NEC whips out three energy sipping LCDs

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Energy efficiency is a big deal in large enterprises where saving a bit of power across hundreds of computers in the company can mean big savings on utility bills. Not only can you save money with energy efficient computers, but you can help the environment too.

NEC has announced three new LCDs that are EPEAT Silver rated, and have Energy Star 5.0 and TCO 5.0 compliance. The LCDs are the 19-inch AS191, 19-inch widescreen AS191WM and 22-inch widescreen AS221WM. Read more

Posted on Fri, 2 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Pioneer BDR-205 Blu-ray Drive for PCs Unveiled

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

The first Blu-ray burner for desktop computers that I got my hands on a few years back was well over $1000. Today you can buy a computer with a Blu-ray player for about the same amount. Pioneer has unveiled a new Blu-ray burner for desktop computers called the BDR-205.

The drive is a 5.25-inch desktop drive made to go inside a computer. The cool part about the new drive is that it is the first Blu-ray writer to hit 12x speeds. If you have ever burned a full Blu-ray disc of data, you know how long it takes to write 50Gb of data. Read more

Posted on Thu, 1 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

UBoard USB Multi-board for Keyboard And Monitor

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Sunnone announces the UBoard, a USB Multi-Board for your Keyboard.
If you have too little desk space a keyboard stand can be the solution. The UBoard has a clean and light look through the use of tempered glass.

Additional benefit are the three integrated USB ports and the "totally must have" Cup & Memo Holder. Read more

Posted on Thu, 1 Oct 2009 03:53:04 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

DoubleSight Unveils Smart USB Monitors

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

DoubleSight Displays has announced a new line of USB displays for notebook and desktop users looking to easily add additional screens to their systems. The new line of monitors are compact in size and aimed at the notebook and netbook markets.

The displays need only a single USB connection to the host computer and have built-in support for multiple monitors. The screens can be positioned in landscape and portrait mode. The USB port also powers the monitor as well as connecting the display for video. Read more

Posted on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Hercules Debuts New Line of XPS Ultra Slim Speakers

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Hercules has unveiled a new line of speakers called the XPS Ultra Slim Speaker Line that has two different products. The products use the same satellites, but one adds a subwoofer to the mix. The speaker systems are called the XPS 2.0 40 Slim and the XPS 2.1 40 Slim.

Hercules says that the satellites of the systems use the thinnest style that is available and feature a black lacquer finish. The XPS 40 2.1 Slim system features a pair of satellites with a subwoofer. The satellites are 9.5-inches tall and have a total of 5 watts RMS and 10 watts of power peak. Read more

Posted on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Belkin Unveils surge Protector to Save Energy Costs for Businesses

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

For many homes and businesses, the cost of electricity is one of the largest expenses that they have. Belkin has announced a new surge protector aimed at business users that will turn off outlets and reduce standby power consumption. The product is the Conserve Surge with Timer.

According to Belkin, over half of all IT energy costs originate with desktop hardware. The Conserve Surge with Time can reduce that power consumption by providing two always on outlets and six auto off outlets. The six auto off outlets can be turned off with the press of a button. Read more

Posted on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:55:18 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

LaCie Sound2 Speakers Tuned By Cabasse

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

LaCie announced high-end speakers, modeled after Cabasse's renowned loudspeaker technology – the LaCie Sound2 Speakers, design by Neil Poulton. LaCie has partnered with acoustic engineering company Cabasse to bring high-quality sound to any computer system or A/V device.
Coupled with Cabasse's loudspeaker driver support, the LaCie Sound2 Speakers provide premium sound quality to computers. Additionally, users can use the line-in connection to experience the same high-quality sound from audio/video devices like iPods and portable multimedia players. Read more

Posted on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:39:30 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Hello Kitty Mimobot USB Drives Celebrate 35th Anniversary Of Hello Kitty

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

The Mimobot USB drives now feature Hello Kitty. The Japanese cute cat girl is aging very well considering she is already 35.

The Mimobot series has already featured all kinds of designs including Star Wars.
Read more

Posted on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:34:09 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Sony DRX-S70U-W Portable DVD Drive Unveiled

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

The new Sony DRX-S70U-W sports a slim design and supports up to 8X DVD±R recording speeds, delivering a full 4.7 GB disc of video, data, music or images on standard 8X DVD+R media.
In addition, the new Sony drive can record on 8.5GB DVD+R Double/Dual layer and 4.7GB DVD-RW discs at 6X speeds, DVD+RW at 8X, DVD-RAM at 5X and CD-R/RW at 24X.

The DRX-U70-W comes bundled with the Nero DVD/CD mastering software suite, and offers quick and easy connectivity with a high speed USB (USB 2.0) digital interface for simple setup and maximum flexibility. Read more

Posted on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Asus Sabertooth 55i TUF Motherboard Unveiled

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Asus unveiled a new motherboard in its newly-developed "TUF" (The Ultimate Force) Series, the SABERTOOTH 55i.

The TUF Series is specially developed to meet the heavy computing demands of power users and perform well even under extreme conditions. Such computer enthusiasts often demand high-quality motherboard components and the most stable computing platforms. To achieve uncompromising stability, TUF Series motherboards have undergone a more stringent testing program than what most motherboard producers currently undertake. Solidly constructed and equipped with resilient components that have passed demanding military-style testing, the TUF Series triumphs over the harshest operating conditions to deliver robust performance.

The debut SABERTOOTH 55i model, designed around a "Marine Cool" concept, incorporates the Intel P55 chipset and "tough" features to give users a supremely solid and stable computing platform. Read more

Posted on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:01:11 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Broadcom Licenses ARM Cortex-A9 Processor

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

ARM and Broadcom have announced that Broadcom has launched a major exclusive licensing agreement for the ARM Coretex-A9 MPCore multicore processor. Broadcom will be using the processor for next generation mobile and wireless communication devices.

Broadcom also licensed the ARM NEON SIMD technology for the ARM Cortex-A series processors to accelerate advanced multimedia and compute intensive applications. The ARM A9 processor promises to deliver 2x the performance of the processors in today's smartphones with the ability to deliver 10,000 aggregate DMIPS. Read more

Posted on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun