JVC Introduces 46-inch 3D LCD Monitor

Cant wait to get yourself a 3D LCD monitor ? JVC had introduced theirlatest GD-463D10, a 3D full HD Monitor.

Selling at US$9153 suggestedretailprice, this lovely display will offer flicker-free 3D image Specs-wise, this display is only 39mm thin. Offering an acceptable 2000:1contrast ratio, its 46 inch display offers a wide viewing angle permitting stunning off-axis 3D viewing.

JVC's GD-463D10 will have three HDMI input terminals are compatible with standard HD video signals and input signals in line-by-line or side-by-side format can be displayed as 3D images (50i and 60i for side-by-side format only).

Microsoft wants your help to kill Internet Explorer 6

When Windows XP was first released, it brought with it a browser that many considered was fairly up-to-date and standards-compliant for its time. Yes, Internet Explorer 6 in its heyday brought many improvements over its predecessor, such as improved support for CSS, DHTML, inline frames and integration with its MSN Messenger. In fact, so popular was IE6 that it was able to achieve a market share of 90% during the XP days.

Unfortunately, it is clear IE6 is no longer capable of meeting the needs of todays Internet users, thanks to issues such as security holes and near non-existent support for modern web standards. As a result, Microsoft has started a little campaign in the hopes of getting tech-savvy users to discourage the use of the ancient browser among their circle of friends. Internet, meet the IE6 Countdown webpage.

Microsofts goal is simple enough: to lower the existing market share od IE6 down to an almost non-existant 1%. And to achieve that, it needs the help of the Internet community to spread the message that IE6 is an antique browser that should not be used anymore due to its lack of support for modern web standards. Users who wish to join Microsoft in its noble cause can follow the instructions available on the website to help make the Internet a better place.

And just so you know, 4.4% of Singapores online community still makes use of IE6. If you know of any friends who are still on that relic of a web browser, lets just say that Microsoft has presented you with your chance to do your good deed for the day. If you need a little help in getting your message across the not-so-IT-savvy peers, perhaps this little comic might be of assistance.

(image is copyright of Robotjohnny.com and reproduced under a Creative Commons license)

Source: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Countdown

Lenovo ThinkPad X121e offers advanced video conferencing tools and robust performance

Lenovo Singapore has announcedthe ThinkPad X121e ultraportable laptop designed for mobile professionals. Itclaims tooffers business-class performance with choices of the latest Intel and AMD processors, easy-to-use, sophisticated voice and video tools, and looks stylish with soft matte finish in heatwave red or midnight black as well as anti-glare displays.

Measuring less than an inch thin and weighing 1.36 kg, the 11.1-inch ThinkPad X121e hasspill-resistant, island-style keyboard forlong hours of comfortable typing. It also comes withvarious security features such asself-encrypting USB and solid state drives, hardware password manager,rescue and recovery, and optional fingerprint reader for more secure log-in.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X121eoffers a wide range of connectivity options including USB, mobile broadband, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet. You can view your high definition contenton the big screen via the HDMI output. In terms of battery life, the ultraportable notebook PC also boasts over nine hours on a single charge. It is also equipped with advanced tools including a low-light sensitive web camera, noise suppressing keyboard, microphone mute key and the ThinkVantage Communications Utility 2.0; userscan makeseamless conference calls even under low light.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X121e laptops will be available through business partners from 27 September2011. Pricing details not available at press time.

Microsoft to Launch Video Service to rival YouTube

Microsoft will start testing an Internet video-sharing servicecalled Soapbox, the software company's answer to Web sensation YouTube. Soapboxis one facet of Microsoft's strategy to create attractive Internet content tolure away billions of Web advertising dollars from market leaders Google Inc.and Yahoo Inc. Offering everything from funny home videos to clips from oldTV shows, YouTube sprang out of nowhere late last year as an entertainment breakfor millions of broadband Web surfers. In August, the site had 34 million visitors,according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

Soapbox will be offered to a limited number of users during an invitation-onlytest phase, but Microsoft said it will go fully live as a part of MSN Videowithin six months. "We're definitely not blind to the fact that YouTube has a big lead rightnow," said Rob Bennett, general manager of MSN's entertainment and videoservices. "It's really early days in online video. This is still act one."

Microsoft's late arrival into the crowded video-sharing market, following offeringsfrom Google, Yahoo, Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit and News Corp.'s social networkingsite MySpace. Last month, Sony agreed to pay $ 65 million to buy video-sharingsite Grouper.com. Focused on original programming and clips from broadcast partners,MSN Video was once the most popular Internet video site until fans of user-generatedcontent propelled YouTube, MySpace and Google past Microsoft in recent months.

The runaway success of free-to-view online video sites has raised the questionof whether rights holders such as music, TV and movie companies should be compensated,even if clips are uploaded by users. In a departure from its past strategy ofrestricting MSN Video to its Internet Explorer browser and Windows Media Player,Microsoft will make Soapbox available for various browsers including MozillaFirefox and Apple Computer Inc.'s Safari.

Microsoft Surface Tablet may not come preloaded with Office 2013

If you are planning on purchasing the upcoming Windows RT Surface tablet, keep in mind that it may not come with Office 2013 preloaded. Insiders suggest that Microsoft has only just finished the beta, and therefore Office 2013 may launch a few months later than Windows 8 and the Surface RT tablet.

Now if consumers won’t get a Surface tablet with MS Office 2013 then what will they get? Chances are MS will preload the RT tablet with an earlier version of MS Office and offering Surface tablet users opportunities to upgrade to Office 2013 when it’s ready.

People that are interested in the Pro Surface tablet may not have to worry as much as MS Office 2013 may launch alongside the Pro tablet.

MS does not have a robust app developing community like that of iOS or Android, so an MS Office preloaded Surface tablet will be one of the main reasons why people will consider the Surface at launch. Savvy tablet users know that office suite apps are available for purchase on both iOS and Android, and for increased productivity they just need a small and cheap keyboard add on (some peripherals are more expensive than others, it just takes a little bargain hunting to find a cheap alternative).

Polaris Office, Documents To Go, and OfficeSuite Pro, among others, are some of the popular office software that are available for Android and iPad. The prices of these apps vary, but if paying for a document editing app is not a priority then people can opt to use free software like Google Doc.

We don’t know how robust MS Office is on the Surface tablet, yet, but hopefully the Office suite that comes preloaded with the Surface tablet is on par with its desktop counterpart.

Reference: neowin.net

LG Arena KM900 to debut at MWC 2009

Yesterday, LG announces their latest flagship mobile phone, Arena KM900, which will debut at next week's Mobile World Congress 2009 at Barcelona, Spain. Themultimedia phone features LG’s proprietary3D S-Class user interface which has a cube-based layout with touch-based 3D menus that makes navigation very easy.

According to Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications, the LG ARENA is capable of delivering an exhilarating multimedia experience, including features aided by Dolby and DivX technologies as well as enhanced Internet connectivity with HSDPA 7.2 networks, Wi-Fi, A-GPS and more.

Source: Korea NewsWire

Intel updates the DX79SI with the DX79SR

If you remember, when Intel initially revealed the X79 chipset it was said to feature additional SAS ports which over time were meant to be additional SATA ports, but in the end the chipset arrived with no extra storage interfaces at all. Even though Intel was expected to remedy this with a later chipset revision, this doesnt appear to be the case anymore, but Intel has decided to issue a revised version of its DX79SI motherboard with additional connectivity in a couple of areas.

Early pictures of the DX79SI from last year showed the board with a total of 10 SATA ports, but in the end the board only arrived with six, to many potential buys disappointment. The DX79SR has at least in part remedied this by sporting an extra Marvell SE9128 SATA controller which adds two more SATA 6Gbps ports.

The rear I/O has also been changed slightly with the addition of two more USB 3.0 ports courtesy of a four port host controller, although were not sure who the manufacturer is. Again, this was a feature missing on the DX79SI which it had space for. Intel has also done some minor changes to the PCB layout, there are no longer any lane switches between the first and second PCI Express x16 slots and many of the capacitors appear to have been changed.

The DX79SR will ship with an internal Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 2.1 module that attaches to one of the USB 2.0 headers. Sadly its limited to 150Mbps Wi-Fi and if you have a chassis with no plastic parts or large enough holes to the outside world so to speak, itll be hard to get any kind of signal with this module. Intel also includes a mouse pad and a thermal probe with the board. The DX79SR is set to replace the DX79SI entirely and it should end up costing around US$300 (S$375) at launch which should be later this month.

Maxtor Cuts Jobs and Prepares for Seagate Takeover

Despite growth in the storage industry, jobs and locations will always be expendable -- this is just the nature of business. Maxtor announced that it will be cutting roughly 900 jobs in its Singapore location. The company blames the job cuts on net losses amounting up to $ 104 million over the last fiscal year.According to a Reuters report, Maxtor had been experiencing slower hard disk shipments and lower volume in general for its range of products. The company also told reporters that costs associated with mergers affected its bottom line. The report claims:

During the first quarter, Maxtor experienced lower than expected unit volume growth, largely attributable to the pending acquisition. This lower than expected unit growth, combined with marginal merger-related market share losses, placed increased pressure on the company's already burdened cost structure and constrained Maxtor's ability to compete, especially on the low-end of the desktop drive market.

Maxtor also mentions that the job cuts are also to prepare for the completion of Seagate's acquisition, which is already taking place. After the merger is complete, Seagate will become the world's largest manufacturer of computer hard disks. We previously reported that Seagate was opening a new facility in Singapore and was preparing to hire 2000 new R&D employees. Interestingly, other forms of storage are on the rise, including the growingly popular NAND flash memory technology. SanDisk and Toshiba recently announced a joint project to build a massive NAND flash manufacturing facility in Japan.

Intel Wants Interchangeable Notebook Components

Intel wants to make laptops more accessible to users and would like to make devices more akin to their desktop counterparts. With the company's new Interchangeability Initiative, components including the optical drive, LCD screen, battery, power adapter and keyboard would all be upgradeable and can be swapped between notebooks. Hard drives are already for the most part interchangeable as long as you decide on PATA or SATA.

Intel is currently working with Asus, Compal and Quanta on development of 11 new notebook designs that will use the aforementioned interchangeable components. Intel expects to see the fruits of its labors within the next three to five years.

Logitech Launches B910 HD Webcam

Well known Swiss peripheral-device maker Logitech has unveiled the B910 business webcam.



The stylish webcam, optimized for Microsoft's Lync 2010*, has Carl Zeissglass lenses, a 5MP sensor, auto-focus, supports 720p (@ 30 fps) videorecording, two RightSound microphones (with enhanced noise reduction),RightLight 2 function (for improved recording in badly litsurroundings), and an USB 2.0 interface. The B910 HD webcam can bepurchased from authorized resellers and e-tailers at a MSRP of USD100.


* Microsoft’s new software which offers instant messaging, conferencingand enterprise voice capabilities via a single, easy-to-use interfaceon the PC, browser, and mobile device

News via [Softpedia]