NZXT reveals a full Hale hand of PSUs

Subject: Cases and Cooling | February 7, 2012 - 05:09 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: PSU, nzxt, modular psu, HALE90-750-M, HALE90-1000-M, HALE82-850-M, HALE82-750-M, HALE82-650-M, 80 Plus Gold, 80 Plus Bronze

X-bit Labs collected five PSUs from NZXT's HALE82 line including the HALE82-650-M, HALE82-750-M, HALE82-850-M, NZXT HALE90-750-M and HALE90-1000-M.  All of the PSUs are rated at least 80+ Bronze with the HALE90 models reaching 80+ Gold ratings.  This is a definite boon for those who plan on running the 1000W model.  All are 12V PSUs, with an internal converter to provide 3.3V and 5V, which means that these PSUs can provide in the neighbourhood of 99% of its maximum amperage to the 12V line to keep those GPUs fully fed.  Head on over and read through the whole review or else choose the PSU with the wattage appropriate for you to examine.

You can also catch Lee's thoughts on the 850W version in his latest review.

"Today we are going to talk about five power supply units from NZXT ranging in capacity from 650 W to 1000 W and certified according to 80 PLUS Bronze and Gold standards."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

CASES & COOLING

• PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 600W PSU @ Funky Kit
• Enermax Platimax 1200 W @ techPowerUp
• Thermaltake Smart 630 W Power Supply Review @ Hardware Secrets
• ThermalTake Smart 430W @ Funky Kit
• Thermaltake Smart Series 730W Power Supply @ Pro-Clockers
• Thortech Thunderbolt Plus 850W PSU @ Hardwareoverclock
• Thermaltake Dr. Power II ATX Power Supply Tester Review @ Tweaknews

Archos looks to grab some tablet market share

Subject: Mobile | February 7, 2012 - 01:05 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: archos, 101 G9, Android 3.2.1, honeycomb

The new 10.1" Archos 101 G9 sports a 1280 x 800 multi-touch capacitive screen and runs on a 4 core ARM cortex A9 @ 1GHz as well as 512MB of RAM which should be powerful enough to output 1080p video via the HDMI port.  There will also be two more models with faster processors and more RAM which should arrive to market in the near future.   The biggest change to this generation of Archos tablets is the bundled 3G stick which extends the networking capability of this device to include Wireless N, Bluetooth and cellular networks.  At $320 it is a little more expensive than some of the competition so head over to Hardware Heaven to find out if it is worth the extra money.

"Archos are back with an updated "Gen 9" version of the 101 Android tablet. Featuring Android 3.2.1 and updated specifications can it offer something worthwhile in an ever more crowded market?"

Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:

Mobile

• ASUS Transformer Prime @ Guru of 3D
• Sony VAIO VPC-F23BFX Review @ TechReviewSource
• External Graphics: The Way Forward For Gaming Laptops? @ eTeknix
• Tt eSPORTS Battle Dragon Bag Review @ Real World Labs
• Powerbag Backpack Review @ TechwareLabs
• Monaco Extreme Charge Review @ TechReviewSource
• Vaja Libretto Limited Edition iPad 2 Case Review @ Madshrimps
• Cooler Master Choiix Power Fort 5600 @ LanOC Reviews
• Motorola Droid Razr Maxx (Verizon Wireless) Review @ TechReviewSource
• Stem TimeCommand Audio Alarm Dock for iOS Devices Review @ Legit Reviews
• CPU Idling Problem In The Apple iPhone 4S @ TechARP

David Hewlett Joins PCPer for an Evening

Subject: Editorial | February 7, 2012 - 11:57 AM | Josh Walrath
Tagged: Ryan Shrout, podcast, PC Perspective, Josh Walrath, Jeremy Hellstrom, David Hewlett, Allyn Malventano

The Feb. 8 PC Perspective show on TWiT will feature special guest host David Hewlett.  David is most famously known as Dr. Rodney McKay from the Stargate television series (one of the few actors to actually show up in all three series).  He also directed, produced, and starred in the indy hit, "A Dog's Breakfast".

David is a self-proclaimed nerd and geek with a keen interest in technology.  In his misspent youth he would build his own computers and attempt some assembly coding (with limited success).  After achieving much greater success in the acting world he switched over to Macs once they adopted their current Unix/BSD based operating system.  A proud owner of a Macbook Air, iPhone, and iPad, David seems to revel in all things iOS.

Click here for more information!

Have HDD prices started to come back from the stratosphere?

Subject: General Tech | February 7, 2012 - 11:55 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: hdd, thailand, flooding

TechSpot did some number crunching to develop the chart you can see below which tracks the price of HDDs from September, before the flooding in Thailand straight through to last week.  The spike upwards as stock and manufacturing capability was destroyed is easily noticeable but then the pattern starts to fragment.  The Green lines from Seagate and WD seem to have the most resiliency, being among the first to start decreasing in price and the only ones with a still declining price.  The large drives, such as the 3TB Barracuda not only declined to reduced their price but are actually getting more expensive.  The mobile side of the market is also covered though it does not seem as hard hit as their desktop cousins.  They didn't collect data on Enterprise drives, which are few and far between for anyone looking to grow their data centre, since it is the mobile and desktop HDDs which interest most readers.  Check out the numbers here.

"The hard disk drive supply chain was hit hard late last year when a series of floods struck Thailand. The Asian country accounts for about a quarter of the world's hard drive production, but thousands of factories had to close shop for weeks as facilities were under water, in what is considered the world's fourth costliest natural disaster according to World Bank estimates. That's on top of the human cost of over 800 lives."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Adobe adds Flash sandboxing to Firefox @ The Register
• GK110 tapes out at last @ SemiAccurate
• Fabless Works for AMD @ SemiAccurate
• Nouveau Project Reverse-Engineered NVIDIA OpenCL Driver @ Phoronix
• Vendors dropping ultrabook prices in preparation of second-generation models @ DigiTimes
• TRENDnet TEW-692GR 450Mbps Concurrent Dual Band Wireless N Router and TEW-680MB HD Media Bridge @ X-bit Reviews
• eTeknix Tech Review Of 2011
• Corsair Vengeance M60 FPS Gaming Mouse Contest @ Legit Reviews

MAINGEAR Updates the TITAN 17 17 notebook with the power of Intel Core i7 3960x

Subject: Mobile | February 7, 2012 - 11:44 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: titan 17, maingear, gtx580m, 3960x extreme edition

It will cost you a fair amount but MAINGEAR has assembled an awe-inspiring 17.3" laptop.  Go full out and you will have Intel's fastest processor, a pair of GTX580Ms in SLI and 32GB of DDR3 in quad channel!  Plus you get Jagged Alliance Back in Action and Batman Arkham City tossed in to sweeten the pot.

Kenilworth, New Jersey – February 7, 2012 - MAINGEAR, an award-winning PC system builder offering custom desktops, notebooks, and workstations, has updated the TITAN 17 high performance desktop replacement solution with all new aesthetic features while still maintaining top of the line performance forPC gamers who want to harness desktop-like power wherever they go and creative professionals that can work on site with no loss in productivity.

The TITAN 17 features support for both the latest Intel Core i7 3930K and the Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition. With fast, intelligent multi-core technology that accelerates performance to match your workload, it delivers an incredible breakthrough in gaming performance. For both gamers and demanding users, the Titan 17 capitalizes on a dramatic leap forward in processing technology to provide all the power you need for even the most advanced games and applications.

Constantly looking to push performance boundaries, MAINGEAR’s TITAN 17 features the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M, combining the power of DirectX 11 and NVIDIA PhysX technologies. The GTX 580M can also be configured in SLI offering up to 2x’s performance scaling on today’s hottest PC games. The TITAN lets you play games the way they’re meant to be played without having to worry if your video card is up to the task.

The updated TITAN 17 also features support for the Quadro 5010M, featuring up to 4 GB of graphics memory and 384 CUDA cores. Built on the innovative NVIDIA Fermi architecture, the latest Quadro mobile graphics offerings integrate high performance computing capabilities with advanced visualization, transforming your TITAN 17 into a mobile super computer.

Gamer and PC enthusiasts on the go will never have to compromise with the TITAN 17. This powerhouse notebook can be customized with up to 32GB of DDR3 memory with speeds up to 1866MHz, two hardwired USB 3.0 ports, up to three SSD or SATA HDD’s with hardware RAID support, and even when fully loaded; it keeps the option for an optical drive. As the power of the notebook will allow user to do more faster, the TITAN 17 also offers a full size illuminated keyboard and numeric pad.

The MAINGEAR TITAN 17 is currently available for pre-order and is offering free shipping along with the highly anticipated legendary game: Jagged Alliance: Back in Action and Batman: Arkham City PC games. For more details visit: www.maingear.com/titan17.

Technical Specification:

• Video Card: up to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M SLI with 2GB GDDR5 or NVIDIA Quadro 5010M with up to 4GB GDDR5 Graphics memory
• Display: 17.3” (16:9) Full HD (1920x1080) LED-Backlit Display with Super Clear Glare Type Screen
• Processor: Intel Core i7-3930K Processor (3.20GHz)/(3.80GHz) in Turbo Mode, 12MB L3 Cache, LGA 2011 or Intel Core i7-3960X Processor Extreme Edition (3.30GHz)/(3.90GHz) in Turbo Mode, 15MB L3 Cache, LGA 2011
• Memory: Up to 32GB Quad Channel DDR3 – 1600/1866Mhz
• Optical Drive: Up to Blu-ray reader/8x Multi Combo (BD-R, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
• Hard Drive: Up to 3x 600GB Solid State Drive or 750GB 7200RPM SATA 2.5
• Network Adapter: Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1102 supports 802.11a/b/g/n
• Keyboard: Illuminated Full size isolated keyboard with Numeric Pad, 6 instant buttons for Volume up, Volume down, Mute, Wi-Fi On/Off, Bluetooth On/Off, and Camera On/Off
• Audio: Built-in High-Definition Audio Slots: One ExpressCard 54/34 Slot and Built in 9-in-1 Media Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/SD/Mini-SD/SDHC/SDXC)
• Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home, Professional or Ultimate 64-Bit
• Battery: Removable Polymer Smart Lithium-Ion battery pack
• I/O Ports: 1-HDMI 1.4a out, 1-DVI-I out, 1 Display Port 1.2, 2-USB 3.0, 2-USB 2.0, 1 IEEE-1394b Fire Wire, 1-S/PDIF out, 1 RJ-45 LAN, 1-eSATA Port (powered USB 3.0 (AC/DC) combo)
• Security: Kensington Lock and fingerprint reader Dimensions: (W)16.5" x (H)2.2" x (D)11.3", 12.13 LBs with battery pack
• Price: Starts at $3,499

“The new MAINGEAR TITAN 17 offers the best in desktop replacement versatility.” Said Wallace Santos, CEO and Co-founder of MAINGEAR Computers. “With the power of the latest Intel 2nd generation Core I7 Extreme Edition desktop processor, dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580Ms in SLI and with the option to use Quadro 510M graphics, this system caters to anyone looking for the ultimate mobile powerhouse.”

PC Perspective Office Tour - Feb 6th, 2012

Subject: Editorial | February 6, 2012 - 11:00 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: pcper, office tour

Since we started talking about plans for the brand new PC Perspective office on the podcast I had some requests to keep readers in the loop as to how construction and installation were progressing.  While I forgot to take a video before the walls came down, Ken and I stopped running Cat 6 cable long enough to take a short video and walk you through where we stand today.

You won't see much but some networking, drywall, ceiling and electrical work being done but if you want an idea of how the process is all starting, this is first look at our new studio and testing office!

If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

NVIDIA Kepler Graphics Cards Lineup Leak To Web

Subject: Graphics Cards | February 6, 2012 - 06:23 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: nvidia, kepler, graphics, gpu

Although there were quite a few rumors leading up to AMD's Radeon 7000 series launch, the Internet has been very quiet on the greener side of the graphics market. Finally; however, we have some rumors to share with you on the Nvidia front. As always, take these numbers with more than your average grain of salt.

Specifically, EXP Review managed to uncover two charts that supposedly detail specifics about a range of GeForce 600 series Kepler cards from the number of stream processors to the release date. Needless to say, it's a lot of rumored information to take in all at once.

Anyway, without further adieu, let's dive into the two leaked charts.

From the chart above, we can see the entire lineup of Kepler cards from the NVIDIA GTX 640 to the dual GPU GTX 690.  The die size in the higher end GeForce cards is approximately 50% larger than that of the AMD Radeon HD 7970, but not much bigger than that of the GTX 580.  If only we knew the TDP of these cards!  In the next chart, we see alleged performance comparison versus the AMD competition.

If these numbers hold true, NVIDIA will handily beat the current AMD offerings; however, I would wait for reviews to come out before making any purchasing decisions.  One interesting aspect is the amount of GDDR5 memory.  It seems that NVIDIA is sticking with 2GB frame buffers (or less) per GPU while AMD has really started upping the RAM.  It will be interesting to see how this affects gaming in NVIDIA Surround and/or at high resolutions.

What do you guys think about these numbers, do you think Kepler will live up to the alleged performance scale figures?

ASUS Xonar Essence One, not all ears need apply

Subject: General Tech | February 6, 2012 - 05:03 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: audio, asus, Xonar Essence One

The Asus Xonar Essence One is an external soundcard and DAC designed specifically for use with high end earphones.  This is designed for use by people with very discerning ears, if you are not much of an audiophile or only use $50 headphones you will be missing out on the benefits Xonar Essence One offers.  If you are quite willing to discuss the merits of unbalanced and balanced outputs however this device is worth investigating.  The quality parts contributed to the premuim price of $600 but they also raised the audio quality enough for the ears of the Kitguru reviewer who highly recommends this for professional musicians and audiophiles.

"Today we are looking at the latest ‘audiophile’ grade Asus Xonar Essence One external soundcard and digital to analogue converter. The Essence series of products have targeted the enthusiast and audiophile user now for some time, using high grade components such as BurrBrown DAC chips. Today we analyse the latest Xonar Essence One from ASUS in a very challenging environment, paired up with a flagship, limited edition Valve/Tube CD player and award winning Audeze LCD2 headphones."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Audio Corner

• Westone 4R In-ears @ techPowerUp
• NuForce uDAC-2 Digital-to-Analog Converter Review @ TechwareLabs
• Thermaltake Tt eSports Shock Spin Gaming Headset @ Pro-Clockers
• Arctic Living Audio Relay Wireless Media Extender Review @ eTeknix
• SteelSeries Sibera v2 – Natus Vincere edition @ XSReviews
• Microlab M700 2.1 speakers @ XSReviews

Origin PC Now Offering Frostbyte 360 All In One Liquid Cooling System

Subject: Cases and Cooling | February 6, 2012 - 02:49 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: water cooling, triple radiator, origin pc, liquid cooling, hsf, cpu block

Origin PC has started offering a unique water cooling solution called the Frostbyte 360. The self contained water loop includes a CPU water black, pump, tubing, and a triple 120mm radiator. The company claims that the new cooler has allowed their overclocking teams to reach overclocked processor speeds of 5.2 GHz on their systems. Kevin Wasielewski, the Origin PC CEO and co-founder has stated that the Frostbyte 360 is "a maintenance free liquid cooling solution, Origin PC customers can enjoy top-end CPU performance at a fraction of the cost."

Although his claims that "traditional" watercooling systems for extreme overclocking required hundreds in not thousands of dollars of components is a bit extreme, it is a hobby that can get expensive.

Especially if you are only interested in cooling a CPU, the various "all in one" solutions like the Corsair Hydro series and the Antec Kuhler series can be a viable option. What is interesting about the Origin offering; however, is the inclusion of a triple 120mm radiator in the loop, which is more than the competition and should be plenty of radiator space to keep your processor nice and chilly even when overclocked.

According to Origin, features of the new Frostbyte 360 water cooling system include:

• Micro-channel copper CPU block
• 360mm (3x120mm) high efficiency copper radiator
• Embedded temperature sensor measures copper surface temperature accurate to within 1°C
• Factory sealed, maintenance free operation
• Silent pump
• Lightweight
• Thermal resistance as low as 0.085 C/W
• 1 to 3 year warranty on PCs that include the new cooler.

Currently, the new Frostbyte 360 sealed loop water cooler is available in Origin PC's Genesis series computers, which start at $1,599 USD and can be added to the computer in the configurator.  UPDATE: The Frostbyte 360 is not sold as a standalone product; however, current and previous Origin PC customers can purchase it as an upgrade.  It will be interesting to see if the the company will take on the Corsair and others more directly by selling the Frostbyte 360 cooler itself to customers.  Although not expandable like a traditional water cooler, it is also less costly and should not require any maintenance for at least a few years.  Would you be interested in using one of these 360 rad sealed loop coolers in your builds?

Cooler Master's expanding Storm now features the Xornet gaming mouse

Subject: General Tech | February 6, 2012 - 02:35 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: input, gaming mouse, cooler master, CMStorm, xornet

The CMStorm Xornet attempts to give you the performance of a full sized gaming mouse in a form small enough to be easily portable.  It still features the 2000 DPI Storm Tactical Optical Sensor that its bigger relatives sport as well as programmable buttons.  Red & Blackness Mods had some trouble getting used to the shape of the mouse, it is smaller lengthwise but much taller than other mice in the CMStorm lineup.  If you find yourself on the road and in need of a gaming mouse, for $30 CoolerMaster might have the perfect solution.

"Corsair has recently entered the mouse/keyboard gaming peripherals market and decided to make a good impression. The M90 mouse features multiple programmable buttons for RTS/MMO gamers, contains an aluminum chassis for increased durability and comes with the Avago Technologies ADNS-9500 LaserStream Gaming Sensor."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Corsair Vengeance M60 @ OC3D
• Thermaltake Azurues Gaming Mouse @ Pro-Clockers
• Roccat Isku Keyboard @ Rbmods
• Cyborg M.M.O. 7 Gaming Mouse Review @ HardwareHeaven
• CM Storm Xornet Gaming Mouse @ Rbmods
• SteelSeries World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse Review - Legendary Edition @ Legit Reviews
• GeiL Epicgear MEDUZA Mouse @ Hardwareoverclock
• Cyborg GLIDE 7 Gaming Surface Review @ eTeknix
• ROCCAT Alumic Mouse Pad @ techPowerUp
• Corsair Vengeance K60 FPS Gaming Keyboard @ Kitguru
• QPad MK-80 Mechanical Keyboard Review @ eTeknix
• QPAD MK-85 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard @ techPowerUp
• ROCCAT Isku Illuminating Gaming Keyboard Review @ HardwareLOOK

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em; Intel goes Sandforce

Subject: Storage | February 6, 2012 - 01:12 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ssd, SF-2281 controller, sandforce, Intel, 520 Cherryville, 25nm

While the Intel 320 Series did hold the top spot for quite a while it has been a while since Intel refreshed their SSD line and has fallen behind new controllers in performance.  As of today that changes for the 520 Cherryville series has arrived and it is using none other than SandForce's SF-2281 controller.  Using such a popular controller leaves Intel with a bit of a problem, how do they stand out in such a crowded market?  One way that they have chosen is their home made 25nm synchronous NAND flash; Intel designs and fabs their own which gives them the opportunity to ensure the best flash chips make it into their drives.  The other way they've chosen to differentiate themselves is with a 5-year warranty for owners of this new drive.  Read how they did performance-wise at The Tech Report or else head straight to Al's review right here.

"Intel's newest solid-state drive pairs a SandForce controller with custom firmware and 25-nm NAND. We've tested the 60 and 240GB models to see how they fare against more than two dozen SSDs, hybrids, and mechanical drives."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• Intel SSD 520 Series 240 GB Solid State Drive Review @ Hardware Secrets
• Intel 520 Series 240GB Review @ OCC
• Intel SSD 520 Series 240GB @ Techspot
• Intel SSD 520 Series Solid State Drive @ Benchmark Reviews
• Intel SSD 520 240GB @ Bjorn3D
• Intel 520 Series 240GB Solid State Drive @ Kitguru
• Intel 520 240GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
• Intel 520 Series 240GB SSD Launch Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Intel series 520 240GB @ Guru3D
• Intel 520 240GB SSD Review (Round One) - Intel Releases Amazing SATA 3 SandForce Driven SSD @ SSD Review
• Intel 520 'Cherryville' Series 240GB SSD Review in RAID 0 @ Legit Reviews
  

  ---

• Kingston SSDNow V+ 200 120GB SATA III SSD @ SSD Review
• Samsung's 830 Series solid-state drive @ The Tech Report
• MyDigitalSSD 'Bullet Proof' 128GB mSATA SATA 2 SSD @ SSD Review
• Corsair Performance Series Pro 128GB Solid State Drive @ Tweaktown
• SSD performance scaling across the spectrum @ The Tech Report
• Kingston SSDNow V+200 120GB Upgrade Kit Review @ Real World Labs
• Seagate Barracuda 3 TB Hard Drive Review @ Hardware Secrets
• Plextor PX-LB950UE External 12x Blu-ray Writer @ PCSTATS
• Synology DS212 2-Bay NAS @ Tweaktown
• Compact Network Attached Storage from Synology: DiskStation DS411 Slim @ X-bit Labs
• Synology DS-212 Two-Bay NAS Review @ Tweaknews
• Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 Thumb Drive @ Tweaktown
• Seagate GoFlex Turbo Review @ TechReviewSource

AMD drops a module and keeps its socket

Subject: General Tech | February 6, 2012 - 12:36 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: amd, piledriver, Seoul, Abu Dhabi, fad

One of the many interesting bits of information AMD disseminated at this years FAD started some conjecture about possible problems with Piledriver.  It seems that somewhere along the line AMD dropped a module on the Seou chip bringing its core count down from 10 to 8.  Once the hue and cry died down a bit a theory propounded by SemiAccurate offered a sensible theory for the change.  It seems likely that AMD initially developed this family of chips with the belief that DDR4 would have made it to market by now, perhaps in compensation for the delay in adopting DDR3.  Unfortunately DDR4 is nowhere to be seen outside of testing laboratories which has had an effect on AMD's development plans.  Without new memory there is no extra memory bandwidth which will in turn starve the extra cores on the chip and likely slow the performance of all of the cores.  Instead AMD opted to trim out the extra cores and as a benefit they get to utilize their existing sockets as opposed to introducing another one. 

"A lot of people are in a tizzy because AMD (NYSE:AMD) has changed the upcoming Seoul CPU from 10 to 8 cores. The general responses ranges from AMD incompetence to apocalypse, but all it really signals is a lack of technical understanding on their behalf.

The slide in question was the server roadmap we wrote up here. It introduces Piledriver cored Abu Dhabi and Seoul chips, successors to the Bulldozer based Interlagos and Valencia respectively. The base part has 4 modules/8 cores, and the bigger variant is two of those in a package. The big controversy is that they were supposed to be 5 module/10 core parts."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Micron appoints a new CEO @ The Inquirer
• DIY Windows 8 Tablet @ Hack a Day
• The TR Podcast 105: Eye candy and SSD scaling
• Scott Luminor Sound and Light Wireless System (i-DXS 10 L Luminor) @ Tweaktown
• Timeline: Eight Years of Facebook Features, Feats and Flops @ TechReviewSource
• Win two fully-loaded Intel Ivy Bridge powered PCs @ Kitguru

Verizon And Coinstar Backing New Subscription Redbox + Streaming Movie Service

Subject: General Tech | February 6, 2012 - 12:27 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: verizon, subscription service, redbox, movies

Netflix has stood at the top of the hill for quite a while now as the streaming and disc subscription service of choice despite the price hikes and Warner Brothers' stupidity in regards to the 56 day waiting period to get a DVD (although it takes only an hour to pirate...).  They may have a new contender later this year; however, because, Verizon and Coinstar (the company behind Redbox) are teaming up to create a joint venture that will launch a new subscription service offering physical discs through the Redbox kiosks and streaming and download-able movies through Verizon.

The new joint venture will launch the product portfolio in the second half of 2012, according to Verizon. Further, the joint venture will be a limited liability company with Verizion holding a 65% stake and Coinstar holding a 35% stake.  Neither company was willing to go into details on how much the subscription would cost or how exactly it would work at this time due to "competitive concerns."  They did dole out a few small bits of information about the service, however.  

Verizon's President of Consumer and Mass Business Markets Bob Mudge talked confidently about the new streaming service during a conference call to the press where he talked about putting Verizon's large Fiber to the Home (their FIOS service), DSL, and Wireless 4G LTE networks to work to deliver streaming services "to all consumers across the US" whenever they want and on the devices they want to use. Meanwhile, Coinstar will be using the thousands of Redbox kiosks in malls, grocery stores, Wal-Marts, Walgreens, and gas stations to deliver physical discs to consumers throughout the US. They are planning a single source, multi-platform, national product, and will be releasing more details as they get closer to the launch window.

It is certainly interesting, and the streaming subscription space could really use healthy competition and companies with enough weight to throw around to muscle the studios into entering the 21st century with increased streaming licenses and better contract deals. Redbox has recently revolted against Warner Brothers' 56 day waiting period in favor of obtaining the movies through other means, so the studios are not exactly friendly to renting discs much less streaming rights. Here's hoping that the new joint venture can become profitable and serve as further proof that providing a subscription service is a viable revenue stream to studios while being affordable to consumers. A commenter on another forum suggested that it would be a great idea for Verizon to incorporate the streaming service into its FIOS plans as a value add, which is a move that would certainly spread adoption and give the company a quick influx of users!

Do you think Verizon and Coinstar (Redbox) can take on Netflix?

AVADirect First To Offer X79 Gaming Notebook, The Future of Desktop Replacements

Subject: Systems | February 6, 2012 - 11:25 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ava

AVADirect, a leading provider of custom notebooks, is the first to offer Clevo's P270WM mobile gaming notebook.

The future is here, and AVADirect is readily expanding its offerings with hardware to prepare for it. For those who need ultimate performance on the go, AVADirect can feed your need for mobile speed with the Clevo P270WM. Based off of the Intel X79 chipset and Sandy Bridge-E processors, end-users can expect performance increases as much as 35-50 percent while keeping current and ahead of the curve for their much needed productivity, efficiency, and entertainment. Promising new features give the Clevo P270WM a name and reputation that is surely to leave a lasting impression for those who have it at their fingertips. The industry rookie, relative to age rather than experience, has no limits to its depth of functionality.

The P270WM's design shapes the ground we stand on by creating new standards for mobile desktop replacements. The revolutionary X79-fueled P270WM, being the successor of the world renowned Clevo X7200, supports all of the functionality provided by its older brother. Three 9.5 inch hard drives, with optional RAID, two USB 3.0 ports, SLI support, HD LED screen, HDMI 1.4a support, and the recently re-designed express card slot for third-party expansion are still key features of the newly offered Clevo P270WM Gaming Notebook.

The Nvidia GTX 580M 2GB comes standard in the Clevo P270WM and offers SLI support for gaming duality. The GPU offers 384 CUDA cores, or 768 when in SLI. Furthermore, the victor of desktop replacements offers the Quadro 5010M 4GB for the elitist AutoCAD or developing engineer. Combined with the support of Quad-channel DDR3 SODIMM RAM and speeds up to 1866Mhz, creating a configuration suitable for your tasks is as simple as a few clicks on AVADirect's website. The board features a total of four SODIMM slots expandable up to 32GB. The P270WM includes full 3D support, which has never been provided in a desktop replacement until now. End-users will more importantly be interested in the first-ever backlit keyboard integrated in the P270WM notebook. Clevo has not received outstanding remarks in the past for their lack of aesthetically pleasing designs, but a backlit keyboard changes everything enthusiasts have grown to know about Clevo's design.

AVADirect will begin to accept pre-orders for the X79 high-end gaming notebook as of today. The base price starts at around $3000.00 and will feature the Intel core i7 3930K, GTX 580M 2B, 4GB of DDR3 RAM at 1333Mhz, 750GB 7200RPM hard disk, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

Customize your own here.

Microsoft Removing Start Orb Button In Windows 8

Subject: General Tech | February 6, 2012 - 11:19 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: windows 8, windows, start orb, start button, microsoft, crazy

Microsoft is continuing full steam ahead with Windows 8 development where they axe many of the familiar features of previous Windows iterations. According to a post over at The Verge, the latest feature to get removed is the start button of all things. In the "Consumer Preview" version of the upcoming operating system, users will be greeted with a desktop that shows application icons and the Super Bar, but no start button in sight.

Oddly enough, they are removing the Start button in favor of a small area in the lower left of the screen that, when hovered over with a mouse or swiped over on a touchscreen, a Windows 8 charm (small menu) will appear along with a thumbnail preview of the mode that will be switched to upon clicking the element. For example, when you are in the Metro Start Screen mode, hovering over this area would show a small preview of the full Windows desktop and vice versa.

I'm a bit confused by this move as it doesn't really add anything to the experience, and makes the start "button" hover area harder to hit and find. Tech support people are likely crying now, as it is difficult enough to get people to click on the start button much less have the patience to hover over an area or perform a swipe action in the lower left of the screen! Not to mention that the start button has been a signature of the Microsoft operating system since Windows 95.  At least the Windows key (i hope) still works as expected, but it seems like a non sensical move.  How do you guys feel about the change?  Will you be keeping your relatives and/or employees on Windows 7 (heh)?