A fourth-generation enterprise-centric device, the drive is touted as the industry’s first such drive by the company. Constellation is best suited for enterprise apps where data demand is extremely high. The 6 Gbps SAS helps in very high data integrity thanks to its error detection and correction (IOEDC/IOECC).

Measuring 26.1 mm(H) X 101.6 mm (W) X 146.99 mm (L), the device weighs 710 gm. The cache has a capacity of 16MB. The drive spins at 7,200 RPM, and can sustain data transfer at a rate of 150 Mbps. With an average latency of 4.16 ms, random read seek time of less than 8.5 ms and random write seek time of less than 9.5 ms, the product has one of the best performances for its particular category.

Constellation requires an average idle power of 8.0 W, runs on an average operating power of 12.2 W, and requires 11.2 W for seek.

Read more about an industry-first achievement by Seagate, here.

The Photoshop.com editor can now be embedded into any application that requires image touch-up and editing capabilities. So users can with a click fix their photos on any image-rich sites such as fashion galleries, social media sites, jewelry designs, modeling, and the like.

The product has features such as “Vibrant”, which can boost photo colors, and “Pop” which brings a pop-art style to the images. Tools such as “Soft Black and White” and “Warm Vintage” can add a classic and gracefully-aged look to photos. There are other similar tools which are equally effective in their own ways, such as Vignette Blur, White Glow and Rainbow. Like in any other standard software, changes made to a file can be undone at any point of time, so the original photo remains safe.

Further details of the product are available at: http://mobile.photoshop.com/android/developers.html.

Read more about yet another integration happening between mobile phones and traditional desktop softwares, here.

The product is proving to be a boon for professionals who need to edit massive libraries of photos. It has several features that were available in erstwhile versions of iPhoto 09 such as Faces and Places; so iPhoto users can easily migrate to and adopt Aperture 3 with a zero learning curve.

“Faces” uses the technology of face-detection and recognition; and users can now index their photos by the people in the photos, to create a great album. The feature allows users to view faces across the entire photo collection, as well as to restrict the view to specific selected projects. Faces that have been detected but haven’t been tagged / named too appear separately.

“Places” uses the technology of geocode GPS to tag photos location-wise. Locations can be assigned by dragging and dropping the photos on the underlying map. At the same time, location information from GPS-enabled cameras, tracking devices etc can be captured by Aperture 3.

The “Brushes” feature enables users to professionally touch their photos by painting the effects onto the image.

Read more about the latest software gizmo released by Apple for photo editing, here.

With mobile services now moving towards high throughput-demand apps such as mobile TV, live video sharing and high-resolution 3D gaming, a high-tech backend solution was needed that can provide multi-megabit per second (Mbps) backhauling links that can support 3G and 4G base stations (also called Node Bs or BTSs or Base transceiver stations).

The BCM96519 solution has the capability to feed IP service routers and remote DSL access concentrators at a high data rate and with low complexity. This enables this solution to complement the existing product portfolios of vendors. The BCM96519 is compatible with co-located ADSL and VDSL2 loops, and does a better job, according to a company press release, than legacy E1/T1 and G.SHDSL technologies.

Read more about the latest launch of a new solution that boosts connectivity throughput, here.

Here are some apps where the new version has been tested:

- Version 8.702 has been found to have more than 25% better performance for users such as those operating in Dassault Systems CATIA, Autodesk 3DS Max and PTC Pro/Engineer environments.
- This version has enabled rendering of images with 10-bit per component color for Adobe Photoshop CS4 users. An enhanced end-to-end 10-bit color workflow has become possible. (This requires 10-bit monitor for true 10-bit color display.)
- In line with the surge in 3D technology, blue-line stereo for synchronizing 3D glasses has been supported in the new version. Previously, stereoscopic displays did not have this level of support. Blue-line stereo support is available on all the latest versions of Windows OS.
- The new version now enables DisplayPort audio, with support for 5.1 Dolby Digital and 5.1 DTS surround sound. 8-channel and 2-channel uncompressed audio is now supported on ATI Firepro V3750, V5700 and V7750.

Read more about a faster and more efficient driver download from AMD, here.

The new line-up includes the following configurations:

- x3650 M3 and x3550 M3: these are rack servers.
- x3500 M3 and x3400 M3: these are enterprise tower servers.
- HS22 and HS22V: these are BladeCenter systems. The HS22V is a virtualization-optimized machine, and runs Java applications up to 43% faster than the earlier-generation machines.
- dx360 M3: this is an iDataPlex server. The dx360 M3 is the first two-socket server to touch 3,000 operations per watt. This yields to a 36% improvement from the previous generation of iDataPlex servers.

The new configurations offer a range of systems management tools, such as:

- IBM’s system director software: this tool can be used to pre-configure servers, remotely repurpose systems and set up automatic updates and recoveries.

- UEFI: or unified extensible firmware interface, this is a next-gen BIOS firmware.

- IMM: Integrated Management Module, which enables remote management, remote monitoring, as well as remote troubleshooting and repairing.

- ToolsCenter: this tool is ideal for small and medium businesses, and it simplifies acquisition and usage of system management tools.

Read more about new entries in the server market, here.

The new device is available for USD 125. Its capacity is 40 GB, and employs 34nm NAND flash memory technology. The target market for this drive is netbooks and dual-drive / boot drive desktop set-ups.

Salient features of solid state drives are that there are no mechanical, moving parts or spinning platters inside their body. This makes the drives especially useful in rugged environments such as netbooks that are portable and therefore liable to be used more roughly than are the traditional desktops. Further, the lack of any mechanical motion implies that responsiveness to system’s demands for read and write is faster than the traditional hard disk drive (HDD).

On a desktop, the SSD can be installed with the OS and favorite applications and fitted into the system. When booted, the desktop can then take advantage of the superior speed of the SSD to function, while data and files can be stored on the HDD. The SSD speeds operations at the time of boot-up, opening of apps and resumption from hibernation / stand-by.

Read more about the latest solid state drive launched by Intel, here.

The new browser upgrade will support features such as CSS3, scalable vector graphics (SVG), XHTML parsing, video tags using industry-standard codecs such as H.264 and MPEG4, and audio tags using codes such as MP3 and AAC.

Internet Explorer 9 will also incorporate a new JavaScript engine as well as Direct 2D technology that leverages the multiple cores of today’s modern chips for computing resource management, besides improving web performance. The browser now brings to developers the power and capability to harness the rich graphics features that modern-day computers already possess.

Further, the company has announced committed support to the development of the jQuery JavaScript library. Besides providing better interoperability between ASP.NET and the library, the company also will package the library with its products such as MS Visual Studio 2010 and ASP.NET MVC 2.

The new version can be downloaded and previewed by developers at the site: http://www.ietestdrive.com.

Read more about the latest advancements in web development, here.

The two companies have been closely collaborating in the consumer and enterprise markets for quite some time now. I-O Data has developed a set of API-based sensors for the Windows 7 operating system; these sensors are capable of detecting movement of individuals across rooms.

For Microsoft, this patent agreement is the latest in a string of such agreements that the company has entered into since December 2003, as part of its IP licensing program. These agreements enable stakeholders such as customers, partners and competitors to access its IP portfolio, legally. Some of the other companies that have similarly entered into agreements with Microsoft are LG Electronics, Kyocera Mita Corp, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Brother International Corp, Fuji Xerox Co Ltd and TomTom International BV.

Founded in 1976, I-O Data is in the business of designing and manufacturing computer peripherals and interface products.

Read more about the latest software patent agreement entered into by Microsoft, here.

The new chip is called BCM2049, and is the first in a series of new-wave chips that will be built on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology and specifications. Mobile phone and other device manufacturers can incorporate this chip in their handsets and sell as value-add to customers. The chip allows mobile phones to be conveniently connected to sensors and monitors to aggregate and display data such as tracking the progress of their workouts, monitoring their heart rate, etc. This information can be displayed on the handset screens.

The Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology has been ratified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which means that soon, the market is expected to see a new wave of devices which require very little power which can be drawn from coin-sized batteries. And since consumers are already familiar with Bluetooth, the acceptance of these new devices shouldn’t be difficult, according to analysts.

Read about the latest technology that can enable people to monitor their health while on the move, here.

The new HSUPA solution targets the 3G mobile and cellular market, and is touted as a “3G phone-on-a-chip” and RF solution. It utilizes an integrated ARM11 processor which can run operating systems such as Windows Mobile and Android. This implies that the need for an external apps processor is eliminated altogether, thereby reducing costs, size, system complexity and battery drainage.

The underlying technology supports 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) releases 6 and 7. These releases define specs for up to 5.8 Mbps upstream connectivity, 7.2 Mbps downstream connectivity and also support CS (circuit switches) over HSPA services. Another technology built into the solution is PRISM, which handles interference from radio signals coming from neighboring cells. A 3D graphics core has been incorporated into the solution to enhance user interfaces, and to support encoding and decoding of H.264 video at 30 fps.

The Radio Frequency transceiver is called BCM2091. This provides RF connectivity for the BCM21553 processor.

Read more about the revolutionary new processor for mobile devices, brought out by Broadcom, here.

Numonyx is reckoned a leader in the semiconductor industry. The company manufactures and supplies a full complement of integrated NOR, NAND< RAM and phase change non-volatile memory technologies and products that go into cellular, data and embedded markets. Some of its trademarks and brands include Numonyx Axcell Flash Memory, Numonyx Forte Serial Flash Memory, Krypto Security Technologies, and StrataFlash Technology. The company’s manufacturing and R&D facilities are located around the globe, such as in Italy, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, China, Philippines, US and Israel. Mr. Brian Harrison is the President and CEO of Numonyx.

The acquisition is the outcome of an agreement between Micron and Numonyx, per which Micron will issue 140 million Micron common shares to Numonyx shareholders, Intel Corporation, STMicroelectronics, N.V. and Francisco Partners. The entire transaction will cost Micron about USD 1.27 billion.

With this acquisition, Micron hopes to position itself as a world-leading memory company, integrating the expertise of Numonyx in its portfolio. Micron will also be able to leverage the tremendous manufacturing capabilities of Numonyx to make inroads into the newly-emerging embedded and mobile markets.

Read more about the latest business acquisition that will shake up the memory technology industry, here.

The company has reported revenue of USD 2.6 billion, yielding to a net income of USD 429 million. This translates to USD 1.85 per share. The revenue compares well with the revenue of USD 1.8 billion and net income of USD 14 million reported in Q2 2009.

The company had undergone restructuring at a cost of USD 113 million in the previous fiscal, which partly explains the low net income of the corresponding quarter.

In Q2 2010, Western Digital shipped 49.5 million units of hard drives, compared to 35.5 million units shipped in the same quarter last year.

The quarter has also been bountiful as is proven by the record USD 557 million cash generated from operations. The company now sits on a cash and cash-equivalent pile of USD 2.4 billion.

Founded in 1970, Western Digital has been at the forefront of designing and manufacturing solid state drives and hard drives for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics environments.

Read more about the latest financial performance announced by Western Digital, here.

The new processor ranges in price from USD 946 to USD 3,838 in quantities of 1,000. The family comprises 9310 with 2 cores and 4 threads, and 9320, 9330, 9340 and 9350, all with 4 cores and 8 threads.

The Itanium 9300 processor operates at 1.73 GHz base frequency and up to 1.86 GHz at peak workloads. The processor includes various platform ingredients such as QuickPath Interconnect, which has a bandwidth of 4.8 GT/s, and Scalable Memory Interconnect. In addition, the processor also has 7500 Scalable Memory Buffer which exploits the capabilities of DDR3 memories. The processor can address up to 1,024 terabytes of memory. The i/o hub is the standard 7500 chipset, which allows i/o devices to be assigned to virtual machines.

The processor comprises 2 billion transistors, four cores, more cache and 800% more interconnect bandwidth than the predecessors. The second generation of virtualization technology has been incorporated into its innards to increase performance and robustness, according to the company release.

Read about the latest mission-critical processor launched by Intel, here.

Called 2010 Intel Core vPro, the family comprises the following processors: Core i7 vPro processor, Core i5 vPro processor, i7 processor, i5 processor and i3 processor. The platform that is based on this family includes the new Intel Q57 Express chipset. For network connection, in case of notebooks the platform includes 82577LM Gigabit Network Connection, and in case of desktop PCs the platform includes 82578DM Network Connection.

The company has obtained commitments from computer OEM manufacturers such as Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba for lifting the processors in bulk. Software solutions developers too have evinced keen interest in exploiting the features of the new processors, and such companies include Microsoft, Symantec, WinZip, LANDesk, Bomgar, Aternity and the like.

According to the company press release, a notebook built upon the Intel Core i5 vPro processor is capable of handling applications at 180% the present notebook speed. The processor can also multi-task applications upto 200% faster. Further, there is inbuilt facility to protect confidential data.

Read about the latest launch of an entire family of processors from Intel, here.