Funky Kit - Tech News and Reviews

Mid-Week Hardware Round Up from around the Net

richard@funkykit.com (Richard A) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:06:40 +0000

Here is the mid-week hardware round up...

Graphics Cards:
Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 OC Video Card Review by HardOCP

PSU's:
Enermax Platimax 1000-watt Power Supply Review by TweakTown
OCZ ZT 650W Power Supply Review by Guru3D
Antec HCG-620M 620w Review by TechPowerUp

Peripherals:
SteelSeries Kana Black 1.1 Gaming Mouse Review by TweakTown

Cases & Cooling:
Antec One Case Review by Hardware Secrets

NH-L12 CPU Cooler

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:23:55 +0000

Vienna, February 21st 2012 - Noctua today presented its new NH-L12 low-profile cooler for Small Form Factor cases and HTPC environments. The NH-L12 features a flexible NF-F12 (120mm) / NF-B9 (92mm) dual PWM fan setup that can be configured either for full performance in dual fan mode or extra-low profile (66mm) with the top fan removed.

"The industry trend towards Small Form Factor and Home Theatre PCs is well-established, but there's still a lack of suitable high-quality quiet CPU coolers", explains Mag. Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO. "Building a powerful PC always requires a capable CPU, which in return demands a competent cooling solution. But who wants his HTPC to sound like a jet engine? This is precisely where the NH-L12 steps in."

Thanks to its exquisite dual fan setup consisting of Noctua's highly optimised NF-F12 (120mm) and NF-B9 (92mm) premium fans, the NH-L12 pushes the bar in terms of low-profile quiet cooling performance. Alternatively, the NH-L12 can also be used with the NF-B9 92mm fan only in order to reduce the overall height to 66mm. This way, the cooler is suitable for many typical µATX or Mini-ITX enclosures and ideal for whisper-quiet HTPC systems.

Fractal Design Define R3 USB 3.0 Black Pearl Mid-Tower Case Review by TweakTown

richard@funkykit.com (Richard A) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:50:42 +0000

Over at Tweaktown, they have published a review of the Fractal Design Define R3 USB 3.0 Black Pearl Mid-Tower Case.

"For what seems like the better part of last year, I was working emails, Cameron was working emails, even Chris Ramseyer sent one over thinking he had the magic fingers to write the appropriate e-mail to address our desire in seeing for ourselves what all the hype was surrounding the Fractal Design chassis concepts and implementation.

To my dismay most of our e-mails went unanswered, all but one. At that point I was supposed to be looking at the flagship chassis, but as luck would have it NCIX.com beggared up that deal and I never received the chassis."

Source: TweakTown

Foxconn Pressured by US and Chinese Officials

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:29:07 +0000

Exciting news for the factory workers of the electronics company Foxconn. After much-needed involvement from both foreign and domestic governments, the people who work long, and sometimes draconian, hours to produce the technology that we get to enjoy everyday will be happy to know that their salaries and wages will be raised to a reasonable amount, as well as having their hours reduced to provide a more workable schedule.

"BEIJING — The announcement Saturday that Foxconn Technology — one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers — will sharply raise salaries and reduce overtime at its Chinese factories signals that pressure from workers, international markets and concerns among Western consumers about working conditions is driving a fundamental shift that could accelerate an already rapidly changing Chinese economy.

But the true meaning of Foxconn’s reforms, analysts say, will depend in part on how effectively the company can remake an economic system that has relied for much of the last decade on luring migrants to work cheaply for long hours in mammoth factories building smartphones, computers and other electronics."

Source: New York Times

Windows 8 & Linux?

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:23:42 +0000

It seems Microsoft has been receiving some pressure from software critics, some are saying that Windows 8 bears a strange resemblance to the open-source operating system Linux. Now we won't go into the history of all the business deals made by Microsoft, but there is some amount of suspicion, maybe not without reason, from some speculators.

"Here in the world of technology, there's no denying that developers of even the most creative new products and ideas "stand on the shoulders of giants," just as innovators in most other realms do too.

New ideas inspire more new ideas over time, after all, so it's not surprising to see myriad commonalities and linkages among them.

Lately, however, that notion is being examined a little more closely than usual in light of recent revelations about Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) forthcoming Windows 8 and -- in particular -- how much it has in common with Linux.

'Does Windows Do It Better?'

"Eight features Windows 8 borrowed from Linux" is the name of the ITworld article that kicked off the conversation in the Linux blogosphere earlier this month, and the ruckus hasn't died down since.

File copy dialogue and ISO mounting are among the features the article names while asking provocatively, "Linux got there first, but does Windows do it better?"

Individual comments could barely be heard over the sound of the thundering stampede of the Linux masses, rushing to share their thoughts. More than 600 comments appeared on Slashdot in short order, so Linux Girl knew it was time to learn more."

Source: Tech News World

Apple Sales Blocked by Chinese Court

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:11:17 +0000

In recent news, the main-stream sale of the Apple iPad has been halted by a legal ruling set forth by the People's Court. Of course Apple will not be taking this lying down, and it only makes sense that they will be striking back with their own legal team.

"A court in China has ruled that retailers should cease iPad sales, dealing a setback to Apple in its battle for the iPad trademark in that country.

Xie Xianghui, a lawyer for Shenzhen-based Proview Technology, told the Associated Press that the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Huizhou made the ruling Friday.

However, the report says the ruling is not expected to have a far-reaching effect, noting that Proview has asked commercial authorities to block iPad sales in 40 cities. Apple representatives did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the ruling, but the company has previously stated that it made a deal with Proview that the Chinese company refuses to honor.

"We bought Proview's worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago. Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter," an Apple representative told CNET."

Source: C|NET

Enermax Revolution87+ 1000-watt Power Supply Review by TweakTown

richard@funkykit.com (Richard A) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:03:52 +0000

Over at TweakTown, they have published a review of the Enermax Revolution87+ 1000-watt Power Supply.

"Enermax is on a stretch of refreshing their lineup, making sure that they have a solid offering for any enthusiast.

First up was their high wattage MaxRevo, followed by their Platimax 600W and now their new Revolution 87+.

We've even got another one in the works from the folks at Enermax so they are very busy bringing you the latest and greatest in PSU technology. The new Revolution 87+ comes feature packed with 80Plus Gold efficiency.

Let's tear into their new power supply and see if it is up what we expect from Enermax."

Source: TweakTown

Where ACTA Goes, Anonymous Follows

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:41:02 +0000

So you've probably heard about the cyber-attack orchestrated by the group Anonymous on the Department of Justice following the rise and fall of SOPA; now, however, they've set their sights a bit higher. This time, instead of a singular website, multiple government websites were hacked. As with before, Anonymous has made clear their opposition to any such type of legislation, and understandably so. As always, we'll keep you posted should any new updates come our way.

"The hacker group Anonymous has struck again -- this time taking down the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's consumer protection business center website as well as one touting National Consumer Protection Week.

In their place was a German language video mocking ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

The FTC promptly removed the video, which has been described as violent and bloody: A man in a ski mask guns down people for downloading copyrighted music. In a profanity-ridden statement, Anonymous threatened to "rain torrential hellfire down on all enemies of free speech, privacy and internet freedom" if ACTA is approved."

Source: Tech News World

Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 shows off Image Stabilization

news@funkykit.com (Will Smith) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:39:19 +0000

For those who have don't have a steady hand ... fear not. With this new Image Stabilization feature from Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4, getting the best picture/photo is a easy as waving your hand!

"The S4 Camera, or more specifically, the Image Signal Processor (ISP), boasts advanced features that are designed to allow any Smartphone or Tablet to double as a high-end digital camera. The HTC Titan II, announced at CES 2012, features an astounding 16Megapixel camera running on an S2 processor. With S4, any given mobile device can shoot up to 20 Megapixel stills, as well as 1080p (30fps) video capture and up to 3 cameras (the third can be used for 3D capture).

The S4 ISP also comes equipped with Qualcomm's proprietary 3A camera technology (Autofocus, Auto Exposure and Auto White Balance), enabling practical camera applications such as blink detection, smile degree, and gaze estimation. Other advanced features that tap into the ISP include active "Range-Finding", zero shutter lag, and image stabilization."

Source: Qualcomm

Google fights back Apple with 2 "Unlock" patents

news@funkykit.com (Will Smith) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:32:53 +0000

This war on patents is getting a little ridiculous now! Come on! I mean ... slide to unlock is patented? And those "unlock" features found on other smartphones too?

I could patent ... "shake to unlock". Anyone want to loan me some cash so I can file it to the patent office, and sell it to Google or Apple.

"The patents present four (somewhat) novel forms of unlock that range from simple to complex. The "Big Three" of the Android world -- HTC Corp. (TPE:2498), Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KS:005930), and Google Inc.'s (GOOG) nearly-acquired subsidiary-to-be Motorola Mobility -- all share a common legal adversary -- Apple, Inc. (AAPL). Apple has asserted a slew of claims against the Android phonemakers, and they haven't been shy about firing back, sometimes quite successfully (other times not so much)."

Source: Dailytech

LG Unveils 5-inch OPTIMUS VU

news@funkykit.com (Will Smith) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:28:42 +0000

LG UNVEILS UNIQUE 4:3 RATIO, 5-INCH OPTIMUS VU: AT MWC 2012 - With Productivity in Mind, LG Demonstrates its LTE and Display. Leadership with Device that Does, Well, Everything.

SEOUL, Feb. 19, 2012 – LG today unveiled one of the most anticipated LTE devices, the Optimus Vu:. Equipped with LG's advanced LTE and IPS display technology, the Optimus Vu: offers a unique combination of tablet-like viewing with smartphone portability. Running on a powerful 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 32GM internal memory and a large 2,080 mAh battery, the Optimus Vu: is a multimedia lover's dream device.

"The Optimus Vu: was designed to maximize what customers could do with a smart-phone," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company. "By offering an optimal 4:3 ratio viewing experience, 5-inch display combined with superfast LTE technology, Optimus Vu: is just one example of what we can achieve when we combine our best technology with customer needs."

Funkykit - Weekend Hardware Round-Up!

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:59:41 +0000

Hey gang, it's that time of the week again where we compile a list of all this weeks hardware offerings:

Motherboard & CPU:

ASRock X79 Extreme9 on HWSecrets.

MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) LGA20111 Motherboard Review on [H]ard|OCP

Video Cards:

MSI Radeon HD 7950 Twin Frozer III review on Guru3D

Cases:

Raidmax Aeolus VL Mid Tower on ThinkComputers.

NZXT Crafted Series Phantom 410 Mid-Tower on FutureLooks.

CPU Cooling:

Spire Gemini Rev 2 on TechReaction.

ACTA: The Down-Low

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:44:08 +0000

Ahh yes, back again to the halls of congress, otherwise known as the WWF of politics. Well most of you, I'm sure, are familiar with PIPA and SOPA and the hooplah that was stirred up by those those; however, we now are faced with a newer, and perhaps subtler, method of increasing government control over the world-wide-web. We'll keep you posted.

"With SOPA and PIPA on the back burner (at least for now), ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, has become the world's eminent piece of online piracy legislation. A slew of countries, including the U.S., have signed the agreement, but skepticism rages on. There have been protests throughout Europe, threats from Anonymous and resentment from Web users the world over.

To get a better idea of what's going on, TechNewsWorld hosts a multi-part podcast about what ACTA is and what it might mean moving forward.

In this podcast, we chat with David Meyer, a freelance journalist for ZDNet, BBC News, The Guardian and others. Meyer dissects the language, evolution and future of ACTA."

Source: Tech News World

Windows 8: The New Logo

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:36:40 +0000

Yes I know, we're all used to the Windows XP/Vista look, but as Aristotle said,

"Change in all things is sweet." And it seems Microsoft believes this as well, so for those of you who are eager to get as much info as you can, here's a look at the new Windows logo:

"Microsoft unveiled a new logo for the upcoming Windows 8, featuring a clean one-color design that leans heavily on its new Metro user interface.

The new logo looks a bit like the inverse of the flag of Finland. It's a blue background with a thin white cross in the middle, making the logo look like a window. The window is angled slightly. That was done in order to give a sense of motion "aligning with the fast and fluid style you'll find throughout Windows 8," Sam Moreau, principal director of user experience for Windows, noted in a blog post today.

Microsoft hired high-powered design consultancy Pentagram to come up with the new look. According to Moreau, the firm wanted to move away from the previous Windows logo that looked more like a flag than a window.

''Windows' really is a beautiful metaphor for computing, and with the new logo we wanted to celebrate the idea of a window, in perspective,' Moreau wrote."

Source: C|NET

Steelseries Kinzu V2 Pro Edition Gaming Mouse

winston.ckw@gmail.com (Winston) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:40:40 +0000

We just publish a review on the Steelseries Kinzu V2 Pro Edition. It may lack all those fancy features, but it certainly doesn't lack the quality you would expect from Steelseries. Here's a snip ...

"Today we will be taking a look at the Steelseries Kinzu v2 mouse. It is a budget mouse that looks to impress for people who can't afford something with tons of bells and whistles."

Read the rest of the review here ... http://www.funkykit.com/component/content/article/56-accessories/8810-review-steelseries-kinzu-v2-pro-edition.html

AZZA Fusion 3000 Full-Tower Case Review by TweakTown

richard@funkykit.com (Richard A) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:39:02 +0000

Over at TweakTown, they have published a review of the AZZA Fusion 3000 Full-Tower Case.

"The last three years working for TweakTown have been a blast. I get to see literally tons of equipment and I see innovations of every sort making it into chassis design and development over this time period. I have seen cases come from the basic steel box that just "holds the components" and on the flip side of that coin, I have seen some really well laid-out and fully equipped chassis, too.

What we are about to be discussing takes a hard look at the interior of the chassis as well as coming up with a pleasing exterior for the latest submission takes gaming chassis into the workstation end of the spectrum to deliver a chassis unlike most of the submissions I receive."

Source: TweakTown

Google Clamps Down on Security Flaws

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:07:40 +0000

If you recall, we gave you the heads up about two methods of exploits in Google Wallet. Have no fear, for since that article was posted Google has taken steps to ensure that these leaks are taken care of. Unfortunately, this means a temporary freeze on pre-paid cards, but they will be available once again in the future. In the mean time, the Google IT team has been hard at work maintaining consumer protection, so you can rest assured that they have your back when it comes to your money.

"In the wake of two security flaws reported in its Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Wallet mobile payment system last week, Google has clamped down on the system and is scrambling to come up with a fix.

One of the two flaws affects only rooted devices.

But it's the second that troubles Google more. That flaw lets anyone operating the victim's phone gain access to the victim's prepaid card in Google Wallet simply by going into the device's applications settings folder, clearing the data for the mobile payment service and setting up a new PIN.

'On Friday, we disabled the ability to provision cards,' Google spokesperson Sierra Lovelace told TechNewsWorld. "A permanent fix will be rolled out soon."

Google's restriction on provisioning prepaid cards will only impact new cards and refills, the company's Lovelace pointed out. 'If you had already provisioned the prepaid cards, you can use them as usual,' she said."

Source: Tech News World

$8 For Every iPad

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:00:22 +0000

No, this isn't a promotionl offer, it's the amount of money that the average Chinese factory-worker makes on every iPad he, or she, produces. Over the past couple weeks, Apple has been targeted by the press due to some very harsh working conditions that these people are forced to endure in order to make an Apple product. This week, it was noted Chinese plants are making a great deal less per-item-produced than their counter-parts in the south-east region.

"Apple's supply chain is once again in the crosshairs, after a South Korean newspaper today reported that Chinese factory workers are paid substantially less than their counterparts elsewhere around the world.

According to the Korea Daily, citing sources, factory workers in China who are producing iPads collectively earn about $8 per unit among them, or about 1.6 percent of the cheapest iPad's selling price.

Korean factory workers, on the other hand, share about $34 per unit among them, giving them 6.8 percent of the sales price, according to the report.

Over the last several months, complaints about working conditions in factories across Asia that produce Apple products have grown louder. Last week, the criticism hit a tipping point when watchdog groups SumOfUs and Change.org protested outside Apple stores, calling on the iPhone maker to improve supplier working conditions. The groups also delivered petitions signed by more than 250,000 people decrying Apple's relationship with Foxconn."

Source: C|NET

Mid-Week Hardware Round Up From Around The Net

richard@funkykit.com (Richard A) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:10:00 +0000

Here is the mid-week hardware round up...

Graphics Cards:

XFX R7770 Black Edition Super Overclocked Review by HardOCP

AMD Radeon HD 7770 and 7750 Cape Verde GPU Review by PC Perpective

AMD Radeon HD 7770 and 7750 Video Card Reviews by Legit Reviews

AMD Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition Video Card Review by Hardware Secrets

MSI Radeon HD 7770 OC edition Review by Guru3D

ASUS Radeon HD 7770 DirectCU 1 GB Review by TechPowerUp

HIS Radeon HD 7750 iCooler (1GB GDDR5) Review by Funky Kit

Storage:

Intel 520 Series 240GB Solid State Drive Review by TweakTown

Motherboards and CPU's:

ASRock X79 Extreme9 Motherboard Review by Hardware Secrets

Zynga Suffers Heavy Losses

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:39:19 +0000

Of course Zynga needs no introduction, I'm sure half the visitors to this site have had experience with FarmVille, CityVille, and the numerous other games produced by them. They've certainly gained a sizeable rep for themselves over the past few months; however, just recently they took a pretty big hit to their sales department and, at this time, are facing some hefty expenses.

"NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- In its first financial report as a public company, Zynga edged past analysts' expectations but posted a loss thanks to its large stock-based compensation expenses.

The casual gaming pioneer, best known for its -Ville franchises like FarmVille, reported sales of $311 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31. Excluding stock compensation costs, Zynga had net income for the quarter of $37 million, or 5 cents per share. That topped the 3 cents per share consensus forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

But Zynga's compensation expenses ate through its profit. For the full 2011 fiscal year, Zynga posted a net loss of $404 million on sales of $1.2 billion. Zynga's stock-based compensation expenses for the year totaled $510 million."

Source: CNN

HIS Radeon HD 7750 iCooler (1GB GDDR5)

winston.ckw@gmail.com (Winston) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:38:04 +0000

We've just published a review on the HIS Radeon HD 7750 iCooler (1Gb GDDR5). It features a 800Mhz GPU and comes with 480 Stream Processors. Aimed at the mainstream market, it's affordable yet powerful enough to play the latest DX11 games. Here's a snip ...

"The Radeon 7750 is not the fastest card out there, but it does however offer a fantastic power to performance ratio that no other card currently on the market can match. When a card can be this small and run punishing games with high settings at relatively playable framerates you are doing something right."

Read the rest of the review here ... http://www.funkykit.com/component/content/article/52-graphic-cards/8863-review-his-radeon-hd-7750-icooler-1gb-gddr5.html

iPad Faces Import/Export Crisis

nedwardg@yahoo.com (Nick G.) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:27:40 +0000

As if Apple needed another stone to add to its already insurmountable mountain of legal troubles; people are beginning to wonder, "is Apple going to catch a break?" Well it seems the answer is: NO. The iPad is currently under some severe scrutiny from a local company in China that is calling for nothing short of a ban on all Apple product exchange, in and out of the area.

"Bloomberg reports that Proview International Holdings, which says it owns the rights to the iPad name in China, has filed paperwork with the country's customs body seeking a ban of both imports and exports of the device.

Should Proview succeed, its move could dramatically affect Chinese sales of the popular device--not to mention its worldwide distribution. The iPad, just like many other popular Apple products including the iPhone and iPod Touch, is assembled in China.

The original legal fracas began shortly after the iPad was introduced. In 2010, Apple took aim at Proview for infringing its trademark of the iPad name. Proview countered by saying it registered for the trademark in several countries with filings dating back to 2000, and that when Apple acquired the name from United Kingdom-based IP Application Development in 2006, Proview never actually signed off on the deal, since it was made by one of the company's subsidiaries."

Source: C|NET

GIGABYTE Announces ‘Spring Extreme Contest’

news@funkykit.com (Will Smith) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:47:52 +0000

Overclock Your AMD CPUs to the Limit and Win a 990FXA-UD7 Motherboard

City of Industry, California, February 14, 2012– GIGABYTE TECHNOLGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced the GIGABYTE Spring Extreme Contest, its latest overclocking competition that will be hosted on HWBOT.org.

With the scent of spring in the air, GIGABYTE invites anyone in possession of an AMD processor and a GIGABYTE motherboard to tackle four uncompromising stages that will decide once and for all who rules the AMD roost, with top dog walking away with a top-of-the-range GIGABYTE 990FXA-UD7.

Motorola's First, Intel-Powered Android Smartphone Revealed

news@funkykit.com (Will Smith) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:08:59 +0000

True or False? Real or Fake? I'll let you decide ... but things are looking pretty good for both Google, Motorola and Microsoft.

"We've just gotten some imagery and a few details pertaining to a phone that will allegedly be Motorola's first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich-powered handset. What's more, this unnamed device will also be one of Motorola's first pieces of Intel-powered hardware, running the silicon giant's new mobile Medfield platform. Moto traditionally employs Texas Instruments OMAP processors in its smartphones.

Details are still coming together on this buttonless device -- sporting a new version of the MotoBlur user interface -- expected to debut at Mobile World Congress later this month in Barcelona. One thing we do know is that its camera is expected to be a major selling point, offering instant-on capabilities as well as 15 frame-per-second burst capture. "

Source: Pocketnow

Mark Zuckerberg has too much power

news@funkykit.com (Will Smith) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:18:47 +0000

There will come a time when Mark will LOSE control of Facebook to the shareholders!! At which point we shall rejoice ;)

"The Institutional Shareholder Services has told Facebook that its co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has too much power; he has voting control over at least 57.1 percent of Class B shares.

... As I noted when Facebook filed for its $5 billion initial public offering (IPO) earlier this month: the numbers published by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show Zuckerberg has a 28.4 percent stake in the company. That being said, he also has voting control over at least 57.1 percent of Class B shares through a chain of agreements with other shareholders. Zuckerberg bought voting control shares from multiple parties for $100 apiece."

Source: ZDNet