My PC Universe

Momentus 5400 FDE.2: HDD with embedded encrypting system from Seagate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:14:00 +0000

Many users ignore safety of their data. Most of them are well protected against harmful software: they have anti-virus and firewall. But there are few who thinks about protection from physical stealing. And here comes a solution - new Seagate HDD Momentus 5400 FDE.2

There are two possible dangers: losing of data and information leakage. If hard drive is broken, data stored on it will be lost. If you make backups regularly, actual damage to the data will be minimal. But if you cannot physically protect storage device or whole system, your data may be compromised, which means unauthorized users will have access to your information.

Most troublesome are mobile users. When they work on PC's inside corporate building data usually stored on unified file servers or local discs. Local security policy and IT-infrastructure are usually enough to provide maximum data security. It could be compromised only in case of breach in IT-infrastructure or if someone will physically steal disc drive or copy data via direct access.

You know some standard methods of protection: BIOS password, Windows authentication and so on. But is good only for keeping your kids from playing on your PC while you are absent.

The only effective mean of protection is a hardware one. Seagate used new Trusted Platform Module in it's Momentus HDD. But you'll need special software all the same.

All models of Momentus series are represented by most popular modifications of 80, 120 and 160 Gb. It is not as fast as leaders such as Spinpoint M5 (Samsung), Hitachi Travelstar 5K250 or new Momentus 5400.4, but encrypting almost does not affects speed.

It is not supported by Windows Vista for now so you'll have to use Windows SP Home or Professional. To activate encrypting procedures you have to install FinallySecure package by Secude. After that you receive small second partition where you can store your most valuable information. To access it you'll have to enter login and password. When connected to other system this partition renders empty.

Technorati Tags: HDD,Seagate,Security,Windows,Samsung,Hitachi,PC,data storage

GeForce 9600 GT with passive cooling

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:12:00 +0000

It seems engineers of Micro-Star International intend to provide customers with all imaginable and unimaginable accelerators based on graphic processing unit GeForce 9600 GT. No other manufacturer can boast such variety of goods based on D9P chip technology.

Developers brought another modification with index N9600GT-2TD512Z to international exhibition CeBIT 2008. It has alternative double-slot passive cooling system which consists of impressive-sized radiator and four heat pipes.

This modification built on non-standard red circuit board, has 512 Mb GDDR3 memory with 156-bit interface and functions on frequencies of 650/1625/1800 MHz perfectly matching etalon numbers.

There is no approximate information about price and public release date of N9600GT-2TD512Z.

[via 3dnews.ru]

Technorati Tags: GeForce,MSI,Nvidia,PC,Video Card

Asus Triton 79 AMAzing - Yep, It is Really Amazing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:39:00 +0000

Asus announced production of 3200 CPU coolers Triton 79 AMAzing. This move was specially made for gamers. Asus Triton 79 AMAzing is compatible with Intel Core 2 extreme / Core 2 Quad (LGA775) and AMD Athlon 64 FX/X2 Dual -Core (939/940/AM2/AM2+/1207+). This cooler is perfect for gamers who want to squeeze maximum power from hardware and also have the platform alternative.

Each part of Asus Triton 79 AMAzing is defended with polyurethane foam. Every customer will have exclusive identification card with device serial number. Without a doubt, every gamer will like this cooler for it's performance and very nice looking design.

Technorati Tags: Asus,Asus Triton 79 AMAzing,Triton,Cooler,Gamers

Radeon 3870 X2 on CeBIT: DDR4 RAM and Water Cooling

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:38:00 +0000

Most of AMD's partners on CeBIT released Radeon 3870 X2 video cards with DDR4 instead of DDR3. Radeon 3870X2 with water cooling also will be shown. Mass production of these video cards with DDR4 memory planned for middle March 2008. And you can find such a cards in shops around a first half of April 2008.

Cost of Radeon 3870 X2 with DDR4 will be slightly higher than its analogues with DDR3 memory, but exact overprice isn't known yet. Performance with new memory will be improved of course but not very much.

Technorati Tags: Radeon 3870 X2,Radeon,AMD,ATI,Video Card,DDR4,CeBIT

Dell Doesn't Want to Sell AMD Anymore

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:08:00 +0000

It seems Dell Company has disappointed in AMD based desktop computers and now seriously shrinks its stock of AMD related consumer products. Confirming this Dell announce that now you can't buy AMD based computer on Dell's website. And you can get such a computer only by phone or in offline shop.

This news rushed down AMD shares immediately. Shares felt on 4.7% to cost as low as $6,28 per share. It was just a excuse because the market was waiting for some bad news about AMD for 2 weeks already. Dell claims that it affects only website and AMD products may come back at any moment.

Dell is second in rating of world's leading computer manufacturers. It started to assemble desktop computers with AMD processors in may 2006. Now you can find only one desktop computer with AMD processor on the Dell website: Dell OptiPlex 740. Server solutions are not affected now.

Technorati Tags: Dell,AMD,Dell website,Dell OptiPlex 740

.Asia can be registered now

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:07:00 +0000

New top-level domain ".asia" is available for registration. Registration and control are entrusted to nonprofit organization DotAsia Organization Limited which consist of members from China, India and Japan.

So far registration available only for companies located in Asia-Pacific region which have registered trademarks and for government offices. Regular people will be able to register .asia domains only in February 2008.

Currently Asia has 400 million users(for example 253 million in North America).

Technorati Tags: .Asia , Asia , Top-level Domain , TLD

Toshiba recalls 142 000 DVD player AC adapters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:15:00 +0000

Toshiba announce one more massive recall again, not a good sign for company.

AC Adapters sold with portable DVD players may overheat and even ignite when they fail, potentially threatening the user. This recall comes after two DVD players was burned, however, no injuries have been reported. You bought affected DVD player if it was between January 2005 and April 2006 at consumer electronics stores in US then and Your AC adapter has "ADPV16" mark. Don't use dangerous AC adapters and contact Toshiba service for replacement.

Affected AC adapter:

Technorati Tags: Toshiba , AC Adapter , ADPV16 , Recall , SD-P1600 , DVD player

Do You Want To Have Your Own Universe?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 10:56:00 +0000

If you want to broadcast your messages to the whole world you can be builder of My PC Universe(or any another blog of MyUniverseRing). We are waiting for your contribution.

Technorati Tags: Blogging , Blogger , Contribution

Goog-411

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:17:00 +0000

Google started new service - Goog-411. This is search on the phone for US. You can call 1-800-GOOG-411, ask your query and operator will read the answer from Google. Of course this service is free.

Technorati Tags: Google , Goog-411 , Phone Search

Vixta: Vista Look and Feel for Penguins

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 18:02:00 +0000

Vixta - new Linux distributive with very strange target audience. It is supposed to be used by Linux users impressed with Windows Vista and wanted to have similar-looking desktop.

Vista based on Fedora with customized KDE. It has widgets, main menu and taskbar in Vista style but inside it's still Linux. So in that a la Vista main menu you'll find Konqueror instead of Explorer, OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office etc.

Technorati Tags: Vixta , Vista , Linux , Windows , OS

WiFi everywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 10:14:00 +0000

New shirt from ThinkGeek has animated WiFi and shows signal level to everyone. Now you can to find best place for WiFi just walking around. Detector placed on the shirt with stickers so you can wash it without harming electronics. I think it would be very nice present for a friend with IT interests.

Technorati Tags: WiFi , ThinkGeek , WiFi Shirt , Gadgets

Google gets Extra Large size

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 23:03:00 +0000

"Extra Large" option appeared in Google Image Search. Now you can use it if you want to find really big pictures. For example querying "Ferrari" with that option you can get 3414 x 2968 photo found by Google. But I think it would be more interesting when Google implement feature that gives opportunity to set searching dimensions manually. Something like "300-500 wide and 200-250 height".

Technorati Tags: Google , Google Image Search , Extra Large

A case was disclosed by Flickr

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:11:00 +0000

Six computers were stolen from the office of WorkSpace company. It was regular thievery but only one thing - it was disclosed by thief himself and online photo sharing service Flickr, owned by Yahoo.

WorkSpace had a company account on Flickr and stolen computers were using for uploading pictures on it. Thief, who didn't know about flickr-server function of his new computers, decided to make photos of himself. After that some nice photo of man with scary tattoos appeared on WorkSpace company's Flickr account. Photos was titled "Me". One of the WorkSpace's managers, Dane Brown saw that photos and didn't believed in such an ignorance. But it was true - thief upload photos of himself and pointed in title that it was he, who stole the computers.

Technorati Tags: Flickr , iMac , Photo , WorkSpace , Yahoo

Intel Phone Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 16:09:00 +0000

It looks like Phone Mania is spreading wider and wider among the top IT-companies. Next XPhone announced to be created by Intel. It is supposed to be innovative smartphone with sensor screen. You can see demonstration of Intel Phone in the video below:

By the way, don't You think Intel's phone can be called iPhone too? :)

PlayStation Store comes to PC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 14:41:00 +0000

Sony's network services for games distribution now available on PC. CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Kaz Hirai announced that PlayStation store can be reached from PC in Japan now. Of course we thought that Sony will spread this feature in Europe and North America.

Before now You could to use PlayStation Store for downloading games, demos and media only with PSP.

Google Phone to be released in Q1 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:26:00 +0000

As mobile phone producers from Taiwan says Google will released its phone right after model specification works and OS planning. Google still don't have any contracts with distributors and other partners. Earlier it was known that Google will use hardware EDGE-solutions of Texas Instruments, but recently leaked out that 3G technologies can be used in Google Phone.

But this using of 3G technologies can delay Google's announce of Google Phone. There's suggestion that Google will do its best to start GPhone in bound with Google's own OS, which must be competitive with such OS as Windows Mobile and Symbian.

Technorati Tags: Google , Google Phone , GPhone , Google OS

Do You want to get inside Apple's product?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:56:00 +0000

Apple CEO Steve Jobs met Volkswagen's chief Martin Winterkhorn few days ago. And they plan to meet again for discissions. That fact makes some experts think Apple and Volkswagen decided to create "iCar" - vehicle with significant amount of media device aboard. Such a proposition have an opportunity to get reality because Apple have partnership with a lot of automakers including VW. It can be great step for Apple to create a branded car but don't You think that Apple goes out from its territory?

Skype was attacked by... Microsoft

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 21:44:00 +0000

Skype is on at last. Numerous users of peer-to-peer phone service Skype was unable to use it for almost 2 days. It was greatest outage of Skype for all its history. There was a lot of gossips about reasons of this problem. Someone told about DDoS, someone told about hackers etc. But Skype recently revealed the real reason of crash. The attacker was Microsoft! Cause was the regular Window Update. Skype reports that update caused massive computers reboot and then massive sign in of Skype users. There were some error in program code and because of it chain reaction crashed whole the peer-to-peer system.

iPhone's keyboard sucks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 16:59:00 +0000

Usability study group User Centric shows in its study that iPhone's keyboard isn't as well as common QWERTY keyboards. Users on common keyboards make much less mistakes while typing texts or numbers and they are much quicker in typing texts. You can read more about it here.
Some pictures showing the difference between QWERTY keyboards and iPhone's keyboard:

Intel did it again!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 22:23:00 +0000

Not so much time ago Intel seriously cut prices on its processors. And now Intel repeat its move. Great price cut on quad-core processors bring them much closer to the consumers.

Nanotechnology rapidly increases cooling efficiency

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:10:00 +0000

by Gabriel Ikram

The OCZ Hydrojet cooler uses an advanced heatsink material
The first heatsink to make use of directional carbon nanotubes, the OCZ Hydrojet, was on display at Computex 2007. Carbon nanotubes, an allotrope of carbon, are widely regarded as the next major thermal interface material because of their superior thermal conduction properties.

The contact base of the OCZ Hydrojet is made completely of carbon-nanotubes, which OCZ claims are five times more efficient than copper. Carbon nanotubes have been looked upon as a strong alternative to traditional copper based heatsinks. They are ideal for application in heat transfer products because of their impressive heat-conduction properties. Carbon nanotube based interfaces have been shown to conduct more heat than conventional thermal interface materials at the same temperatures. In addition, they have shown to be ballistic conductors at room temperature, which means electrons can flow through CNTs without collisions.

Carbon nanotubes are small wire-like structures made out of a sheet of graphene. The sheet of graphene used to construct CNTs is roughly one-atom thick, and is rolled up into a cylinder. The diameter of the cylinder ranges in the nanometers.

Unlike most other thermal materials, carbon nanotubes are able to move heat in one direction. On the other hand, copper, which is looked upon as one of the more superior thermal materials, moves heat radially. In the case of CNTs, heat is moved along the alignment of the nanotubes.

(c) www.dailytech.com

Quick and Dirty AMD K10 Cinebench

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:04:00 +0000

by Kristopher Kubicki

An early AMD "Barcelona" revision gets its first non-simulated benchmark

Earlier today, AMD announced that it successfully demonstrated Barcelona across the server market. The company did not publically state how fast the processor was running, the stepping of the processor, the processor thermal envelope or the eventual ship date.

We had the opportunity to benchmark the AMD Barcelona, native quad-core on an early stepping. We only had a few minutes to test the chip, but we were able to run a quick Cinebench before we were instructed to leave.

The AMD benchmark ran on a single-socket, K10 CPU running at 1.6 GHz on NVIDIA's nForce Professional 3400 chipset. According to the system properties, the AMD system used 4GB of DDR2-667.

The most similar Intel system we could muster up on such short notice was an Intel Xeon 3220. The Xeon X3220 is clocked at 2.4 GHz, and ran on Intel's Garlow platform (Intel X38). This system property profile stated the system utilized 4GB of DDR2-800.

Cinebench completed the default benchmark in 27 seconds for the 1.6 GHz K10; 17 seconds for the Intel Xeon X3220. The Kentsfield Xeon was 58% faster with a 50% higher clock frequency for Cinebench.

Both systems ran Windows 2003 R2, 64-bit.

AMD partner engineers tell DailyTech the chip we tested was the latest revision silicon. The same engineers claim 2.0 GHz Barcelona chips are making the rounds, with 2.3 GHz already on the desktop and server roadmaps.

AMD's current guidance suggests a late July announcement for Barcelona. However, when DailyTech tracked down the individual partners named in AMD's press release, all cited "optimistic September" ship dates for motherboards.

(c) www.dailytech.com

Raytheon Develops World's First Polymorphic Computer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:33:00 +0000

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 20, 2007 -- The world's first computers whose architecture can adopt different forms depending on their application have been developed by Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN).

The architecture of the MONARCH processor with key elements identified

Dubbed MONARCH (Morphable Networked Micro-Architecture) and developed to address the large data volume of sensor systems as well as their signal and data processing throughput requirements, it is the most adaptable processor ever built for the Department of Defense, reducing the number of processor types required. It performs as a single system on a chip, resulting in a significant reduction of the number of processors required for computing systems, and it performs in an array of chips for teraflop throughput.

"Typically, a chip is optimally designed either for front-end signal processing or back-end control and data processing," explained Nick Uros, vice president for the Advanced Concepts and Technology group of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. "The MONARCH micro-architecture is unique in its ability to reconfigure itself to optimize processing on the fly. MONARCH provides exceptional compute capacity and highly flexible data bandwidth capability with beyond state-of-the-art power efficiency, and it's fully programmable."

In addition to the ability to adapt its architecture for a particular objective, the MONARCH computer is also believed to be the most power- efficient processor available.

"In laboratory testing MONARCH outperformed the Intel quad-core Xeon chip by a factor of 10," said Michael Vahey, the principal investigator for the company's MONARCH technology.

MONARCH's polymorphic capability and super efficiency enable the development of DoD systems that need very small size, low power, and in some cases radiation tolerance for such purposes as global positioning systems, airborne and space radar and video processing systems.

The company has begun tests on prototypes of the polymorphic MONARCH processors to verify they'll function as designed and to establish their maximum throughput and power efficiency. MONARCH, containing six microprocessors and a highly interconnected reconfigurable computing array, provides 64 gigaflops (floating point operations per second) with more than 60 gigabytes per second of memory bandwidth and more than 43 gigabytes per second of off-chip data bandwidth.

The MONARCH processor was developed under a Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) polymorphous computing architecture contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems led an industry team with the Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California to create the integrated large-scale system on a chip with a suite of software development tools for programs of high value to the Department of Defense and commercial applications. Besides USC major subcontractors included Georgia Institute of Technology, Mercury Computer Systems and IBM's Global Engineering Solutions division.

Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems is the leading provider of sensor systems giving military forces the most accurate and timely information available for the network-centric battlefield. With 2006 revenues of $4.3 billion and 12,000 employees, SAS is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif. Additional facilities are in Goleta, Calif.; Forest, Miss.; Dallas, McKinney and Plano, Texas; and several international locations.

Raytheon Company, with 2006 sales of $20.3 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide.

(c) www.shoutwire.com

Uni.PC Tags: Processor, Raytheon, Polymorphic Computer, MONARCH

DRAM prices continue to plummet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:53:00 +0000

Mark LaPedus

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Prices for DRAMs continue to plummet, as the tags for mainstream devices have fallen by a staggering 44 percent since the beginning of 2007, according to a report from Gartner Inc.

Average DRAM spot prices across all densities were down 6.5 percent for the seven-day period ended March 16, compared to the previous period, according to Gartner. Average spot prices stood at $3.67 on a 512-megabit basis for the period, down 39 percent since the beginning of 2007, according to the firm.

Prices for mainstream 512-Mbit DDR2-based chips are down 44 percent since the beginning of this year. ''Ample supply in the market and little fear of a tightening of supply gave the overall market a negative outlook,'' said Andrew Norwood, an analyst with Gartner.

At the beginning of February, the DRAM market crashed, as average selling prices (ASPs) had already fallen by 30 percent since the beginning of this year. DRAM ASPs were projected to fall by 30 percent for the entire year.

At that time, vendors insisted that the DRAM free-fall was temporary, claiming that a rebound is due in the second half of 2007, thanks in part to Microsoft's Vista operating system software.

In general, the memory market is lousy. The NAND flash market is also "brutal," according to Intel Corp. Some believe the ASPs on NAND chips will decline 65 percent this year.

(c) www.eetimes.com

Uni.PC Tags: Memory, Prices

NVIDIA GeForce 8600-Series Details Unveiled

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 01:39:00 +0000

by Anh Huynh

NVIDIA prepares its next-generation mid-range and mainstream DirectX 10 GPUs

Earlier today DailyTech received it's briefiing on NVIDIA’s upcoming GeForce 8600GTS, 8600GT and 8500GT graphics processors. NVIDIA’s GeForce 8600GTS and 8600GT are G84-based GPUs and target the mid-range markets. The lower-positioned G86-based GeForce 8500GT serves as the flagship low to mid-range graphics card.
The budget-priced trio feature full support for DirectX 10 features including pixel and vertex shader model 4.0. NVIDIA has yet to reveal the amount of shaders or shader clocks though. Nevertheless, the trio supports NVIDIA SLI and PureVideo technologies.

NVIDIA GeForce 8600GTS

NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT

NVIDIA touts three dedicated video engines on the G84 and G86-based graphics cards for PureVideo processing. The video engines provide MPEG-2 high-definition and WMV HD video playback up to resolutions of 1080p. G84 and G86 support hardware accelerated decoding of H.264 video as well; however, NVIDIA makes no mention of VC-1 decoding. G84 and G86 also feature advanced post-processing video algorithms. Supported algorithms include spatial-temporal de-interlacing, inverse 2:2, 3:2 pull-down and 4-tap horizontal, and 5-tap vertical video scaling.
At the top of the mid-range lineup is the GeForce 8600GTS. The G84-based graphics core clocks in at 675 MHz. NVIDIA pairs the GeForce 8600GTS with 256MB of GDDR3 memory clocked at 1000 MHz. The memory interfaces with the GPU via a 128-bit bus. The GeForce 8600GTS does not integrate HDCP keys on the GPU. Add-in board partners will have to purchase separate EEPROMs with HDCP keys; however, all GeForce 8600GTS-based graphics cards feature support for HDCP.
GeForce 8600GTS-based graphics cards require an eight-layer PCB. Physically, the cards measure in at 7.2 x 4.376 inches and available in full-height only. NVIDIA GeForce 8600GTS graphics cards feature a PCIe x16 interface, unlike ATI’s upcoming RV630. GeForce 8600GTS-based cards still require external PCIe power. NVIDIA estimates total board power consumption at around 71-watts.
Supported video output connectors include dual dual-link DVI, VGA, SDTV and HDTV outputs, and analog video inputs. G84-based GPUs do not support a native HDMI output. Manufacturers can adapt one of the DVI-outputs for HDMI.
NVIDIA’s GeForce 8600GT is not as performance oriented as the 8600GTS. The GeForce 8600GT GPU clocks in at a more conservative 540 MHz. The memory configuration has more flexibility, letting manufacturers decide between 256MB or 128MB of GDDR3 memory. NVIDIA specifies the memory clock at 700 MHz. The GeForce 8600GT shares the same 128-bit memory interface as the 8600GTS. HDCP support on GeForce 8600GT is optional. The GPU and reference board design support the required HDCP keys EEPROM, however, the implementation is up to NVIDIA’s add-in board partners.
GeForce 8600GT-based graphics cards only require a six-layer PCB instead of the eight-layer PCB of the 8600GTS. The physical board size is also smaller too – measuring in at 6.9 x 4.376 inches. GeForce 8600GT-based cards do not require external PCIe power. NVIDIA rates the maximum board power consumption at 43-watts – 28-watts less than the 8600GTS.
The GeForce 8600GT supports similar video outputs as the 8600GTS, however, the 8600GT does not support video input features.
NVIDIA has revealed very little information on the GeForce 8500GT besides support for GDDR3 and DDR2 memory. It supports dual dual-link DVI, VGA and TV outputs as well.
Expect NVIDIA to pull the wraps off its GeForce 8600GTS, 8600GT and 8500GT next quarter in time to take on AMD’s upcoming RV630 and RV610.

(c) www.dailytech.com

Uni.PC Tags: nVidia, GeForce, RV630, RV610, GeForce 8600 GT, GeForce 8600 GTS, GPU, DirectX 10