APPLE THROWS A WRENCH IN JAILBREAKING FOR IOS 5

While iOS 5 may bring about MANY welcome changes to the Apple handheld experience, it looks like Apple may have just rained a monsoon on the jailbreaking community's parade. With the new iteration of iOS, Apple have axed the ability to save SHSH blobs, which is what allows users to downgrade to previous iOS firmwares through iTunes. What this means is that if you are looking to downgrading your OS, you'll be limited to pre iOS5 firmwares. This is not just a problem for potential jailbreakers. Users will have no way to downgrade to a lower iOS5 version which works better than a (God-forbid) buggy update.

All is not lost though if you are bent on Jailbreaking your device, Dev Team will probably have a tethered jailbreak solution available. Lets just hope that tethered solutions are not the future for iOS jailbreaking. Let's see how this interesting turn of events pans out, can Dev Team pull out their ace in the hole?

 

Hit the source link for more details

 

(Souce: Cult Of Mac)

MORE RUMORS ABOUT THE IMPENDING IPHONE SITUATION COME SEPTEMBER

Wonder when analysts will make up their minds. It seems contrary to yesterday's news about there possibly being 2 iPhone models released in September, a new analyst report suggests that the iPhone 3GS will fill the gap for the low-mid end phone market. It comes after the rumours of an unlocked iPhone 4S for $350 were put under scrutiny purely for the fact that a current iPhone 4 unlocked would fetch $700. If this is true, the 3GS would be the first iPhone to spend over 3 years in the market. 

Personally I feel that Apple will just drop the price of the iPhone 4 to function as a low-mid end phone and perhaps an iPhone Nano will rear its head to give some variety to the family. But then again, what do I know? I'm not an analyst. ; )

(Source: Cult Of Mac)

THE WORLD’S FIRST TABLETS WITH HDD IS MADE POSSIBLE BY SEAGATE

If you’re not already confused by the many different tablet devices available out there, here’s one more to add to your list of consideration; especially if you’re looking for one powered by Android 3.1 – the ARCHOS G9 8 inch and 9 inch tablet. What makes these tablets of different size different from all the rest is how it’s equipped with Seagate Momentus Thin hard drive, making it the world’s first handheld tablet computers with hard drives. At a super slim profile of 7mm, the Seagate Momentus Thin is a speedy notebook hard drive perfect for the ARCHOS G9.

Packed with the industry’s fastest dual-core 1.5GHz processor, the ARCHOS G9 family of tablets gives users 250GB of storage capacity, a whopping 8 times more than a standard storage space of 32GB that is found on most device. But what’s more exciting is albeit the large difference in capacity, the cost is still the same which makes the G9 series very competitively priced.

“Seagate continues to break new ground in the development of products and technologies that matter most to customers by delivering the Momentus Thin drive for these powerful ARCHOS tablets. The Momentus Thin drive gives tablet buyers a compelling option, providing great storage capacity and performance that dovetail with the processing power of the new ARCHOS products for great Android and multimedia experiences.” – Rocky Pimentel, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Seagate.

Both the ARCHOS G9 tablets are scheduled to be available in late September. 

Hit the break for more information about the world’s first 2.5” hard drive with a 7mm profile or visitwww.archos.com for more information regarding the tablets.

The Seagate Momentus Thin hard drive is ideal for tablet computers and other ultra-portables, entry-level to high-performance laptop PCs, and slim consumer electronics devices. The world’s first 2.5-inch hard drive with a 7mm profile features:

- Seagate SmartAlign technology to smooth the transition to 4K sectors without the need for software utilities

- 320GB, 250GB and 160GB capacities

- 7200RPM and 5400RPM spin speeds with 16MB of cache

- Optional: Government-grade encryption to protect computer data where it lives – on the hard drive – for powerful data security. (The Momentus Thin drive is FIPS 140-2 certified, delivering government-grade encryption, and conforms to the Trusted Computing Group Opal specification, developed to enable the ecosystem for self-encrypting drives and increase their adoption.)

ASUS LAUNCH THE JAY CHOU SPECIAL EDITION N-SERIES NOTEBOOK

Called the special edition N-series, or the ASUS N-series Jay Chou Special Edition (N43SL) in full, this new machine is endorsed by and also designed by Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou.

Running on Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors (i3/i5/i7), the N43SL also comes with up to 8GB of memory, a 14-inch LED backlit display, NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M, and up to 750GB of HDD space.

On the cover, you will find a Chinese porcelain inspired design motif that features all the elements that make Jay tick – Chinese martial arts, music and magic – and on the palm rest area, you’ll find a musical score for his songSecret.

Since Jay is one of Taiwan’s top entertainers, it’s only natural that he would want the N43SL to come with good audio, and it certainly delivers thanks to a huge speaker bar by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower.

The price and specification of the ASUS N-series Jay Chou Special Edition is expected to vary between countries in the region, and we’re told that it will be arriving on our shores in the middle of July.

For more information on the ASUS N43SL, visit the official ASUS website at http://my.asus.com. You can also find out more about the Jay Chou campaign at http://www.isoi.asia.

KARLDON PLEDGES TO PROTECT YOUR GADGETRY WITH THE NIMITZ 5VSAT

With all of today's insane and mind blowing gadgetry readily available for purchase on the open market, it's easy to forget how important a humble piece of equipment like an extension cord can be.

Love 'em or hate 'em, extension cords will be here to stay and thanks to technology, they are getting better with time.

Today we take a look at the Nimitz 5VSAT from Karldon, a SIRIM approved local manufacturer that is churning out some awesome looking products.

At first glance, it's easy to mistake the Nimitz for an imported product. An extension cord is an extension cord, but the slick lines on the Nimitz clearly differentiate it from the run-of-the-mill supermarket quality fodder thanks the vision of industrial designer Robert Schor who envisioned it to represent the USS Nimitz warship / aircraft carrier.

On the body of the Nimitz, you'll only find one ON/OFF switch at the end. Under that are two LED lights - one to show earthing status and one showing protection status. These are in place because the Nimitz not only functions as an extension cord, but also as a surge protector.

The Nimitz 5VSAT comes with five power sockets, and looking at the product catalog, is also available in six and eight port variants. In terms of surge protection, this product is able to handle up to 1780 Joules, a figure that's pretty impressive and is almost double when compared to other products on the market.

Like it's namesake, the Nimitz 5VSAT also offers surge protection for satellite TV and for your telephone lines. This means it'll be a welcome addition to your ASTRO set top box, your fax machine, and your ADSL modem router.

Admittedly, we didn't review this product due to the fact that we don't have the right equipment or technical know-how to simulate a power surge or a lightning strike, but what really impressed us the most about the Nimitz 5VSAT was the insurance coverage that the product provides.

According to the manual, all Karldon products ship with a lifetime product warranty AND insurance coverage. For the Nimitz 5VSAT specifically, Karldon will pay up to RM8000 in damages for devices that are damaged when plugged in. Of course, the manual also features an extended list of terms and conditions in regards to warranty claims, but in essence, money is only paid if and only if the protected light is on when the extension cord is turned on.

All in all, the Karldon Nimitz 5VSAT looks impressive for something as simple as an extension cord. In terms of design, it visibly trumps over the boxy nature of its competition. In terms of surge protection and warranty coverage, it also manages to out do the competition by a staggering two-fold.

OVERCLOCK YOUR PC GPU OVER WIFI THROUGH YOUR PHONE. SERIOUSLY.

MSI has been bringing the (once) fine art of overclocking straight to the masses with the advent of tools like their OC Genie and updated Wind Bios. In a curious move, MSI have unveiled the Afterburner Android App which allows you to monitor the temperature, voltage, fan speed and such things of your GPU via WiFI and for the truly brave, to overclock and overvolt. In all honesty I don't see how this is that useful other than to see how your graphics card is doing while you're playing a game or something, but I'm sure the functionality will find its uses. Lets just hope no one gets ahold of your phone while you're raiding or something.

E3 2011: RAZER MEET STAR WARS FOR THE OLD REPUBLIC

First announced in 2008, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) is finally heading to the market very soon. So, what’s a Star Wars game without a tie-up, right? Hence, Razer has come out with several gaming peripherals that will bear the game’s name and theme.

First up is the SWTOR keyboard which comes with a set of ten dynamic keys similar to those on Razer Switchblade micro gaming PC. Other than that, it also comes with a LCD track panel, fully programmable backlit keys, LED illuminations and around 2 meters of USB cable.

Of course, it would not be a Razer collection pack without a mouse. The button-gasmic nature of SWTOR mouse - 17 programmable buttons in total - pretty much gave way to its origin, the MMO-centric Razer Naga. There is nothing wrong with that though since SWTOR itself is an MMO. Combined with customizable LED illuminations, 5600dpi sensor, 1000Hz ultrapolling and interchangeable panels

Last but not least, Razer has also come out with a SWTOR headset. Featuring simulated 5.1 surround sound capabilities as well as flexible boom microphone, customizable LED illuminations and interchangeable panels

 All these new SWTOR peripherals by Razer will be available to gamers simultaneously with the SWTOR’s release into the market.

[Source: IGN]

NEW INKJET PRINTERS FROM HP TO HELP BUSINESS MOBILE CUSTOMERS

What are the benefits of going mobile? Well for an average end user like myself, it means I can get connected to my social life whenever I want, but for businesses and enterprises, mobility can help them maximize the company’s productivity. As 85% of global enterprise workforce is expected to go mobile by 2015, HP recently announced new business inject solutions designed to help business customers maximize productive as branch offices and mobile workforces proliferate – the HP Officejet Pro 8000 Enterprise Printer and HP Officejet 100 Mobile Printer that allow business customers and mobile professionals to print out high-quality documents wherever they are be it in the office or on the go.

“The rise of mobile workforce has altered the business landscape and technology requirements in recent years, and customer expectatios are higher when it comes to printing. With the new high-performing business inkjet solutions, HP has once again strengthened its industry-leading portfolio to help these customers succeed.” – Benard Chiang, Country General Manager, Imaging and Printing Group, HP Malaysia.

Hit the break to find out more about the features in these new printers.

Time-pressured mobile professionals can print with confidence and increase efficiency while on the go with the HP Officejet 100 Mobile Printer, a compact, durable device that offers:

— A powerful, long-life lithium ion battery – print up to 500 pages when the battery is fully charged and the included 65-watt AC power adapter is compatible with selected HP Notebooks.

— Built-in Bluetooth® wireless technology to print high-quality documents on the go from selected mobile devices including notebooks, netbooks and Windows Mobile®, BlackBerry, HP webOS and Nokia Symbian smartphones.(2)

— A 50-sheet paper tray and the ability to print at up to 22 ppm black/18 ppm color and ISO print speeds up to 5 ppm black/3.5 ppm color.(3)

— Ability to connect to a PictBridge compatible device and print lab-quality, borderless 4 x 6-inch photos on the go.(2, 4)

— Energy savings and extended battery life ­– ENERGY STAR® qualified, the device automatically powers down when idle.

Easy integration and impressive management features

To help address the IT challenges associated with printing support for remote workers as well as the space constraints of satellite offices and telecommuters, HP is offering its first Officejet Pro inkjet printer for the enterprise with built-in support for HP’s print management tools. The network-enabled HP Officejet Pro 8000 Enterprise Printer offers several benefits to enhance a company’s printing capabilities, including:

— HP Universal Print Driver and HP Web Jetadmin to easily integrate the device into managed printing environments, increasing productivity and reducing IT management costs.

— Compatibility across existing IT infrastructures and operating environments with support for SAP, Windows Cluster Server, Citrix Server and more.

— Professional color documents for up to 50 percent lower cost per page and energy use than laser printers.(5) The HP Officejet Pro 8000 Enterprise Printer is ENERGY STAR qualified and uses up to 50 percent less paper with automatic two-sided printing, and up to 80 percent less supplies and packaging by weight compared with color laser printers.(6)

—  Support for HP ePrint Enterprise, which gives users the ability to print from BlackBerry or HP webOS devices to any networked enterprise printer or thousands of HP ePrint Mobile Print locations.(7, 8)

— Enhanced efficiency of business processes with features like ISO print speeds of up to 13ppm black and 8.5ppm color,(3) automatic two-sided printing, a 15,000-page monthly duty cycle, a 250-sheet paper tray expandable up to 500 sheets, standard networking with built-in Ethernet and Hi-speed USB 2.0, and commercial support.

— Increased printing options with support for HP PCL 6, HP PCL 5c, HP Postscript 3 and 80 scalable TrueType fonts.(9) Additional fonts can be downloaded directly to the printer.

— Great value for frequent printing and less intervention with high-capacity cartridges and individual inks. Documents are water-resistant with HP Officejet pigment inks and ColorLok® papers. 

— Security management, including the ability to configure features such as a password-protected Embedded Web Server (EWS), SSL/HTTPS redirection, device firewall and Syslog for device events.

SONY ERICSSON LAUNCHES JAPAN EXCLUSIVE VERSION OF XPERIA ARC

Releasing a smartphone in Japan isn't easy. A device can come with all the bells and whistles that'll satisfy the majority of Asian smartphone users, but unless it comes with Japanese essentials like mobile wallet capabilities (NFC), a TV tuner and IrDA, that device will probably never take off in Japan.

Today, a refined version of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc called the Sony Ericsson Xperia arco has been announced in Japan and comes with the said enhancements. Essentially identical in terms of hardware specs, the addition of NFC, a TV tuner and a humble infrared port will probably be a big deal to Japanese consumers. The arco will most likely be tied to Docomo and come in three new colors, namely white, black and aqua.

There isn't a whole wealth of information on this device on the Sony Ericsson press site (heck, there aren't even any high-res photos), but if leaked presentations are your thing, then head over to Xperia Blog for a better understanding of this device - but only if you can read Japanese.

(Source: Sony Ericsson, Xperia Blog)

LINKSYS E4200 WIRELESS-N ROUTER: BRINGING SEXY BACK INTO THE EQUATION

Routers are one of those things that always seem to end up in the deepest and darkest crevices of the home. Putting them in such places are in no way functionally ideal, but who really has a choice unless the sight of an odd antenna or two poking out from the bookshelf is your idea of geek aesthetics.

Linksys, a name that has been involved in the router business for a number of years now, fully recognizes this “problem” and is aiming to remedy it with a red dot award winning design concept on their new Linksys E4200 Maximum Performance Dual-Band Wireless-N Router.

Combining all their router technology goodness – such as six internal antennas, 300Mbps/450Mbps (2.4/5.0GHz) throughput, and a USB port for network storage – with a healthy dose of aesthetic charm, it looks like this router may actually look good enough to be worthy of a space on the display unit now.

Performance:

• Maximum performance of up to 300 Mbps (2.4) and up to 450 Mbps (5.0GHz)
• Simultaneous dual-band (2.4 and 5.0 GHz) with four 10/100/100 gigabit ports
• 3X3 internal MIMO special stream configuration on the 5.0 Ghz band for ideal performance for streaming HD videos, gaming and voice
• Internal and external amplifiers for maximum speed at greater distances for added in-home mobility
• Six antennas for maximum range

Features:

• Quality of Service (QoS) for prioritizing bandwidth for movies, voice or music
• UPnP media server for adding on storage to serve your Internet-enabled TVs or media server PCs
• USB port for easily adding external storage drives
• red dot award winning design, with its contemporary and stylish exterior

Software:

• Advanced security: WPA and WPA2 and Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) Firewall
• Plans to support IPv6 in July 2011
• Cisco Connect software for enabling simple setup, network management tools (parental controls, guest access) and optional advanced settings

SEAGATE ANNOUNCES NEW 3.5-INCH HARD DRIVES WITH 1TB PER PLATTER

Seagate have recently announced that they have managed to break the industry’s areal density barrier by unveiling hard drive platters with a density of 625 Gigabits per square inch. This in turn enabled them to develop a series of 3.5-inch hard drives - lead by their GoFlex Desk range of external hard drives with capacities of up to 3TB - featuring 1TB of storage space per disk platter

“Organizations of all sizes and consumers worldwide are amassing digital content at light speed, generating immense demand for storage of digital content of every imaginable kind. We remain keenly focused on delivering the storage capacity, speed and manageability our customers need to thrive in an increasingly digital world,” - Rocky Pimentel, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Marketing, Seagate.

Additionally, the new platters are also on their way to 3.5-inch Barracuda desktop hard drives which are expected to be available in the market by mid-2011 in 3TB, 2TB, 1.5TB and 1TB capacities. However, no pricing details for these new hard drivers are available for the time being. For further information, head on to www.seagate.com.

[Source: Seagate]

TM ADDS SEVEN NEW PREMIUM CHANNELS TO HYPPTV LINEUP

Telekom Malaysia Berhad has recently announced that they have added seven new premium channels to their HyppTV lineup, five new Video On Demand (VOD) categories and two new interactive applications to Malaysia’s newest Pay TV service – HyppTV. This means that by June 2011 when these new addition becomes available, HyppTV will have a total of 44 channels – 15 free channels, 29 premium channels, 14 VOD categories and 11 interactive applications.

The new channels are as follows:

Premium channels: Al Jazeera, tvN HD, Nat Geo Adventure HD, Nat Geo Music, Syfy HD, SS Music and EMAS.

VOD categories: Series – Malaysian Package, Knowledge – Nature Package, Kids – Dino, Anamasi and Galaxy.

Applications: Facebook and Youtube.

“We are very excited about these additions because we believe they offer a unique niche for discerning customers out there. Our network and reach are growing very fast, and the more customers we have, the more diverse our programming becomes. Because we are flexible, we are able to cater to a larger audience with varying tastes in programme consumption. In line with our efforts to play a significant role in facilitating the digital lifestyle of Malaysians, HyppTV allows viewers to enjoy entertainment options and other content through ways that go beyond their normal TV viewing experience. The HyppTV viewing experience will influence and guide our customers’ perspective on their content choices and options in the future.” -- Jeremy Kung, Executive Vice President, New Media, TM.

VIDEO GAMES LIVE IS COMING TO MALAYSIA ONCE AGAIN

Did you missed last year’s Video Games Live at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre? I did and I still crying in my sleeps thinking about it. Ok, kidding about the crying part but I was seriously frustrated until just mere minutes ago when an eagle eyed reader has pointed to us that Video Games Live has confirmed the date and venue of their 2011 show in Kuala Lumpur. Is that cool or what?

According to the show’s official website, Video Games Live show in Kuala Lumpur will take place on Saturday, 1st October at National Stadium. It is rather a weird selection of venue for such a gig since the National Stadium of Bukit Jalil is rather too huge and open; hence, I believe that the actual venue would either be at Stadium Putra or Stadium Negara.

That being said, I don’t think venue is a big problem as I’m sure many gamers and music lovers alike will swarm the show no matter where it is going to held, so let’s wait for the full details from the local organizer. This time, I will definitely be there at the show.

[Source: Video Games Live. Image: Roxanne Ready, used under Creative Commons license. Thanks toKyoyagami for pointing it out!]

HIS TAKES ON AMD RADEON HD 6450, 6570 AND 6670

Released back in February, these three budget AMD Radeon HD 6000 series graphic cards – the 6450, 6570and 6670 - were originally available only for OEM companies. However, AMD has quietly made them available recently at retail stores through many of their partners including HIS.

While the technical specifications of HIS offerings are very close to AMD’s reference design, the new HIS Radeon HD 6450, 6570 and 6670 are available in a variety of cooling options especially for 6450 where it is available in both fan and fanless design. Even though they are budget graphic cards, they are still come equipped with many features as per other more advanced GPU in Radeon HD 6000 series such as DirectX 11 support, AMD Eyefinity multi-monitor technology, AMD CrossFire (software-based only), AMD HD3D and many more; making them a good alternative to integrated graphic processors inside desktop PCs.

For further information, head on to your favourite retailers or visit HIS official website at www.hisdigital.com.

DUAL SIM CARD SOLUTION FOR YOUR IPHONE 4!

If you're an iPhone 4 toting jet setter, constantly travelling between two countries, and hence constantly having to swap and store two different SIM cards, look no further! The brand new 2Phone case for the iPhone 4 from Rebelsimcard.com features a SIM card slot which allows you to make and receive calls from a second line without having to swap SIM Cards. No switching on the software side is needed either, it all goes on simultaneously so you wont miss a call on either line. For this to work however, your phone must be jailbroken to use the accompanying app. 

Not only is the 2Phone case a useful second SIM Card enabler, it's also a 800AH battery which adds much needed extra juice to your iPhone. The only downside though is that the case costs a hefty US$250. I like the idea of what it does, but do I like it enough to drop US$250 on one? I don't know, perhaps carrying the paperclip on me is a better option.

NEW SANDY BRIDGE APPLE MACBOOK PRO'S FREEZING UNDER LOAD

Apple's new Sandy Bridge laptops sure are some amazing bits of kit, I know I want one. The combination of Intel's speedy new processors and AMD's latest graphics solutions for laptops is a match made in heaven. Or is it? According to a huge thread on Apple's support forum, a huge bunch of users are finding that their brand spanking new 2011 Macbook Pros are freezing up under heavy load. Users are complaining that when heavily making use of the new AMD graphics card over the integrated Intel ones to perform intensive tasks, the Macbook Pros are either displaying a strange banding across the screen or freezing up, rendering the machine useless until reboot.

The strange thing is, reading accounts across the net, one user managed to access the machine remotely via SSH, and it seemed that it was still running albeit with a frozen screen which leads me to believe its AMD's infamous substandard graphics drivers causing the problems. So if you have a 2011 Macbook Pro, switch to the integrated graphics for now and lets all hope that they fix the problem sharpish. Anyone with the same problems? Let us know how you fixed it in the comments! 

THE NEW SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 10.1 AND 8.9, SLIMMER AND BETTER

It’s no longer a surprise that after Apple launched its thinner and lighter iPad 2, Samsung feels slightly threatened and even announced that they’re reconsidering the price for the Galaxy Tab 10.1, so what happened yesterday at the Samsung CTIA Wireless 2011 press conference? Announcement of the pricing of course, and Samsung did not only announce and officially unveil the Galaxy 8.9 they’ve been teasing consumers over the past few weeks, they also announced a totally revamped Galaxy Tab 10.1

So what’s new on both the tablet devices from Samsung? First of all, amazed (and probably inspired) by how slim the iPad 2 is, Samsung decided to give its gadgets a diet too, achieving an amazing slim design that measures at 0.33”, just slightly slimmer than the iPad 2 that measures at 0.34” thick. Both the models also comes with a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a SIM card slot for the 3G versions of both models. The camera sounds kind of disappointing though, both of them comes with a 3MP camera at the back of the device inclusive of a LED flash while the front can capture at 2MP.

Hit the break for more information.

NZXT ANNOUNCES H2 CLASSIC SILENT PC CHASSIS

Even though current generation of computer hardware are relatively quieter - judging from a number of our recent hardware reviews – some users just can’t stand any noises coming from their computer. Well, if you are one of them, the California-based NZXT might have something for you.

Designed to prevent users from being disturbed by the noises coming from their rig, the new NZXT H2 Classic Silent Midtower Chassis is layered with premium noise dampening foam which is said to be able to stop hardware noise from being heard outside of the chassis. Not enough with that, the chassis also comes with a magnetic cover over its top 140mm fan which can be removed for better air flow.

“Noise is a distracting by-product of a powerful gaming rig that can confuse and endanger the avid gamer in the heat of battle. H2 delivers peace of mind through absolute silence effectively enhancing concentration and accuracy to set the stage for complete gaming domination,” -Johnny Hou, Founder and Chief Designer, NZXT.

NZXT has also equipped the steel chassis with a removable 3-phase fan controller that allow users to adjust the chassis fan speeds at 40%, 70% and 100%; together with a number of other features such as hot swap able SATA HDD dock, USB 3.0 port and 25mm empty space behind motherboard for easier cable management.

ASUS UNLEASHES THREE GEFORCE GTX 550 TI MODELS, ADDS GTX 590 WHILE AT IT

If you somehow didn’t get the memo, NVIDIA has recently announced two new graphic cards under their GeForce 500 series – the easy on the pocket GTX 550 Ti and the monstrous dual core GTX 590. Now that both of them are already official, it is time for their partners to come out with their take on both new cards to the market and ASUSare bringing out quite a number of offerings for consumers everywhere to get their hands on.

For GeForce GTX 550 Ti, ASUS has come out with three different models that feature slightly higher processor’s clock speed than NVIDIA’s reference design. The lowest of the three - the standard edition – runs at 910 MHz while the TOP and Ultimate edition are rated at 975MHz and 1015MHz respectively. All three cards also come with tweaked memory clock speed but the increments are rather noticeable for standard and TOP edition cards at 4104 MHz while the Ultimate edition receives better treatment at 4200MHz.

All ASUS GTX 550 Ti are also equipped with ASUS own all-cooper DirectCU cooling solution that promises lower running temperature up to 20% than stock cooling, together with power delivery components that are made from ASUS custom Super Alloy Power mixture. The ASUS GeForce GTX 550 TI series are priced from RM 599 onwards.

Meanwhile, for those who are hungry for more power, the ASUS GTX 590 is not something that you can easily miss. However, compared to all the performance tweaks that ASUS GTX 550 Ti series receives, the ASUS GTX 590 is rather closer to reference design with only 5 MHz increase in its processor’s clock speed but since there are no other single cards in NVIDIA stable that are currently faster than a GTX 590, it is still one feisty release from the company. Users are still able to push the card’s clock speed up to 918 MHz through ASUS Voltage Tweak utility give they have the bravery to do that and of course, the right conditions. No pricing is available at the moment though.

For further information about these new NVIDIA GeForce 500 series cards from ASUS, head on to your favourite retailers or visit ASUS official website at www.asus.com. Check out the cards full specifications right after the jump.

HTC FLYER IS COMING TO OUR MARKET, CONFIRMED BY MAXIS

Ready or not, HTC’s first tablet – the Flyer – is about to land here in Malaysia. The 7-inch tablet was first announced at the recent Mobile World Congress as part of HTC's line-up for 2011 and runs on Android 2.4underneath a table-optimized implementation of HTC Sense. Internally, it is powered by a single-core 1.5GHz processor together with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

So, guess which telco is getting the first dibs of the new device here in Malaysia? Although the exclusivity status is unknown for now, it seemed that the HTC Flyer will at least be available through Maxis first. This was revealed through their Twitter account as they are now looking for reviewers to join their next batch of Maxis10 Reviewers’ Program which will be featuring the new tablet.

Judging from my past observation of the program - which have previously included iPhone 4 and recently, theNexus S - Maxis will usually put up a recruitment notice very near to the official launch of a highlighted device. So, if you are down for HTC Flyer, get ready for its arrival then.

KLIPSCH SPEAKERS COMING TO ALIENWARE M17X

Not all laptops come with a set of premium speakers but such feature is certainly not a new thing in the market. Quite a number of well-known audio brands such as Altec Lansing, JBL and Harman Kardon have been providing speakers for laptops for quite some time but for Klipsch, this is a new frontier for them. For the first time ever, a laptop will carry their name as the next iteration of Alienware M17X will come with Klipsch speakers built into them.

No other information is available regarding the new audio solution that they developed for Alienware but since 5.1 and 7.1 surround audio capabilities have been listed on the M17X specifications on Dell USA’s website, we expect that it going to be pretty good. Furthermore, since the new M17X will also come with HDMI-In port for users to actually hook up their consoles to the laptop, a good built-in audio speakers is a must for M17x. Not to forget, the original model have very loud speakers when we tested it a while ago.

We have no idea when the refreshed M17X will be available in Malaysia – Dell Malaysia's website is still showing the old model - but for consumers in US, they are able to get it from this month onwards for RM 4,598 (USD 1,499).

TWESTIVAL KL CONTINUES GOODWILL TRADITION INTO 2011

It's time once again for Kuala Lumpur's annual twitter festival (more famously known as "Twestival") to create greater awareness for charitable causes. KL is but one of 200 cities across the world holding a Twestival for local charities and this year, KL has chosen Pertubuhan Masyarakat Prihatin as their charity of choice. This years Twestival is Kuala Lumpur's 3rd, and will be held on the 24th March at Finnegans's Irish Pub and Restaurant, Mid Valley from 7:30pm onward. 

This year, the event will be presided over by emcee Will Quah as well as Elaine Daly. For your entertainment, local comedian Kuah Jenhan and the darling of the Malaysian Indie Music scene, Liyana Fizi will be working the crowd.  

So if you spend most of your virtual lives on twitter, come by and meet the people behind the handles and contribute toward the RM12,000 target for Twestival to raise for Prihatin this year. Tickets are available at the door for a minimum donation of RM35 and for every ticket sold, the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) is matching it RM for RM. 

We'll be there, come look out for us @luc_sohow, @wernshen, @chapree & @hueisong. Don't be shy and say hi!

For more info, visit http://kualalumpur.twestival.com

REPLACE YOUR MOUSE WITH A DOG (KINDA)

We've seen some crazy input peripherals in the past, and this one is way up there with the champs. Check out the evoMouse pet, a dog-shaped device, which turns your working surface into a touchpad. The way it works is it tracks your finger movements, allowing you to do the standard mouse gestures as well as multitouch gestures which laptop users and will be most familiar with. The device can even recognise your handwriting if you use your finger or pen.

The evoMouse Pet will connect to a host of devices via bluetooth including your Macs, iOS devices, Windows, Android and even BlackBerry. Celluon says the evoMouse Pet will be available in the UK come April for about US$99.

SEAGATE’S NEW 3TB BARRACUDA XT PROVIDES SOLUTION TO 2.1TB BARRIER

It is common to own terabytes of storage space these days but it is not something that computing pioneers back in 1980s have managed to foreseen. Hence, legacy PC BIOS and operating systems such as Windows XP are not able to support hard drive with capacity that goes beyond 2.1TB due to the limit of logical block address range.

Usually, one would require extra hardware or software to overcome that limitation but not with the new Seagate Barracuda XT 3TB hard drive. The new hard drive utilizes Seagate’s own DiscWizard software which enables the OS to detect the hard drive actual storage capacity for users to access. On top of that, the Seagate Barracuda XT is also a high performance SATA 3.0 hard drive boasting a 64MB cache and 7200RPM spin speed.

As Seagate have begun to ship the new hard drive to stores worldwide, expect it to arrive at your favourite retailers very soon.For further information, head on to www.seagate.com.

MAGICAL PEN CAN TRANSFORM ITSELF DEPENDING ON HOW IT'S BEING HELD

Imaging transforming your stylus into a pen, pencil, spray paint, compass, brush, stamp, and even musical instruments like the flute and saxophone. Thanks to Microsoft Research, they have created a magical pen grip that can dynamically reconfigure itself to be any digital device you want it to be. Of course, when I mentioned those items, I don’t mean they will transform in reality, but instead, depending on the way you hold the stylus – like a flute, airbrush or like a pen – the program will recognize that and automatically transform the functionality of the device.

Equipped with capacitive multi-touch sensor and orientation sensor, the device can easily recognize the way it is being held and move so it will switch between the 8 different functionalities on the fly; who needs to click around to change your pen into an airbrush? While it can only transform into either one of eight functionalities, I see great potential with this recognizing pen grip. If you’re a designer, is this something you’ll be lusting over? VisitMicrosoft Research for more information.

(Source: Dvice)

DIY PULSE LASER GUN SHOOTS THROUGH OBJECTS AND POSSIBLY YOUR HAND

Laser gun is a standard weapon in any science fiction flicks, ranging from Star Wars (Han shot first!) to Star Trek. How is it actually like to own such powerful weapon? Well, as demonstrated by Patrick Pribe, it is indeed quite awesome.

Hand built by Patrick himself, the gun is equipped with a small pulse laser head that is able to fire 1MW worth of infrared light. As shown in the short video demo –available after the jump – it is able to shoot through balloons, styrofoam and plastics and is also able to leave visible damage to wood and aluminium. Not to forget, the gun also looks pretty good and would make any science fiction fans drool.

While I assume that it is not able to pierce through your hand but still, I don’t want to be the person at the receiving end. I do, however, wish it has better sound though.

[Source: Hacked Gadgets via Hack a Day and Slashdot]

8.9 MAGNITUDE QUAKE HITS JAPAN, 10-METER TSUNAMI WASHES INLAND

A massive 8.9 magnitude quake has hit northeast Japan, causing a four-meter tsunami along parts of the country's
coastline.

A ten-metre tsunami hit Sendai airport in the north-east. Television footage showed people standing on the roof of the terminal building.

Four million homes in Tokyo were said to be without electricity.The quake shook buildings in the capital for several minutes and sent people out onto the streets.

The quake that struck at 2:46pm was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks, including a 7.4-magnitude one about 30 minutes later. 

 -- Al Jazeera News

Our prayers go out to the people in Japan. If you want to keep up to date with the this situation but don't have access to a TV, head on to Al-Jazeera for a live stream with full English commentary.

Also take note that a tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and U.S. state of Hawaii. 

(via Al Jazeera live stream)

MAKE ADJUSTMENTS IN LIGHTROOM VIA YOUR IPAD

Looks like there's one more use for the iPad that some photographers can enjoy. With the US$10 app called LRPAD, you can now use your iPad to make adjustments to your images via a plug-in installed on your main machine. This will make full use of your screen real estate, allowing you to hide your adjustments panel in Lightroom and instead use the 10.1 inches of the iPad for that purpose. 

The app allows you to manipulate the sliders in Lightroom's main sections, Basic, Detail, Colour, Camera and Metadata. The big issue here with anything over a wireless connection is that there will be quite a noticeable lag between your finger adjusting the slider, to the effect appearing on screen. This to me is a dealbreaker as when I post-process my image, I want to see instant results and I can only imagine how frustrating it would be to adjust minute things like sharpness and contrast would be on a laggy device. 

All in all it's a good concept and if it was a little bit faster, LRPAD would have my money. For now, I'll just stick to my standard workflow thank you very much!

AMD’S DUAL-GPU RADEON HD 6990 IS NOW OFFICIAL

Looks like AMD can’t be bothered to wait for NVIDIA anymore. After much teasing here and there, AMD’s new dual-GPU graphics monster – the Radeon HD 6990 – is finally ready to meet the market. Equipped with 4GB ofGDDR5 memory that runs at 1250MHz, the card comes with two BIOS so that users can either run its processor at the standard clock speed of 830MHz or boost the speed up to 880MHz by just flicking a switch. According to the company, the card is able to churn out more than 11000 points in the 3DMark11 benchmark suite.

AMD also introduced a new dynamic power management technology into the card that is called PowerTunewhich allows the card to run to automatically tune its output according to application's demand. Of course, being a Radeon HD 6000 series card, standard features such as DirectX 11 support, Eyefinity multi-display technology, EyeSpeed visual accelerators, HD3D capability and integrated HD audio controller are also included in this card. CrossFire X capability is available on this card as well, specially for those who are crazy enough to pair two of this card together.

For further information, head on to your favourite retailer or AMD's official website at www.amd.com. Before you do that though, check out the card’s product shots right after the jump.

INTEL INTRODUCE NEW DUAL-CORE ATOM PROCESSOR

Last week, Intel announced the arrival of the new dual-core N570 processor into their long running Atom family of processor for netbooks. Being the second dual-core Atom offering from Intel after the release of N550 in August 2010, the new N570 is relatively the same as its older sibling - four threads, 1MB of L2 cache, support for DDR3 667 memory and 8.5W TDP - except that it has a slightly higher clock speed at 1.66GHz.

Intel stated that systems based on the new core will heading to consumers starting from this month onwards and quite a number of such system were already on display at the recently concluded CeBIT 2011. So, expect them to be available in our market soon enough.

[Source: Intel and Softpedia]