2009

Eager to try Chrome OS, but don't feel like going through the trouble of building a usable version of the operating system from the publicly available source code? Well, good news: as TechCrunch reports, a kind soul has gone through the motions and uploaded a convenient VMware image of the OS on BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay.

You don't even need a copy of VMware to try it; TechCrunch's article provides instruction for using the image inside Sun's VirtualBox, which is free to use and available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Simply download the 280MB image, create a new VM, and instead of making a new virtual hard drive, simply load up the .vmdk image file.

Judging by TechCrunch's screenshots, the current Chrome OS build isn't quite as polished as that UI concept video we saw yesterday, but it looks and behaves largely the same way—as a giant browser window with some extra, OS-like functionality in the tab bar. Keep in mind the OS is a year away from release, though, so it's far from complete—TechCrunch says navigating between multiple windows is "difficult (if not impossible)," and you can't get out of the bookmarks manager unless you make a new bookmark.

Incidentally, since Chrome OS requires you to log in with your Google account, and this VMware image comes from who-knows-where, you might want to follow TechCrunch's advice and create a throwaway GMail account to use it.

17 comments —
Last by CHECHNYAN at 3:44 PM on 11/20/09

Power Pack 3 for Windows Home Server arrives next week
by Cyril Kowaliski — 6:00 AM on November 20, 2009

Atom-based home servers are ganging up on shoppers this holiday season, promising perks like centralized data storage, automated backups, and media streaming at bargain prices. According to the Windows Team Blog, Microsoft will add icing to the cake next week by patching in full Windows 7 support to its Windows Home Server operating system.

Dubbed Power Pack 3, the update will introduce the following changes:

Power Pack 3 improves the Windows Home Server experience with Windows 7 and Windows Media Center by providing new features like: backup and restore of computers running Windows 7, Windows 7 Libraries integration, enhancements for Windows Media Center, and better support for netbook computers. Power Pack 3 will enable the most optimal experience for Windows 7 users on a Windows Home Server network.

Microsoft is aiming for a November 24 release for Power Pack 3. Anyone running Windows Home Server with Power Pack 2 installed and Automatic Updates enabled shouldn't have to do anything, while other folks will probably want to hit Windows Update. If you're curious, you can find out more about Power Pack 3 by checking out this other blog post from July 17.

11 comments —
Last by Usacomp2k3 at 2:44 PM on 11/20/09

Fixed TRIM firmware for 34-nm X25-Ms due this month
by Cyril Kowaliski — 3:15 PM on November 19, 2009

If you have one of Intel's new 34-nm solid-state drives and are waiting on TRIM firmware that doesn't brick your drive, good news. Alan Frost of Intel's NAND Solutions Group has posted an update on the Intel Support Community forums, promising a fixed firmware update will be out "by the end of November 2009."

In the meantime, Frost advises owners of X25-M G2 solid-state drives to do the following:

• If you have not upgraded to 02HA but using 02G2 or 02G9 – then use new tool when available to upgrade to new firmware to get Trim support and better sequential write performance (160GB)
• If you have successfully upgraded to 02HA - then continue using the SSD, there are no known issues.
• If you have received a SSD with 02HA pre installed – then continue using the SSD, there are no known issues.
• If you have unsuccessfully upgraded to 02HA - then contact Intel Customer Support for instructions on how to recover the SSD via secure erase or return SSD to Intel for replacement or refund.

Frost also notes that the corruption problem mainly struck users of Windows 7 x64 who upgraded to the 02HA firmware. Such users complained that, after installing the update, their drives would refuse to boot and possibly become unworkable. The advice quoted above suggests recovery options might be available, though.

22 comments —
Last by Lazier_Said at 2:20 PM on 11/20/09

Google pulls the curtain off Chrome OS, releases source
by Cyril Kowaliski — 1:55 PM on November 19, 2009

As planned, Google showed Chrome OS to the world for the first time earlier today. The unveiling came hand-in-hand with the release of the operating system's source code under the Chromium OS project, which allows anyone to grab the code, modify it, build it, and run it. Google doesn't seem to have released a pre-built distribution, though.

Laymen might not be able to grab Chrome OS and use it just yet—the public launch isn't scheduled until a year from now—but Google has given everyone enough to salivate over. For starters, the company has revealed the OS's user interface, which places the web browser at the center of the user experience:

Chrome OS essentially looks like a souped-up version of the Chrome browser, with a menu to access software at the top left and web apps that appear as icon-only tabs, which users can keep pinned to the tab bar. Non-web-based applications show up in "panels" that float over or dock next to the central browser window, and Google lets you switch between browser "windows" (virtual desktops, for all intents and purposes) with mouse gestures and transition effects straight out of the Mac OS X playbook.

Google has also broken new ground on the security front. In this video, Google Security Engineer Will Drewry explains how Chrome OS houses system files on two mirrored partitions, with all local user data residing on a separate, encrypted partition. If an update or malware breaks something, the operating system can restore itself from the mirror partition with a simple reboot—and the user ought not worry about anything.

Chrome OS also looks fast, a trait that should come in handy considering Google's decision to target netbooks with the first public release. Google's Martin Bligh details and demonstrates in this other video how the Chrome OS team greatly streamlined the startup sequence, allowing a boot time of just six or seven seconds (by my count) on a lowly netbook. Impressive stuff.

96 comments —
Last by MadManOriginal at 2:56 PM on 11/20/09

Lenovo plans another cheap ThinkPad ultraportable
by Cyril Kowaliski — 12:05 PM on November 19, 2009

So, rumor has it Lenovo is cooking up a $449, 11.6" ThinkPad ultraportable based on AMD hardware. That's not the whole story, though: apparently, the firm also intends to grace us with a $549 ThinkPad ultraportable outfitted with a 13.3" display and a choice of Intel and AMD dual-core processors.

This latest nugget of information comes courtesy of the folks at Chip Online, although their images appear to be down. You'll have to head to Engadget to see them. The photo and accompanying chart suggest the ThinkPad Edge, as it's purportedly called, has a more grown-up look than the netbook-like ThinkPad X100e. We can still see a chiclet keyboard, though.

Specs-wise, you should be able to pick Turion Neo X2 L625 or Athlon Neo X2 L325 processors on the AMD variant and Pentium SU4100 or Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPUs on the Intel one. (All four chips have two cores.) The ThinkPad Edge will also feature up to 4GB of RAM, 160-500GB of mechanical storage (with a 320GB 7,200-RPM option), 802.11n Wi-Fi, four- or six-cell batteries, and Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional.

The chart mirrored on Engadget also tells us this contraption will weigh in at 3.6 lbs with the four-cell battery, which pretty light, all things considered. If you spring for the six-cell battery, you'll reportedly be able to enjoy 5.2 hours of battery life on the AMD system and 7.8 hours on the Intel one. Naturally, the AMD machine's Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics should be quite a bit more potent than the Intel laptop's GMA 4500.

29 comments —
Last by mattthemuppet at 1:31 PM on 11/20/09

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat benchmark appears
by Cyril Kowaliski — 11:00 AM on November 19, 2009

Finally, a DirectX 11 benchmark based on an actual game. Shacknews writes that GSC Game World has released a freely downloadable benchmarking tool based on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat, its upcoming post-apocalyptic survival shooter.

The benchmark takes you on several flights through a reconstruction of Prypiat, the abandoned Ukrainian city that lies near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Each fly-through uses a different mix of day and weather conditions; one takes place on a sunny day, one during a nightly thunderstorm, another during a rainy afternoon, and another yet on a foggy morning.

You'll have to look hard to see the DirectX 11 effects, though, because the camera moves fairly quickly and doesn't dwell on eye candy all that much. Also, there are no character closeups. (Characters in the game are supposed to take advantage of DX11 tessellation features.) The fly-through does involve brief bouts of combat between different characters, though.

You can grab the 421MB benchmark over here at FileShack. The full game is already out in Russian and German, but as Shacknews points out, the U.S. version won't hit stores until the first quarter of next year.

46 comments —
Last by SPOOFE at 1:38 PM on 11/20/09

Thursday Shortbread
by Ronald Hanaki — 9:43 AM on November 19, 2009

Thursday

1. TechCrunch reports the Google phone is very real. And it's coming soon.
2. Fudzilla reports ARM promises dual-core mobile phones in 2010
3. C|Net reports Best Buy starts Black Friday craze a week early
4. Acer, Asus dominate Euro netbook biz
5. EU ombudsman rebukes EU over errors in Intel case
6. C|Net reports Intel Labs Europe tackles large-scale computing
7. Judge denies AT&T motion to dismiss Verizon ads
8. 9 ways ISPs screw you over
9. DailyTech reports Asus to add Nvidia Ion graphics to some netbooks and nettops
10. Ars Technica reports scientists create the first programmable quantum processor
11. Fudzilla reports Atom for 2011 is Cedar Trail
12. TweakTown: Nvidia pushes 3D Vision outside the gaming box
13. Sony says e-readers in demand, shipments delayed
14. [H]ard|OCP has PC Power & Cooling user news
15. Microsoft: 'You get a free laptop! And you get a laptop! And you!'
16. Win the fastest graphics card in the world from Hexus.net

Software

1. Windows 8: More roadmaps
2. Ars Technica reports JavaScript, graphics performance improvements on tap for IE9
3. SuperSite for Windows previews Internet Explorer 9
4. NSA is giving some help on Windows 7 security
5. Top 7 things you need to know about activation for TDMs
6. techETA reviews Windows 7 Ultimate
7. Ars Technica reports Ars reviews VMware Fusion 3 and Ubuntu 9.10
8. Phoronix posts Mac OS X 10.6.2 vs. Ubuntu 9.10 benchmarks
9. Microsoft Office 2010 deployment kit for App-V (beta)
10. Firefox 3.6 beta preview release

Gaming

1. DailyTech reports easy fix to prevent Microsoft from bricking Xbox 360 HDDs arrives
2. Fudzilla reports PS3 3.10 firmware arrives early
3. Shacknews reports Xbox Live free weekend brings online multiplayer, other Gold perks to all
   and Supreme Commander 2 hitting Europe in spring, screenshots show big robots
4. Report: Activision sets up third Call of Duty team
5. "Call of Duty" game sells $550 million in five days
6. bit-tech reviews Left 4 Dead 2
7. Ars Technica reviews God of War Collection
8. techPowerUp! posts S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat benchmark
9. Steam client update released

Systems and storage

1. TWL reviews hp DM3 laptop / netbook
2. Hardware Canucks review Asus Maximus III Formula
3. Techgage reviews Asus P7P55D Pro
4. Hardware Secrets on Gigabyte G41M-ES2L
5. Technic3D reviews Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P (in German)
6. techPowerUp! reviews 6GB Elixir 1600MHz CL9 tri-channel memory kit
7. Futurelooks reviews 4GB Kingston HyperX 2133MHz dual channel memory kit
8. Björn3D reviews 60GB OCZ Agility SSD (SLC)
9. Björn3D and PureOC review 40GB Kingston SSDNow V Series boot drive
10. CowcotLand tests 12 solid state drives (in French)

Graphics

1. Hexus.net and TweakTown test Radeon HD 5970 in CrossFireX
2. Guru3D does Radeon HD 5970 overclocking
3. TweakTown reviews Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 OC 2GB
4. bit-tech, Björn3D, and HT4U (in German) review AMD Radeon HD 5970
5. Neoseeker reviews Palit 240 GT Sonic
6. OCC reviews Inno3D GeForce 220 GT
7. Hardwareslave reviews Mushkin Radeon HD 4850 512MB UltimateFX
8. Hardware Secrets posts AMD and Nvidia GPU comparison tables

Multimedia and cooling

1. Digital Trends reviews Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP8
   and Western Digital WD TV HD Live
2. Big Bruin reviews Western Digital WD TV
3. Digital Trends reviews Bose Wave SoundLink music system
4. DriverHeaven reviews Sharkoon XTactic digital surround sound headset
5. HardwareZone reviews Nokia E72
6. BmR on Antec Notebook Cooler 200
7. HardwareOC reviews Noctua NH-D14 CPU cooler (in German)

18 comments —
Last by smilingcrow at 1:47 PM on 11/20/09

Report: Elusive Apple tablet delayed until late 2010
by Cyril Kowaliski — 9:39 AM on November 19, 2009

The Taiwanese rumor mill has more news about Apple's mysterious yet eagerly anticipated tablet product. This time, DigiTimes has heard from its sources at component makers that Apple will delay the tablet's launch from next March to the second half of 2010.

Why the delay? Word is that the Mac maker wants to "switch some components" and plans to introduce a second tablet model with a 9.7" OLED panel from LG. (The first model, as rumored, should have a 10.6" LCD panel.)

While the prospect of a shiny OLED tablet sounds exciting, DigiTimes has worked out some sobering price estimates. 9.7" OLED panels cost around $500 right now, it says, and displays "normally account for about 30% of the device's total cost." That means the tablet could cost as much as $1,500-1,700 to produce based on today's prices. Factor in Apple's traditionally generous margins, and you get a retail price tag well above two grand.

Perhaps pricing is one of the reasons for the delay, then. The report goes on to say OLED panels should get cheaper by 2011, so Apple could get away with more reasonable production costs of $1,200-1,500 in the second half of 2010. Subsidizing part of the cost by tying the device to a 3G data plan could be a way to bring the price further down, too. That said, DigiTimes claims the 10.6", LCD-based tablet should retail for just $800-1,000, so it's not clear how exactly Apple would peddle a smaller, more expensive OLED model.

22 comments —
Last by MadManOriginal at 9:04 PM on 11/19/09

ThinkPad 'netbook' seems to be real, AMD-based
by Cyril Kowaliski — 6:00 AM on November 19, 2009

Remember those dubious-looking spy photos of a strange ThinkPad netbook we saw earlier this month? They weren't fake. Well, either that, or a prankster has masterfully crafted a whole batch of very authentic-looking PR photos and sent them to the folks at Netbooknews.de. The evidence definitely seems overwhelming, though.

This 11.6" laptop apparently bears the ThinkPad X100e moniker, and it's actually a consumer ultraportable based on AMD's Athlon Neo MV-40 processor. According to a chart at the end of Netbooknews.de's news post, the system also has an RS780 chipset with Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics, up to 4GB of RAM, 160-320GB of mechanical storage, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and a choice of three- or six-cell batteries, the latter allowing for up to 5.1 hours of run time.

Pricing starts at only $449, and the system is a lightweight 3.3 lbs with the six-cell battery. It's not going to be the thinnest around, though, measuring 1.16" at its thickest point.

What sets the ThinkPad X100e apart—assuming it's real, of course—is the mixture of classic, IBM-inspired ThinkPad flair and modern ultraportable chic. You get a trackpoint, a sleek black interior, and a blue enter key, but also a chiclet keyboard and a white plastic exterior. Also, the X100e seems like it won't carry the same price premium as the rest of the ThinkPad line. 450 bucks sounds pretty cheap for an ultraportable, in any case.

Based on the loose Google translation and my shaky German, Netbooknews.de seems to be saying Lenovo will likely launch the system before the Consumer Electronics Show in January, but you can also expect the X100e to make an appearance at the convention. (Thanks to Engadget for the tip.)

31 comments —
Last by gone at 12:42 AM on 11/20/09

Office 2010 beta is now available
by Cyril Kowaliski — 5:06 PM on November 18, 2009

If spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations get you all hot and bothered, then you might be happy to know that Microsoft has released a public beta of its upcoming Office 2010 productivity suite. You can grab the beta right now from the official download page; just click "Get It Now" and sign in with your Windows Live ID.

The download page generates a serial number and offers both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the pre-release software. File sizes are 684MB and 750MB, respectively. Those might seem like big downloads, but the Office 2010 beta does include Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, OneNote, Access, Publisher, InfoPath, SharePoint Workspace, and Communicator. Yeah, that'll keep testers busy.

Office 2010 should work happily with Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista Service Pack 1, and, of course, Windows 7. Microsoft recommends that folks who already have a previous version of Office uninstall it before trying out the beta, though, and it advises against installing the software on anything other than a test system. Of course, such warnings have rarely stopped eager enthusiasts.

According to CNet News, Microsoft still intends to release the completed version of Office 2010 early next year.

73 comments —
Last by 5150 at 10:26 AM on 11/20/09

Asus hops on the Atom home server bandwagon
by Cyril Kowaliski — 2:36 PM on November 18, 2009

Following in the footsteps of HP and Acer, Asus has announced a small-form-factor Windows Home Server machine based on Intel Atom hardware. The new Asus TS mini is debuting at an affordable $349.99, and with dimensions of just 9.6" x 3.8" x 8", it should be easy to tuck away in a closet or on a shelf somewhere.

Internally, the TS mini has pretty basic hardware: a 1.66GHz Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and a spare 3.5" drive bay. A small power brick supplies the necessary juice (just 24.5W at idle and 27.9W under load), and a single Gigabit Ethernet port provides the system's connection to the outside world. Asus has included six USB 2.0 ports and two external Serial ATA ports, however, leaving room for a decent collection of external hard drives and other devices.

The company offers a $529.99 model with a 2TB hard drive and 2GB of memory, too. TS mini servers come with a year's worth of 500GB web-based storage service courtesy of Asus, but you're probably better off chucking in a second hard drive if you really care about failure tolerance. (Both TS mini variants come with Windows Home Server pre-installed, so setting up automated backups and selective redundancy should be a piece of cake.) Losing 2TB of data to a single drive failure would be a shame.

You can already pre-order the TS minis at Newegg for $349.99 and $529.99, depending on the model. The e-tailer quotes a November 23 release date, so these puppies should start shipping shortly.

53 comments —
Last by Usacomp2k3 at 11:00 AM on 11/20/09

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising demo hits the web
by Cyril Kowaliski — 1:17 PM on November 18, 2009

With the surge of new and exciting games coming out this season, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Thankfully, demos aren't an extinct species just yet. As Shacknews reports, Codemasters has just released a demo of Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, its tactical military first-person shooter that came out last month.

Now available at FileShack, the demo weighs in at 1.39GB and lets players run through the first mission from the full game. Both single-player and co-operative multiplayer modes are available, so you can get your friends in on the action, too. Here's how Codemasters describes the teaser mission:

As part of a Special Forces squad inserting behind Chinese PLA lines, players must eliminate a strategically critical radar station and missile sites to allow the USS Iwo Jima, carrying the main USMC battalion, to safely approach the island of Skira. Gamers experience Operation Flashpoint’s uniquely tactical combat, achieving their objectives on their own initiative, deploying realistic weaponry and engaging advanced AI who act and react in real time using authentic tactics.

The demo also includes a "range of difficulty modes," including a Hardcore setting that disables the game's heads-up display and visual aids for a more authentic experience.

9 comments —
Last by MadManOriginal at 9:31 PM on 11/18/09

Funny-looking Adamo XPS laptop goes up for sale
by Cyril Kowaliski — 12:22 PM on November 18, 2009

Ever felt like spending almost two large on a really thin laptop with a weird hinge design? Well, now you can. After revealing the Adamo XPS to bemused onlookers last month, Dell has begun taking orders for the premium notebook.

The 0.39-inch-thin Adamo XPS costs $1,799 in its default configuration, and Dell quotes a "preliminary ship date" of December 23 if you order now. In its default config, the system features a 13.4" 720p display, a 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 128GB solid-state drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and Windows 7 Home Premium x64. Miscellaneous little features include a two-megapixel camera, a DisplayPort output, and external dongles for Ethernet, DVI, and HDMI. (The DisplayPort to HDMI dongle costs $29.)

Dell doesn't quote default battery life, but it says the optional 40 Whr battery (priced at $100) will keep the system running for as long as five hours and 17 minutes. The company also quotes a system weight of 3.2 lbs with the standard 20 Whr battery.

You can check out some high-resolution photos of the Adamo XPS in our image gallery here. Note the fact that the display portion protrudes below the hinge, lifting up the keyboard portion at an angle. Dell's official PR video makes the design look slightly awkward to use on one's lap.

27 comments —
Last by d0g_p00p at 2:02 PM on 11/19/09

Nvidia photo shows running Fermi-based GeForce
by Cyril Kowaliski — 10:54 AM on November 18, 2009

In case you missed the big news, Nvidia announced its first Fermi-based Tesla GPUs for high-performance computing apps yesterday. So as not to disappoint GeForce fans longing for some DirectX 11 goodness, the company has now posted a photo of a Fermi-based GeForce in action on its Facebook profile.

The caption reads, "Fun Photo of the Week: GF100 (the first GeForce GPU based on the Fermi architecture) running the Unigine Heaven DX11 benchmark!"

We talked about this benchmark about a month ago, and the image on the screen does correspond to the tessellated dragon in it. Of course, tinfoil-hat wearers will note that no clear connection between the graphics card and the display can be seen, so for all we know, the benchmark could be running on a Radeon-based system off-screen.

A look at the GF100 card itself shows a circuit board almost as long as its companion motherboard, with the usual SLI golden-finger connectors on the left and a pair of PCI Express power connectors (six- and eight-pin) side by side on the right. The cooler's black shroud engulfs the whole contraption, leaving pretty much everything else up to the imagination.

According to Fudzilla, GF100 cards like this one are running version A2 of the new GPU's silicon. The site says Nvidia will only go to market with the A3 revision, which would explain why GF100 cards aren't officially due until the first quarter of next year. Fudzilla says "multiple internal sources" point to a January launch, though.

68 comments —
Last by Meadows at 1:20 PM on 11/20/09

Report: RAM might get cheaper next month
by Cyril Kowaliski — 9:52 AM on November 18, 2009

Memory prices have sure swelled up over the past couple of months. In September, 4GB DDR2-800 kits were selling for as little as 40 bucks, but today, the cheapest ones go for almost $90. No wonder memory vendors are finally hopeful about recovery in this long-troubled market.

Consumers may get a chance to snag cheap(er) memory once again next month, though. The folks at DigiTimes have word from "some DRAM module makers in Taiwan" that prices may shift to "reflect seasonal demand" in December.

Korean memory chip manufacturers could play a part in the price drop, too. DigiTimes says its sources expect Korean firms who've weathered the crisis better than their Taiwanese counterparts "are likely to take advantage of their cost competitiveness and slash prices to boost shipments." The same Korean companies previously intended to drive prices up to prevent the Taiwanese government from aiding local memory makers, DigiTimes adds.

In the meantime, folks shopping for system RAM will be better off grabbing some DDR3, which has actually become more affordable than DDR2-800. (Newegg currently offers 4GB DDR3-1066 kits for as little as $82.99 shipped.) Good thing DDR3-compatible Socket AM3 and LGA1156 motherboards are cheap.

29 comments —
Last by packfan_dave at 11:52 AM on 11/19/09

Google plans Chrome OS event for tomorrow
by Cyril Kowaliski — 6:00 AM on November 18, 2009

On Friday, the folks at TechCrunch quoted a "reliable source" as saying Google's Chrome OS would become available within a week. That may well turn out to be true. The same site now says it has been notified that Google will hold a "special Chrome OS event" at its Mountain View, California headquarters tomorrow morning.

The event will involve a speech by two Google executives and a question-and-answer session. Reportedly, the executives will show some demos and provide a "complete overview" of the upcoming operating system, including nitty-gritty technical details.

As we noted last week when commenting on TechCrunch's first story, Google has always intended to make the Chrome OS source code available this year before properly launching the operating system in the second half of 2010. Perhaps we'll see some source code—and, who knows, maybe a bootable beta version of the OS—appear alongside tomorrow's event.

Once again, Chrome OS is a lightweight, Linux-based operating system aimed at netbooks. Chrome OS applications will run inside the web browser, and they should be cross-compatible with standards-compliant browsers on other platforms.

22 comments —
Last by UberGerbil at 12:34 PM on 11/19/09

GIS Day Shortbread
by Ronald Hanaki — 2:35 AM on November 18, 2009

GIS Day

1. Boy Genius Report: Apple Black Friday deals leaked?
2. C|Net reports Gartner says chip sales will rebound in 2010
3. AMD-Nvidia showdown looms as demand for graphics recovers
4. Donanim Haber reports Nvidia Fermi provides more (double
   precision) compute power than AMD Cypress (in Turkish)
5. VR-Zone: Fermi in trouble?
6. Bright Side of News reports Nvidia shows NV100 / GF100 running Unigine DX11 benchmark
7. Gaming PC executives respawn with Origin custom gaming PCs
8. A decade later, Intel's Itanium chip makes a profit
9. DigiTimes reports DRAM prices likely to drop in December, say module
   makers and Intel, NEC to develop supercomputer technologies
10. C|Net reports Intel an investor in storage firm for Apple users
11. Intel's Otellini worries about PC "pinch points"
12. TG Daily reports Otellini, Barrett others sued by shareholder over antitrust
13. Report slams Amazon over sales tax collection fight with states
14. T-Mobile admits employee sold private data
15. Verizon offers six months free DSL promo
16. TechCrunch reports Bing captures almost 10% search share in U.S.
17. TorrentFreak reports The Pirate Bay tracker shuts down for good
18. Hollywood wants to own your outputs (and that's a good idea)
19. Study shows MacBooks are more reliable than netbooks
20. Engadget reports Lenovo T410s leaks out, features not one but two ThinkLights
21. TC Magazine reports the Asus G51J 3D gaming laptop will reach North America, too
22. VR-Zone reports MSI releases N240GT series with Afterburner OC tool
23. TC Magazine reports Antec delivers the TruePower Quattro 1200W PSU
24. Expreview reports Accelero Twin Turbo Pro cooler makes its official debut
25. BCCHardware's podcast #17
26. Björn3D's Gigabyte Thanksgiving instant SLI contest
27. Guru3D's MSI Overclock and AfterBurner skin contests

Software

1. C|Net reports Google hosting Chrome OS demo event Thursday
2. PDC 2009 day 0: Vista is through
3. Microsoft: Azure to go live in January, for pay in February
4. What's next for Microsoft's Azure cloud platform?
5. Microsoft to share some details on IE 9 at PDC show this week
6. Microsoft ordered to stop some Windows sales in China
7. December 2009 cumulative time zone update for Microsoft Windows operating systems
8. Windows 7 application compatibility list for IT professionals
9. Ars Technica: Inside "MinWin" - The Windows 7 kernel slims down
10. FiringSquad reports Nvidia posts new WHQL-certified 195.55 driver
11. Microsoft broadens supercomputing reach through new offerings
12. Microsoft's Presentation Companion 1.0 (beta)
13. TG Daily reports Google tarts up its translate tool
14. PC World reports Kaspersky unveils Anti-Virus for Mac
15. TC Magazine reports ARM sets up Solution Center for Android

Gaming

1. Research and Markets: Report forecasts that Apple will help
   drive mobile game market sales to $11.7 billion by 2014
2. Engadget reports Facebook for PlayStation 3 'begins'
   this Thursday with firmware update 3.10 (video)
3. Joystiq reports Mad Catz offers alternative to Xbox 360 wireless N networking adapter
4. Shacknews reports Pandemic Studios not closing, but consolidating
5. Left 4 Dead Blog: An update for all you zombie killers in the UK
6. Ars Technica reports DSi downloads can be moved—with a little help from Nintendo
7. Joystiq reports Mass Effect 2 box art affected by massive change
8. Legion Hardware on Left 4 Dead 2 graphics performance
9. TestFreaks review Shattered Horizon
10. Shacknews reports Avatar: The Game PC demo arrives
11. FileFront has Dragon Age: Origins patch v1.01b
12. Borderlands, Left 4 Dead 2, and Section 8 updates released
13. Walmart cuts prices on toys, video games
14. GoGamer's 48-hour madness

Systems and storage

1. Engadget reports Alienware M17x owners complaining
   of 'skipping, stuttering audio,' with no fix in sight
2. Digital Trends reviews Apple MacBook 2009 and hp TouchSmart 300
3. NordicHardware on Asus Maximus III Extreme - The new standard for overclockers?
4. [H]ard|OCP reviews Gigabyte P55M-UD4
5. TechSpot's Intel P55 motherboards roundup
6. Motherboards.org reviews Intel DP55WG motherboard
7. The SSD improv at AnandTech: Intel & Indilinx get TRIM, Kingston brings Intel down to $115
8. TC Magazine reports Intel aims to release new firmware for 34nm SSDs this month
9. PC Perspective's 40GB Kingston SSDNow V Series desktop bundle review (with RAID)
10. Legit Reviews: 2 Kingston 40GB V Series boot drive SSDs in RAID 0
11. InsideHW reviews 500GB Samsung Spinpoint F3
12. ThinkComputers reviews Asus SBC-04D1S-U external slim Blu-ray combo drive

Graphics

1. Expreview reports Radeon HD 5970 ready to offer massive overclocking headroom
2. TC Magazine reports Sapphite ups Radeon HD 5970 clocks
3. NordicHardware reports on factory overclocked Radeon HD 5870 cards
4. AnandTech, Benchmark Reviews, FiringSquad, Guru3D, [H]ard|OCP, HardwareZone,
   Hexus.net, HotHardware, Legit Reviews, Legion Hardware, Neoseeker, PC Perspective,
   and TechSpot on AMD Radeon HD 5970
5. Hardware Canucks, PureOC, and TweakTown on Sapphire Radeon HD 5970
6. techPowerUp! on Asus EAH5970
7. DriverHeaven and Hartware (in German) on PowerColor HD 5970
8. techPowerUp! on HIS HD 5970 CrossFire
9. HardwareZone on Nvidia GeForce GT 240
10. OCC reviews Palit GT 240 Sonic

Mouse and casing

1. [OC]ModShop reviews SilverStone Raven 3200dpi gaming mouse
2. Madshrimps review Sunbeam Automaton case
3. BCCHardware reviews NZXT Beta Evo case
4. EOC reviews Antec Sonata case
5. ProClockers and Tweaknews review Thermaltake BlacX Duet dual HDD docking station

37 comments —
Last by Meadows at 1:10 AM on 11/19/09

$700 MSI 'nettop' has dual-core Pentium, Nvidia graphics
by Cyril Kowaliski — 5:22 PM on November 17, 2009

MSI's latest Wind "nettop" doesn't have the looks or software of Apple's iMac, but it's definitely not far from it in terms of hardware. Unlike previous all-in-one nettops, the new Wind AE2220 features a dual-core Pentium T4300 processor clocked at a peppy 2.1GHz. MSI couples the processor with a GeForce 9300 integrated graphics chipset from Nvidia. Best of all, prices start at only $700.

The base Wind AE2200 configuration also features a 21.5" 1920x1080 display, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a tray-loading DVD burner, built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Windows 7 Home Premium. MSI offers a different model that turns the 21.5" display into a multi-touch panel ripe for Windows 7's touch input support.

Folks with a little more cash kicking around can also opt for the high-end AE2220 model, which has a faster, 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T6600 processor, a 500GB hard drive, and a Blu-ray drive. That last feature is especially noteworthy, since Apple has yet to include Blu-ray drives in any of its systems (despite the popularity of Macs among more affluent users).

MSI tells us Wind AE2220 recommended pricing starts at $750. However, Amazon has already started taking pre-orders for the new Winds, and it offers one of 'em for only $699.99 shipped. The e-tailer also offers the Blu-ray variant for $899.99.

29 comments —
Last by shaq_mobile at 10:56 AM on 11/20/09

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