Thursday, January 22, 2009

MSI reveals two AM3 motherboards

by: Cristian

Arriving at the AM3 pre-launch party after Asus and Gigabyte, MSI has now presented its first AM3 motherboards, the 790FX-GD70 and 790GX-G65. Pictured below, the upcoming boards support AMD AM2 as well as the yet to be released AM3 processors, have four DDR3-1333 memory slots each and feature the APS (Active Phase Switching) technology for enhanced power conversion efficiency.

The 790FX-GD70 makes use of the 790FX + SB750 chip combo to provide four PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots (and CrossFireX support), has one eSATA and eight SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, the second-generation DrMOS, dual Gigabit Ethernet and 7.1 channel audio. Equipped with the 790GX and SB750 chips, the 790GX-G65 has two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots, DirectX 10-ready integrated graphics backed by 1Gb of DDR3 1333 MHz SidePort memory, six SATA 3.0 Gbps connectors, one Gigabit Ethernet port, an 7.1 channel audio.

Unfortunately, MSI has yet to provide a shipping date for the two motherboards but something tells us February will see them in stores.See the original posting
Source & Image : http://www.tcmagazine.com/

AMD Fusion Gaming Utility Version 1.0 Released

AMD today launched the first official version of its Fusion Gaming Utility. Working on AMD systems only, the Fusion Gaming Utility turns off various Windows processes and thus gains some additional performance when needed. AMD Fusion works with both Microsoft Windows XP 32/64-bit and Windows Vista 32/64-bit.

General :
This utility is being released as a version 1.0 and, as such, may have additional bugs or errors that are not outlined in this Errata guide which result in system instability, data corruption or incorrect operation of the software or computer system in which it is implemented, We are looking into these issues, and new releases will be available on this site, AMD Fusion for Gaming will run on any PC with an AMD processor, but offers additional tuning for such systems with AMD chipsets and.

Errata:

  • The system may hang when running profiles utilizing AMD OverDrive cpu tuning on Windows Vista 64-bit and XP 64-bit operating systems, requiring a reboot
  • The system may hang when engaging a profile from the simple mode (button) interface, if the mouse click is held and the mouse is moved off of the application, on Windows XP systems, requiring a reboot
  • The system may hang when a profile is disengaging if the user is moving and/or clicking the mouse, requiring a reboot
  • It may not be possible to create custom profile with ATI Catalyst Auto-Tune GPU tuning enabled on Windows XP 64-bit systems
  • In Windows XP 64-bit and Vista 64-bit operating systems, there may be a long delay waiting for a profile to engage
  • When AMD Fusion for Gaming is disengaged, the system may not be fully restored to its previous state, requiring a reboot
  • Valve's Steam online gaming platform will be shut down when engaging a profile
  • Some applications that are shut down will not automatically start back up when AMD Fusion for Gaming disengages
  • Some applications may not shut down as intended when AMD Fusion for Gaming engages
  • AMD OverDrive upgrades may not install properly with AMD Fusion for Gaming installed on the system
  • Some special characters in custom profile names do not save correctly
  • A message that states that ATI Auto-Tune has not yet been performed may not display when running profiles utilizing GPU tuning
  • When editing or creating a profile, the Enter key will cancel the operation without a warning message
  • Profiles with leading or trailing white space characters may cause multiple profiles to appear to have the same name
  • On the status screen, the font appears to change from top to bottom
  • Profile names can not be changed
  • The application window will not remain on a secondary display when switching between the simple and advanced views
  • A new profile will overwrite an existing profile with the same name, without a warning message.
AMD Fusion Gaming Utility Version 1.0
See the original posting
By: malware techpowerup.com
Source : http://www.techpowerup.com/

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

HP Pavilion DV5-1010US 15.4-inch Laptop (Review)

HP Pavilion DV5-1010US 15.4-inch Laptop has the newest Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4GB of RAM that enables you to use multiple demanding applications, such as photo editing, DVD burning and playing a game, at the same time. Control content from up to 10 feet away with the HP Mobile Remote Control that can be stored in the ExpressCard slot for convenience. Listen without disturbing others with the included stereo earbud headphones, while dual headphone jacks also allow you to share your entertainment.

Store all your favorite digital memories such as movies and photos with the huge 320 GB Hard Drive, and get faster backups by connecting an external hard drive through the eSATA port. 15.4 diagonal WXGA (1280 x 800) BrightView Widescreen Display Built-in Webcam and Microphone NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS with 256MB Dedicated Graphics Memory with up to 2047MB Shared Graphics Memory LightScribe SuperMulti DVD+-R/RW Drive with Double Layer Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless Integrated Bluetooth 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN 5-in-1 Bridge Media Adapter - MMC, SD, MS, MS Pro, xD ExpressCard 54/34 Slot 3 x USB 2.0, USB2.0/eSATA, 2 x Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, HDMI, RJ-11 (Modem), RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions - 14.05 (W) x 10.12 (D) x 1.65 (H) Approximate Unit Weight - 5.83 Pounds.

The streamlined look is enhanced with a color matched keyboard and touchpad. Touch media controls light up and become visible only when the system is powered on, enhancing the clean appearance. Providing more multimedia features than ever before, QuickPlay enables access to DVDs, videos, photos, music, karaoke, games. The dv5-1010us features crisp Altec Lansing audio and an HDMI port that enables you to watch films on an HDTV. Turn your next instant message into a live video chat with the integrated webcam and omni directional microphone for capturing shor
t videos to share on your favorite social networking site. The HP ProtectSmart feature locks your hard drive into place when it senses abrupt motion.

See the original posting
Source & Image : http://slayo.com/

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Chip giant whips out low-power quad-core CPUs

(Intel cuts prices too)
By Tony Smith

Intel has rolled out some new CPUs and cut the prices of old ones. The chip giant's desktop product list now includes the Core 2 Quad Q9550s, Q9400s and Q8200s. The suffix indicates they're all low-power version of existing quad-core chips, each sporting a reduced TDP of 65W, down from 95W.

Clocked at, respectively, 2.83GHz, 2.66GHz and 2.33GHz, the CPUs all sit on a 1333MHz frontside bus. They contain 12MB, 6MB and 4MB of L2 cache, and are priced at $369, $320 and $245 when ordered in batches of 1000.

The price cuts - of between 16 per cent and 40 per cent - take the 95W Core 2 Quads down to below those prices, leaving us in the unusual situation of a 3GHz Q9650 costing less than a slower, lower-model-number part, the Q9550s.

Intel also introduced the 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo E7500 - 3MB L2, 1066MHz FSB, $133 - and the 2.8GHz Pentium Dual Core E5400 - 2MB L2, 800MHz FSB, $84.

Both the Core 2 Duo and the Pentium Dual Core lines also experience downward price adjustments, of up to 15 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively. ®

See the original posting
Source : http://www.reghardware.co.uk/

Overclock Your AMD Processor with Freeware AMD OverDrive 2.1.5

By : Sandip

Over years process of overclocking processor to gain performance boost has been increased, gone those days when you need to manually overclock your processor by soldering pins of chip nowadays sophisticated overclocking software are available to automate processor overclocking
process.

In terms of overclocking, AMD processors seem to be best suited and found to be more successful then Intel processor. So only most of the overclocking software available are only for AMD processor. Here is one freeware overclocking software AMD OverDrive 2.1.5 specifically designed for AMD processor by AMD itself.

AMD OverDrive is ultimate overclocking utility to push your system to its extreme limit which is not only for experts but novice users can also use it to overclock CPU. AMD OverDrive supports multi threaded CPU testing to ensure overclocked CPU and Processor stability.

AMD OverDrive lets you to experiment with each and every CPU parameter to improve system and performance. AMD drive lets you to monitor all performance settings including clock memory, voltage, CPU memory timing. Screenshots of AMD Drive Ultimate Overclocking Utility
See the original posting

Please Note : Overclocking may permanently Damage your CPU, Processor or any component and void your component warranty, do it at your own risk.
Download AMDOverDrive 2.1.5 and overclock your AMD processor to achive high performace.

Source & Image : http://www.blogsdna.com/

Malicious software uses fake Obama site to infect computers

by l33tdawg

Hackers are using malicious software that exploits the buzz ahead of Tuesday's inauguration of U.S. president-elect Barack Obama to spread spam and gain access to individual computers, allowing them to potentially steal sensitive information.

A new group of inauguration-themed emails titled "What is going on with our country?" or Breaking News" pass on messages like "Obama is gone," according to Symantec Corp., a maker of anti-virus software.

In the body of each email sent by the software, known as e-Malicious, is a link to a site that, at first glance, appears to be Obama's campaign website. Clicking on any link on the site, including one that reads, "Barack Obama has refused to be President," will download the Waledec botnet on the user's computer. Once installed, Waledec could allow a remote user to gain access to the computer and steal information or spread malicious software and spam.
See the original posting
Source : http://hackinthebox.org/

Monday, January 19, 2009

Stealth LPC-650 LittlePC unveiled

by Thomas De Maesschalck dvhardware.com

Stealth Computer introduced the LPC-650 Series LittlePC, this computer fits in the palm of your hand and uses a Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

The Stealth Model: LPC-650 is the most powerful small form Little PC we have ever offered. This full featured machine utilizes the latest Intel core 2 duo processor technology and we believe it offers the most processing power per square inch of any personal computer available today." stated Ed Boutilier President & CEO of Stealth.com Inc.

The LPC-650 mini PC features a multitude of I/O connectivity built into its impressively small design such as; Gigabit LAN, Wi-Fi 802.11g, 4-USB 2.0, Serial, 2-VGA Video, Audio and HDMI ports. The LPC-650 supports up to 4GB in memory and has a built-in 2.5� high-shock hard drive with up to 500GB's of storage space for archived data. For applications that require extra high shock, vibration and wide temperature ranges an optional SSD (Solid State Hard Drive) is available. A slim DVD/CD-RW optical drive comes standard with an optional DVD burner available. Systems are compatible with Microsoft Vista/XP, Linux etc and can be custom configured to meet the exact needs of the OEM or end user. Stealth's LittlePC products serve a demanding market where powerful solutions are being deployed in space-challenged applications around the world. Digital Signs, Kiosks, Embedded Control, Thin-Clients, POS & Human/Machine Interface are just a few of the applications that are ideal for Stealth's LittlePC products.

for more details specifications
See the original posting
Source & Image : http://www.dvhardware.net/

Hot game sequels on the way in 2009

(image:KillZone 2)

After a record year for game sales in 2008 - up 17% on the previous year despite the recession - we've got some hot sequels to look forward to in the first quarter '09.

Here are some of the big ones I'm hanging out to play (click here for screenshot gallery):

F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, out February 13): The survival horror FPS returns with the story picking up from the end of the first game after encountering a powerful psychic named Alma.

Street Fighter IV (PC, 360, PS3, out February 20): the old arcade classic moves towards 3D with new characters and moves.

The Sims 3 (PC, out February 20): promises easier tools to create any Sim you fancy and seamless open neighbourhoods.

Halo Wars (Xbox 360 February 26): set 20 years before the original Halo universe, moves the franchise to a real time strategy game in which you command the armies of the UNSC warship "Spirit of Fire," consisting of familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the alien Covenant. It's been developed by Microsoft's Ensemble Studios, not Bungie.

KillZone 2 (PS3, February 27, pictured above) : the intense galactic FPS PS2 title finally moves to PS3. Now the humans take the battle to Helghan, the home planet of the Helghast forces.

Resident Evil 5 (360 and PS3, March 13): Chris Redfield from the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Code Veronica, returns and goes to Africa where a new bio-terrorism threat is changing both people and animals into crazy creatures.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS, March 20): will be interesting to see how this original chapter about fighting Triad crime works out using a DS touch screen for the first time in the franchise.

Wolfenstein (PC, PS3, 360, April 24): The legendary supernatural thriller from id software using its tech 4 engine and promising great graphics. You play agent BJ Blazkowicz battling combat troops, otherworldly forces, and the dark science created by a supernatural Nazi force wanting world domination.

Wii Sports Resort (mid-yearish); Wii Sports is still driving the console to be the biggest seller of the big three but it's time for some more games. It'll come with a Wii MotionPlus - an expansion device that allows the Wii Remote to more accurately capture complex motion.

Bioshock 2 (PC, 360, PS3, Sept 25): One of the most original games for some years follows up with a prequel according to hints from the developers.

On the let's hope-so list:

Halo 3 ODST (Xbox 360) is like an FPS expansion to Halo 3 from Bungie and named after the elite Orbital Drop Shock Troopers in Halo 3.

Socom Confrontation (PS3) promises exciting multiplayer with up to 32 player battles and massive player tournaments.

Final Fantasy XIII: Square Enix is now indicating this won't be this year after all.

God of War 3: promises to be in full 1080p for the PS3 and will be the final chapter in the trilogy.

Mass Effect 2: one of 360's most exciting original sci-fi releases may see a sequel late this year.

Guild Wars 2: Now in "alpha production" it will include four new playable races.

Guitar Hero: Metallica (most consoles, said to be first quarter), like the Aerosmith version, focuses on the one band.

Godfather 2 sees the Don of your family killed in Cuba so you take the reins of a battered organization to re-establish the mob family power base.

What's the one you're looking out for the most?

by: The Mad Gamer

See the original posting
Source & Image : http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/

Running 12GB of Memory on Intel Core i7 Motherboards

By: Nathan Kirsch

Over the weekend I was looking around at various forums and some readers on Corsair's House of Help Forum were asking Corsair if running 12GB of DDR3 memory on an Intel Core i7 platform was possible. The answer from the staff over there was it is possible and a couple people have shown it done. With many enthusiasts getting into photo editing using CS4 and more people starting to edit HD movie content this subject that will come up more as time goes on. Since I have some matching Corsair 6GB triple channel memory kits I figured why not give it a shot this weekend to see what would happen, if anything, and answer some questions about running 12GB of memory. The results from tinkering around with 12GB of memory on a Core i7 platform was more than impressive, so sit back and read along about my journey of going to 12GB of system memory.

Armed with two Corsair DOMINATOR 6GB 1866MHz CL9 memory kits with the AIRFLOW fan I set out to see how easy it would be to run 12GB of memory on an Intel Core i7 desktop system. These TR3X6G1866C9DF memory kits retail for $449 each and are fastest Core i7 triple channel memory kit that Corsair has to offer. Since these kits go through the tightest screening and binning at Corsair I figured that a pair of these kits should provide not only the best chance at getting 12GB of memory running, but also the best performance should overclocking be in order.

The ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard with BIOS version 1102 was used since the boards price point is in the middle of those LGA 1366 boards available today ($285 new and $229 open box at Newegg) and has proven itself to be very stable.

When I fired up the system with X.M.P. settings the system immeditally hung at 1866MHz with 1.6 Volts, so I turned off/on the power supply and restarted the system. I went back into the BIOS and lowered the memory speed to 1600MHz and tried again. The system posted and was fully Prime 95 stable as you can see in the video clip above. If you think that is impressive you better sit down and go on to the next page to see how things went when I manually set the BIOS settings on the next page.

See the original posting
Source & Image : http://www.legitreviews.com/

Victorinox Presentation Pro Swiss Army Knife

by : Nick Mokey

Long gone are the days when a Swiss Army Knife was only good for whittling, opening bottles, and accidentally getting suspended from school. Victorinox’s new breed of knives has focused on integrating more tech features into the do-it-all devices, and the latest, unveiled at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, trumps them all.

The Presentation Pro includes a 32GB removable USB thumb drive with integrated biometric fingerprint sensor, laser pointer and Bluetooth remote control. And that’s only the geeky stuff. There’s also a nail file, screw driver, scissors, key ring, and of course, the obligatory blade.

That means you can carry your PowerPoint on the thumb drive, keep it secure by ensuring only your fingerprint will allow it to be read, remotely change slides when it’s on a projector with the Bluetooth remote, and highlight the most important parts with the laser pointer. And there’s always that blade in case anybody gets rowdy.

Victorinox will release the Presentation Pro in a number of different variants (including one with no blade so it can be carried onboard airplanes) in May. They’ll range between $170 and $330, depending on capacity.

See the original posting
Source & Image : http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/

Sunday, January 18, 2009

K-Lite Codec Pack 4.53 (Full)

K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of codecs, DirectShow filters and tools. Codecs and DirectShow filters are needed for encoding and decoding (playing) audio and video formats. The K-Lite Codec Pack is designed as a user-friendly solution for playing all your movie files. With the K-Lite Codec Pack you should be able to play all the popular audio and video formats and even some rare formats.

This download is for the Full package and contains all the codecs a normal user would ever need.

The K-Lite Codec Pack has a couple of major advantages compared to other codec packs:

  • It it always very up-to-date with the newest (and/or best) versions of the components.
  • It is very user-friendly.
  • The installation is fully customizable, meaning that you are able install exactly those components that you really want.
  • Uninstallation removes all files and registry entries created by the pack.
  • It is extremely easy to make a fully customized unattended installation.
  • It has been very well tested, so that the package doesn't contain any conflicting or buggy codecs.
  • It tries to avoid potential problems with existing codecs and even fixes some problems. The pack is able to detect broken codecs and filters on your system, and remove them for you.
  • It is a very complete package, containing everything you need to play your movies.
  • There are different packages. From small to extra-large.
  • Suitable for both novice and expert users.
Download K-Lite Codec Pack Full from FileHippo.com
Source & Image : http://www.filehippo.com/

Adobe Reader 9.0 - Freeware

Adobe Reader is free software that lets you open, view, search, and print Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The latest version of Adobe Reader includes additional features such as:

  • Provides better overall performance for faster launch times and real-time zooming and panning
  • Enables you to fill out and submit PDF forms from a variety of devices
  • Helps you download and organize digital editions (formerly known as eBooks) on a variety of devices, with full support for portrait or landscape viewing
  • Lets you display and share Adobe Photoshop Album slide shows and electronic cards, and export images for online photo processing (Note that online photo services vary regionally.)
  • Allows you to save a range of files attached to PDF documents, such as word processing documents, spreadsheets, and multimedia files, and open them in their native applications.
Download Adobe Reader from FileHippo.com
Source & Image : http://www.filehippo.com/

Review : Asus unveils F50GX and F70SL range of notebooks

Asus recently added two very distinct notebooks to its expanding product line-up. The first one is a slim and lightweight 16 inch notebook called Asus F50GX while the second one is called Asus F70SL and is the world’s first 17.3 inch notebook. The trendy notebooks are a unique blend of style with functionality.

In a timeless design, both the F50 and the F70 are fabricated keeping to the Infusion style. The design of the notebooks not only gives them a modern look but also adds to their durability against surface abrasions. With a glossy, the notebooks imbibe both high definition audio visual entertainment and extensive multitasking capabilities.

Boasting of standard high definition audio quality, the Asus F50 and F70 range of notebooks also sport a 16:9 Full High Definition display that offers high contrast rate, brightness and color saturation. The display will satisfy a user’s entertainment needs by offering visual clarity and vibrant colors. The notebooks also include an HDMI port and a novel Chocolate keyboard.

With a dedicated numeric keypad, the keyboard in particular is known to provide impressive functionalities by offering concave keys that fit the contours of the users’ fingers. Delivering rebounding elasticity and easy typing over long durations, the keyboard comes with narrower spaces in-between the keys that also protect it against dust. The notebooks also include the ASUS Express Gate that enables quick boot up and instant access to the built-in icon-based OS.

As far individual features of the notebooks are concerned, the F50GX packs in a powerful integrated graphics solution imbedded right into the chipset, while the F70SL comes with a storage capacity of about 1TB. Equipped with the NVIDIA 9400M G chipset and graphics powered by ATI ati , the Asus F50GX also holds the title for being the world’s thinnest and lightest 16” notebook.

See the original posting
for more details
Source & Image : http://www.techshout.com/

Samsung too puts projector in phone (Review)

Logic Bolt may have thought to have dominated the unique projector phone market, but it was wrong as Samsung is running the race too. The last year’s CES had presented tiny DLP-based pico projector. Well, this year Samsung has incorporated something similar into its regular working mobile phone the name of which is still not announced. One can now think of carrying a TV sized screen in pocket in the form of this miniature projector phone. The new Samsung projector phone is due to be available in Korea this year with the Anycall brand that says it’s not a GSM device.

The almost-normally shaped candy bar handset is proud of being free of the huge chassis constraints covering other projector phones.
The handset appars to have five projection options, including File Viewer, Story Telling, Album, TV, via the inbuilt DMB-T mobile TV system and Flashlight (or Torch to most people).
The projection, while using OLEDs, is based on Texas Instruments’ DLP chipset, in contrast to the Liquid Crystal on Silicon used by Logic Bolt. Samsung has built the device on its widget based operating system.
As all the features info is displayed in Korean language, it seems that at least for the moment the launch is only going to touch Korea first.

See the original posting
Source & Image : http://www.technewsandreviews.com/

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Intel to delay mainstream Core i7 processors?

By: Jose Vilches

Intel could push back the launch of its mainstream Core i7 desktop processors, codenamed Lynnfield, along with its P55 chipset by at least a month. This according to DigiTimes, which claims the poor economic conditions have created significant overstock problems that will require motherboard makers to continue selling their current P4x-based hardware for a bit longer.

The two products were initially scheduled to be launched by the end of July this year, but apparently won't arrive until late August or early September, perhaps even at a later time depending on the market situation. Considering that Intel just announced its Q4 2008 profits were down 90 percent from the same quarter in 2007, one can only assume the chipmaker itself has plenty of unsold inventory, and is in no condition to argue with its motherboard partners.

In fact, rumor has it that these same overstock problems will force Intel to announce a price cut on Monday, affecting its line of Core 2 Quad processors. Meanwhile, it is also being reported that Intel has been forced to put off their transition to DDR3-only products until 2010 over pricing concerns, and they will be joined by AMD which has also delayed adoption due to technical difficulties.

See the original posting
Source & Image : http://www.techspot.com/

Friday, January 16, 2009

10 Best Photo Printers (Reviewed)

By Krissy Rushing

Your office printer is great at churning out documents, and your home printer is a jack of all trades, master of none—it prints fine, but your photos don’t have that luster that screams “frame me and put me on the wall.” Thankfully for aspiring paparazzi or those simply hoping to fill family picture albums with timeless portraits, here are 10 of our favorite printers that excel at creating spectacular prints. We’re not talking super-expensive, professional photo printers either: Just great models that produce photos as good as, or in some cases better than, your local Eckerd or Walgreens.

(picture left to right)
  1. Epson Artisan 700
  2. Canon Pixma iP4600
  3. Polaroid Pogo
  4. Hp Photosmart B8550
  5. Kodak ESP 9
  6. Epson PictureMate Dash
  7. Canon Pixma MP980
  8. HP A286 Home Photo Center
  9. Sony PictureStation DPP-FP90
  10. Lexmark X7675
see the original posting for details
Source & Image : http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/

Downadup Worm Races Onto Millions of PCs

The Win32.Worm.Downadup is raging across the Internet, using new tricks to spread undetected. The worm spreads by exploiting a vulnerability in the Windows RPC Server Service and has infected millions of Windows PCs in the last two weeks.

"From an estimated 2.4 million infected machines to over 8.9 million during the last four days," Toni Koivunen, an F-Secure researcher, wrote in the company's log. "That's just amazing."

According to Koivunen, there are several different variants of Downadup running wild. The algorithm to create the domain names changes a bit between the variants.

"We've been tracking the variant we believe to be most common [algorithm]. It creates 250 possible domains each day," he said. "We've registered some selected domains out of this pool and are monitoring the connections being made to them."

A Worm by Another Name

Also known as Conficker or Kido, the worm first appeared in late November, exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft software to spread unhindered on local area networks. Its goal is to install rogue security software on infected computers.

Microsoft issued a patch for the vulnerability, but many users haven't installed it, leaving them open for infection as the worm spreads through portable USB flash drives.

"This malware exploits the fact that many people do not patch their systems," said Viorel Canja, head of BitDefender Anti-Malware Labs. "With its updated configuration and good protection scheme, this worm could become a rival to already established botnets like Storm or Srizbi."

Watch Those Thumb Drives

In late December, BitDefender Labs uncovered a new version of the worm called Win32.Worm.Downadup.B. The malware features some enhancements along with the distribution routine.

Specifically, the worm uses USB thumb drives to infect other computers. It does this by copying itself in a random folder created inside the recycler directory. The Recycle Bin uses the recycler directory to store deleted files and create an autorun.inf file in the root folder. When the Autorun feature is enabled, the worm executes automatically.

It has been over a month since we heard much about Conficker, but the worm has reappeared with a vengeance over the past seven days. According to Finnish security company F-Secure, more than one million PCs have been infected with the worm (also known as Kido or Downadup) in the past 24 hours, with a total of 3.52 million machines infected worldwide. According to F-Secure, that 3.52 million is a conservative estimate.

The problem isn't so much with the older version of Conficker (now known as Conficker.A) but with a new flavor, dubbed Conficker.B. Ars spoke with Roger Halbheer, Chief Security Advisor of Microsoft's EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa); he's been monitoring (and writing) about the current spread of infections. The skyrocketing infection rate is actually being caused by several factors; Roger describes Conficker.B as a "beast," and Microsoft has built the following diagram to demonstrate how the worm functions.
© 2009 Yahoo.com
see the original posting
Source : http://www.soft-go.com/

Personal DVD Player Bags Are PERFECT for Netbooks

The computer bag industry hasn’t quite caught up to the netbook fad, so if you’re looking for a bag for your new little netbook, you might think that you’re out of luck until they catch up, but I have an option for you. Most personal DVD player cases out on the market are about the size of your typical netbook, so you can buy them and use them for your new laptop bag. I found this Denali Sport Deluxe PDVD Bag at Target for twenty bucks. It fits my new Acer Aspire One PERFECTLY!

Case Logic In-Car DVD Player Case at Amazon.comThe thing that I love about this case is that it comes with a variety of straps and loops on the bag to hang it from the backseat of a car, but I can use them to make a convenient backpack out of this tiny bag. The Case Logic In-Car DVD Player Case has the exact same setup (without coming in fashionable colors like red). Since it’s so much easier to carry things on my back than just on my shoulder, I LOVE a backpack design. The fact that I have that option with the Denali bag (and the Case Logic) blisses me out.


Targus Sport Portable DVD Player Case at Amazon.comI used to use a Targus Sport Portable DVD Player Case for my old Acer mini computer. It worked very well for me and I included it with the computer when we gave it to Mike’s dad. I was wishing for it back when I bought the Aspire One, but now that I’ve found this Denali case, I don’t miss it so much anymore.

Eventually, laptop bag manufacturers will catch up to the netbook fad, but until then, you can find a good case for your netbook right next to obsolete personal DVD players in your favorite department store for about twenty bucks.

See the original posting
Source & Image : http://www.gadgetspage.com/

EVGA X58 SLI - Take Three

Just last week, NVIDIA announced both the GTX 295 and GTX 285. Today we have availability on both and test results for the GTX 285. As we weren't able to get power tests done time to include in the GTX 295 review, we also have those available today.

EVGA was kind enough to provide the hardware for this review. They sent us two GTX 280s for single and SLI testing. They provided us with overclocked cards, but for this article we underclocked them to stock GTX 285 speeds in order to learn what we can expect from non-overclocked variants.

see the orinal posting for more details
Source & Image : http://www.anandtech.com/

Olidata to Launch New 13.3-Inch Laptops

Olidata is a company in Italy which can make good laptops. At least they sound good enough to me since I haven’t actually had the chance of touching one yet. The company has announced the new Conte laptops. They are both 13.3-inch laptops and they are ultra-thin. It looks like Apple’s Air is quite an inspiration for more and more manufacturers.

One of the Conte comes with a 16:10 display and a 1280×800 resolution while the other one sports a 16:9 screen capable of a 1366×768 resolution. Both computers will have a Core 2 Due processor inside, optional built-in 3G WiMAX and a battery that will get you four hours of unplugged work. The extended battery will offer three extra hours. The 16:10 laptop has a few extras like the Intel Turbo Memory, a fingerprint reader, a backlit keyboard and a standard 3GB of RAM. How much for an Olidata Conte? Less than $1,300 when they will arrive in Europe in May.

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Source & Image : http://www.mobilewhack.com/

Built-in TV tuner heading for netbooks and laptops

Telegent Systems announces single chip system

By Amy-Mae Elliott pocket-link.co.uk

Your next netbook could come complete with a built-in TV tuner thanks to Telegent Systems. The company has announced the launch of the first free-to-air, single-chip TV receiver for PCs, laptops, MIDs and netbooks. The hybrid chip receives both digital and analogue TV, a solution that Telegent says "reduces the complexity and cost of adding live TV to portable devices". The TLG2300 is a single-chip CMOS hybrid TV receiver that claims low power usage that supports DVB-T, PAL/SECAM/NTSC TV and FM radio.

The TLG2300 is currently in sampling with customers and Telegent says it "has received a great deal of interest from Laptop manufacturers keen to reposition the laptop as a media centre".

See The Original Posting
Source & Image : http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Billy 1.04k beta

Billy is an audio player that allows you to quickly play an entire directory of MP3 files. It can usually load files 2 to 8 times faster than winamp or media player. Billy plays music albums without any gaps between tracks, so an overlapping applause or beat will continue. The player is 100% controllable by keyboard and its easy finder and special rename functions help you to find and organize your files quickly.

Features
Freeware (no adware), Runs on Win 95/98/NT/Me/2000/XP/2003, No skins, no mp3 tags, no equalizer, no nonsense - pure audio, Supported formats: MP3, WAV, OGG, High quality sound engine, by Un4seen Bass, Extremely fast, loads 1000 mp3 files in a second, Gapless trackchange of mp3 files, Directory based or playlist based, Filenames renamer to organize your music albums, Calibrated dB level meter, 100% controllable by keyboard, Low memory and cpu usage,
Queueing your next songs, Find a specific song quickly, Sleep timer, Drag & drop.

Download
Source & Image : http://www.sheepfriends.com

FileZilla Portable 3.2.0 : undoubtedly one of the most popular FTP programs that exist

Fully functional version of FileZilla Portable 3.2.0, specially optimized to work on USB-stick. The program will need to install so that could work directly from the media. Suitable option if you need to use foreign or business computer. In addition to USB-device, FileZilla Portable 3.2.0 works from CD, Flash-card or MP3-player. FileZilla Portable 3.2.0 client is open source (under GPL license). Besides the rapid development that bears his and another advantage - the quality of the program. There is full support Drag & Drop to transfer files and link in a proxy server and firewall and a multilingual interface. Changes can be read here.

FileZilla Portable 3.2.0 is undoubtedly one of the most popular FTP programs that exist, and if for your daily work you use it regularly, then you will find this very useful and interesting FileZilla Portable 3.2.0, that is, FileZilla Portable 3.2.0 is the usual but with the portability of being able to use it wherever you are and from various portable devices. So you can put this program in all sorts of USB devices, pen drives, removable disks, CDs, etc. and you only need to attach these devices to a computer with an Internet connection and you can enjoy all the benefits and features of your FileZilla Portable 3.2.0, conserving FTPs all accounts you have created as if it were running from your own computer.

The portability in absolute terms FTP programs.

See The Original Posting download
Source & Image : http://www.esoft.web.id

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

MPlayer for Windows

MPlayer for Windows has been updated once again!
This release updates all MPlayer binaries to the latest revision (SVN-r28311).
Also the SMPlayer front-end was updated to the latest versions (v0.6.6 SVN-r2680).
Finally this is the first release that includes experimental support for DVD menus.
See the Changelog for a list of all changes...

Source & Image : http://mulder.dummwiedeutsch.de/ download

Free Language Translator 1.83

This is a desktop language translator application using the Google translation service. It adds more features to the existing service and addresses some of its shortcomings. It requires Net 2.0 or higher to run.

Source & Image : http://www.codeplex.com/ Download

Windows 7 Beta + McAfee = Bad News

By: Kevin Parrish

According to this blog, PCs with Windows 7 Beta installed will not be able to run McAfee Total Protection or McAfee Antivirus... at least not at the moment. While the blog entry gave no specifics, the McAfee installer pops up with a warning, saying that the program does not support "the version of Windows installed on this machine." The installer then promptly refers the installer to the product documentation for a list of supported operating systems.

After a difficult launch, Microsoft was able to patch its download servers and offer the Windows 7 beta by Saturday afternoon after consumers overloaded the Microsoft pipelines. While no immediate complaints have popped up other than the McAfee installation problem, Windows 7 has already racked in mixed reviews, some claiming that the operating system is nothing more than a glorified service pack of the blandly-received Windows Vista, while others believe that Windows 7 is the operating system that Vista meant to be (but fell short).

Still, users of Internet Explorer 8 beta - now integrated into Windows 7 beta - should have seen the compatibility issue coming in regards to McAfee, as the antivirus program is one of many not working in harmony with Microsoft's latest browser. Strangely enough, and as pointed out by the blog, McAfee's browser-based Site Advisor Plus actually does work with both Windows 7 beta and Internet Explorer 8 Beta.

Hopefully, Microsoft and McAfee can iron out the incompatibility bugs before the Windows 7 Beta expires on August 1. See The Original Posting

Source &Image : http://www.tomshardware.com/

The 15 Hottest Products at CES 2009 (1-5)

By : PCMag.com Staff

1. PALM PRE
Deemed the hottest product at CES by our editor-in-chief, the Pre boasts a new people-centric OS that consolidates contact information from various sources and makes it easy to connect with people in any number of ways (IM, text, e-mail, phone, Facebook, etc.). Add to that a large multitouch screen, powerful processor, accelerometer, hidden QWERTY keyboard, GPS, 802.11g Wi-Fi, and 3.2-megapixel camera, and you've got the most innovative smartphone since the iPhone. (Price undetermined)

2. SONY LIFESTYLE PC
Move over, netbooks. Sony's stylish, 1.4-pound system offers an 87 percent keyboard and an 8-inch LED with a native resolution of 1,600 by 768, allowing you to view three file Explorer windows with no overlap. The processor isn't the most powerful, but battery life is impressive. ($899)

3. MSI X320
If you want a MacBook Air but can't afford one, here's your answer. It looks very similar to the Air, but costs half as much. This 2.9-pound system offers a 13-inch widescreen, a 160GB, 5400 RPM hard drive (expandable to 250GB) and an Intel Atom Z520 processor. ($800 to $1,000)

4. DELL XPS 16
This gorgeous media center PC earns our Editors' Choice for its design, home-theater features, and a vibrant RGB LED 16-inch widescreen. The keyboard is illuminated, right down to the mouse buttons. A Blu-ray reader is included, and the system offers both HDMI and DisplayPort technologies. ($1,804)

5. SONY CYBER-SHOT DSC-G3
This is the first Wi-Fi camera with a built-in Web browser, allowing users to access the many Wi-Fi networks that require you to accept terms from HTML pages. The DSC-G3 also streamlines the process of uploading pictures and video to popular sharing sites. ($499)

See The Original Posting
Source & Image : http://www.pcmag.com/

The 15 Hottest Products at CES 2009 (6-10)

By : PCMag.com Staff

6. VIZIO VBR100
The big news here is that Vizio's first Blu-ray disc player is expected to sell for a jaw-droppingly low price—under $1500—when it's released in April. The VBR100 is loaded with features, too, including an Ethernet port and 1GB of storage, allowing it to offer BD-Live streaming multimedia support. ($199 list)

7. SAMSUNG 8000 SERIES 240-Hz LED HDTV
Samsung's 8000 series combines two cutting-edge technologies: 240-Hz frame-rate technology, in which pixels are updated twice as fast as current 120-Hz screens, and LED technology, which offers higher contrast ratios, slimmer designs, and lower power consumption over traditional LCD models. (Price undetermined)

8. DISH NETWORKS ViP 922
This HD digital video recorder is the first to incorporate Slingbox technology, allowing Dish Networks susbscribers to watch their recorded programs from anywhere—the next room, at work, or in a hotel somewhere around the world—on a laptop or mobile phone with a broadband connection. (Price undetermined)

9. SAMSUNG P3
This latest portable media player from Samsung, an update to the P2, features a 3-inch TFT LCD with "haptic feedback"—meaning it offers some sort of tactile response when you press it. The screen has a true 16:9 aspect ratio, supporting video playback at 30 frames per second. It is available in 8, 16, and 32GB versions. (Price undetermined).

10. CLICKFREE TRANSFORMER CABLE
This is set-it-and-forget-it backup, plain and simple. No need to install backup software; you just plug any USB drive into the cable, then plug the cable into your PC, and wait. The drive will automatically begin backing up. Now there's truly no excuse for not backing up. ($60)

See The Original Posting
Source & Image : http://www.pcmag.com/

The 15 Hottest Products at CES 2009 (11-15)

By : PCMag.com Staff

11. TOM TOM GO 740 LIVE
With a built-in wireless connection, this GPS device provides real-time traffic information, local fuel price data, and local search services. An extended version of TomTom's IQ Routes technology calculates routes and travel times based on every road's historic traffic patterns for the specific day of week and time of day you are traveling. ($499)

12. PANASONIC DMP-B15
Touted as the world's first portable Blu-ray player, the DMP-B15 features an 8.9-inch WSVGA LCD and a three-hour rechargeable battery for to-go high-def video viewing, but the device can also be connected via HDMI to an HDTV to watch Blu-ray movies at home. (Price undetermined)

13. POWERMAT
Charge multiple devices at the same time using just one power source. First, attach PowerMat receivers—in the forms of dongles, cases, or docks—to the devices you want to charge. Then place the devices on the PowerMat's thin mat, and plug the mat into an outlet. Through magnetic induction, the mat will charge all the devices wirelessly. (Price undetermined, but estimated at $25 per receiver or mat)

14. LG GD910 Watch Phone
All the rage at CES, this phone/MP3 player/calculator watch isn't yet available in the U.S. Its touch screen responds well to light touches and gestures, and the tiny onscreen dial pad is surprisingly easy to use. It speakerphone allows you to have conversations with your wrist by your side. (Price undetermined)

15. WINDOWS 7 BETA 1
Made publicly available during CES, this beta of Microsoft's next OS looks like Vista done right, with a smaller disk and memory footprint, faster startup, and fewer annoyances. (Free)
See The Original Posting

Source & Image : http://www.pcmag.com/

Pivot Stickfigure Animator

Pivot Stickfigure Animator is a unique software, that allows you to create stick figure animations easily and without any artistic skills. You can move the sections of the sick figure and easily create a chain of animation frames that can be previewed as you go. You can use more than one stick-figure in the animation, and even create your own stick figures using an easy to use visual editor that lets you assemble objects out of lines and circles. In addition, you can optionally set animation size, speed and more. The result can be saved as animated GIF file. Fun and easy to use, surprisingly well featured.

Source & Image : http://www.snapfiles.com/

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

DAEMON Tools Lite 4.30.3

From : DAEMON Tools

DAEMON Tools is an advanced application for multiprotection emulation. DAEMON Tools is further development of the Generic Safedisc emulator incorporating all its features. This program allows running backup copies of SafeDisc (C-Dilla), Securom or Laserlock protected games. It emulates max. 4 DVD-ROM drives and works with CD/DVD images created by many burning programs DAEMON Tools works under Windows9x/ME/NT/2000/XP with all types of CD/DVDROM drives (IDE/SCSI) and supports nearly any CD protection.

  • DAEMON Tools needs a 1:1 Copy to run!!
  • DAEMON Tools is used to RUN GAMES, NOT TO BURN THEM!!! Means emulation must be active while you want to play a game, not while burning the copy (except for you want to use DAEMON Tools' "fastdump" feature on a safedisc protected CD).
  • If you want to run a copy protected application from an image mounted to a Generic DVD-ROM enabling the copy protection emulation(s) is NOT necessary!!
  • Generic DVD-ROM is able to run nearly every protected or unprotected CD image (Safedisc, Securom, Laserlock, Lockblocks etc.) like it was the original CD! Just do an image file using one of the supported burning programs and mount it with Daemon Manager!


DAEMON Tools supports the following image files:
- cue/bin
- iso
- ccd (CloneCD)
- bwt (Blindwrite)
- mds (Media Descriptor File)
- cdi (Discjuggler)
- nrg (Nero)
- pdi (Instant CD/DVD)
- b5t (BlindWrite 5)
- b6t
- isz

- DAEMON Tools is freeware ONLY for PRIVATE USE. If you use it in a commercial environment, for example your office or an Internet Cafe, you must register DAEMON Tools. One license is needed for every PC you run DAEMON Tools on. If you run our program on school or university PCs no further action is required.

System Requirements:
PII 450MHz, 128MB RAM, 32MB Graphic Card


Source & Image : http://softwaretipspalace.com