May 06

Sony VAIO Y Series 11.6-inch Notebook Review – AMD E-350 APU

We’ve been hearing about the AMD Fusion APU for years now, so when we got the opportunity to do a review on a Sony VAIO laptop with the dual-core E-350 APU we jumped at the chance to see what it can do. The notebook we received for testing was the Sony VAIO Y series notebook, which is a very small 11.6″ ultra portable notebook.

The Sony VAIO Y series laptop measures in at 11.42″ (W) x 0.99″-1.25″ (H) x 7.99″ (D) with a weight of just 3.23 lbs. This type of a notebook is a travelers dream as it is compact and light.

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May 03

Researchers Use Xbox Technology to Improve Programs

University of Texas at Arlington researchers led by professor Vassilis Athitsos are using Xbox Kinect technology to improve virtual sign language software. Athitsos and his team are adapting their sign language software for use with the Kinect to take advantage of the device’s skeletal and depth-tracking system.

Microsoft’s Jim Cullinan says the company does not have any legal issues with Athitsos and his team using the Kinect for their research. “We encourage developers, especially those in an educational setting, to come up with ways to expand the usefulness of our technology,” Cullinan says.

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May 02

Intel Makes 22nm 3-D Tri-Gate Tech for Ivy Bridge

Moore’s Law continues.

Intel Corporation today announced transistors using a three-dimensional structure will be put into high-volume manufacturing. Intel introduced a revolutionary 3-D transistor design called Tri-Gate, first disclosed by Intel in 2002, into high-volume manufacturing at the 22-nanometer node in Ivy Bridge.

The company qualified 3-D Tri-Gate transistors as a reinvention of the transistor. The traditional “flat” two-dimensional planar gate is replaced with an incredibly thin three-dimensional silicon fin that rises up vertically from the silicon substrate.

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May 01

Apple introduces iMac with Thunderbolt

Apple has announced the latest iteration of the iMac, featuring Intel’s Thunderbolt technology and a choice of powerful processors.

The Thunderbolt technology will help users connect to high performance peripherals like RAID arrays at theoretical speeds of up to 10Gb/s.

The 21.5-inch iMac has a single Thunderbolt port, whilst the 27-inch model comes with two, Apple confirmed.

As for chips, the iMac comes with quad-core Intel Core i5 processors based on the Sandy Bridge architecture.

Users can choose Core i7 processors with up to 3.4 GHz of juice, whilst New AMD Radeon HD graphics processors also feature.

Apple claimed, thanks to these enhancements, the new iMac is up to 70 percent faster than the previous generation, with three times the performance.

“With next generation quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, Thunderbolt technology and a FaceTime HD camera, we’ve made the world’s best desktop even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing.

The new iMac retains the aluminum and glass design of its predecessor, as well as a LED-backlit high resolution display and Apple’s Magic Mouse.

Australian RRP pricing was released as follows:

- 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 500GB hard drive: AUD$1,399 inc GST

- 21.5-inch iMac a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6770M and 1TB hard drive for  AUD$1,698 inc GST

- 27-inch iMac with a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6770M and 1TB hard drive for AUD$1,949 inc GST

- 27-inch iMac with a 3.1 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6970M and 1TB hard drive for AUD$2,299 inc GST.

 

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May 01

AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Quad-Core Processor Review

When Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) first introduced the Phenom II line of processors, we were still stuck in the days of the AM2+ socket. The processor that the Phenom II launched with was the AMD Phenom II X4 940 back in 2009. The Phenom II X4 940 is a quad core processor that cruised along at 3.0GHz and proved to be a very capable processor. Here we are though, a little more than two years later, looking at the latest variation of the original Phenom II X4 940, the AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition.

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