Microsoft Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 unveiled; includes Built-In Flash Memory

Microsoft has introduced the Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 for notebooks. The company claims that this new member in its range of mice, is the first of its kind in the market being a “rechargeable (notebook) mouse with 1GB of flash memory built right into the transceiver”.


The Mobile Memory Mouse’s transceiver makes use of a 2.4GHz Wireless Technology and Bluetooth too. It has a dual purpose, as it can be used as a USB pen too.


According to Microsoft’s website, the significant features of the Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 are:

*Transceiver with 1 GB Flash Memory - The transceiver is also a fully functional flash drive, so you can store and transfer files and free up USB ports.

*2.4 GHz Wireless Technology - The 2.4 GHz wireless USB mini-transceiver connects wirelessly right out of the box with virtually no interference, and up to 30 feet of wireless range.

*USB Rechargeable with Magnetic Connectors - Simply snap in the magnetic connectors to charge while working, using the included USB transceiver.

*High Definition Laser Technology - Microsoft High Definition Laser Mouse products are more precise, more responsive, and deliver smoother tracking.

*Battery Life Indicator - You won’t get caught with a dead battery—the Battery Status LED Indicator glows red when the battery is running low.

*Magnifier - Point and click to enlarge and edit detail using the Magnifier. (The Magnifier is not compatible with Direct3D® API in full screen mode, media players, OpenGL, and Layered Windows. If you are using Mac OS X, the Magnifier enlarges text and images on the entire screen.)

*4-Way Scrolling - Scroll four ways for greater efficiency and comfort with Tilt Wheel Technology.

*5-Button Mouse - Get quick access to the media, programs, and files you use most often with customizable buttons.

*Flip 3D- Easily flip through all open windows with Flip 3D.

*Instant Viewer - Too many open items on your desktop? Click the scroll wheel button to instantly display your open windows, then point and click to select.

*Right Handed Design - Mouse design is optmized for right handed users.

*Scroll Wheel - Save time and effort with the scroll wheel—navigate documents and Web pages without using the on-screen scroll bar.

*On/Off Button - Turn your 3-in-1 device off to extend battery life even longer.

*Bluetooth Mode Switch - A switch on the bottom of the mouse enables Bluetooth notebook users to connect directly to their PC without using the included transceiver.

*Carrying Case - Protect your mouse while you’re on the go.

*Designed for Notebook PCs - Compact and comfortable, our handy notebook and laptop products are designed for convenience and mobility.


Well, the features are surely attractive, but what happens to left-handed people. That surely seems to be a limitation.


Anyways, the Microsoft Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 is priced at $99.95 USD. The product is already up for pre-sale at Amazon and should be in your hands by anytime in October.



SOURCE:techshout.com
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Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 and Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 7000

Microsoft is surely on a role as the company not only introduced the MobileMemory Mouse 8000, but also two other wireless notebook mice. They are the Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 and the Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 7000.

The Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 and the Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 7000 both have a very sleek and compact design. Thus, they could be useful for people who are always on-the-go.Both these newly introduced wireless notebook mice have been designed to offer a more productive computing experience and also to reduce touchpad fatigue.

The Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 has been designed to work seamlessly with Bluetooth-ready computers. It could be particularly useful for laptop users, as it boasts features that people have long desired- a mouse that just works with no transceiver or extensive setup process required.

The Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 features High Definition Laser technology, offering smoother tracking, more responsiveness and better precision.

Other salient features of the Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 include:
*Bluetooth convenience: This mouse has 2.4 GHz Bluetooth technology without a transceiver for quick and easy wireless connectivity
*Modern design features: It offers more than a sleek design. Plus, this mouse is ambidextrous allowing users to use which hand they are comfortable with.
*Smart power features: The Mouse has a battery life indicator, an ON/OFF button and three-plus months of battery life

The second mouse introduced by Microsoft is the Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 7000, whose shape is based on Microsoft’s No.1 best-selling mouse namely the Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000.

Listed below are the salient features of the Microsoft Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 7000:
*Advanced notebook mouse technology: This mouse houses top-of-the-line technology with 2.4GHz wireless for a confident connection and virtually no interference
Offers a great benefit in crowded wireless environments.
*High Definition Laser Technology for smoother, more precise, and more responsive tracking.
*Smart software connection: One click of the wheel provides instant access to the Windows Vista Flip 3D feature, letting users flip through open windows and quickly switch between applications for added productivity.
*Innovative power features: The snap-in transceiver on the bottom of the mouse is more than just smart storage, as it also turns the mouse off when snapped in.
*The mouse also features a battery life indicator and provides up to six months of use with one battery.
*Comfortable design: Soft-grip sides and an ergonomic, ambidextrous design put comfort in the palm of users’ hands.
*Magnifier tool and Back button: Users can perform popular commands with just a single touch.


The Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 will be available in October 2007, while the Microsoft Wireless Notebook laser Mouse 7000 will be widely available in September 2007. Both these mice will carry a price tag of $49.95 each.


source:techshout.com

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Adobe Premier Pro CS3 Software now gets Native Support for Panasonic P2 Camera Format

Adobe Systems has announced native support for the Panasonic P2 camera format in Adobe Premier Pro CS3 software.


The Adobe Premier Pro software will provide a true file-based workflow without transcoding or rewrapping. This helps to maintain a rich metadata in P2 content and also completes a software-only High Definition workflow from capture till output.


For those who are not in the know, the Panasonic P2 is a solid state storage format for video production. It eliminates the need for tape from the workflow, reducing the time it takes editors to find a specific scene. Besides, it also eliminated the need to digitize footage from tape.


The P2 DVCPROHD format uses a proven 4:2:2 codec for highest quality results and provides video professionals a cost-effective, efficient workflow that complements the editing efficiency of Adobe Premier Pro CS3.


According to Tadao Shimozuru, director of professional AV systems Business Unit at Panasonic, “Customers shooting video with our Panasonic P2 cameras enjoy speed, mobility, performance and convenience. Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 complements these production benefits beautifully, forming the hub of a highly integrated P2 production workflow. With native import and editing combined with the ability to output back to the P2 card, this update allows Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 users to realize the full power of the P2 workflow.”


This compatibility update will be available to all Adobe Premier Pro CS3 customers in the weeks to come.



source:techshout.com

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Aspire 4920 Notebook of the Gemstone Series launched by Acer India

Acer India has announced the launch of the Acer Aspire 4920 notebook from the company’s Gemstone Series in India. This elegant notebook boasts a host of great features.

The Aspire 4920 notebook has a ceramic-finish pearl grey interior and a Holographic satin-finish cover. This notebook also features an attractive neon-blue multimedia light-strip.

The new Aspire 4920 notebook from Acer’s Gemstone Series displays high-end graphics due to the presence of the ATI Mobility Radeon and supports the latest video formats and gaming software.

The Acer Aspire 4920 notebook runs on the latest Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile processor T7300, which also has support for the Mobile Intel GM965 Express chipset and Intel Wireless WiFi Link network solution, offering excellent speed, performance, awesome graphics and signal.

What’s more; the Aspire 4920 notebook from the Acer Gemstone series offers a high storage capacity due to its 160GB HDD.


This notebook sports a 14-inch Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD display. It has a system memory of 1GB RAM which is upgradeable to 4GB.


This notebook comes clubbed with the convenient Acer Video Conference Solution with its Acer CrystalEye Webcam. This webcam features a smart built-in angle that enables productive multi-way conferencing.

The battery life of this Acer notebook is 3hours, but the Acer ePowerManagement allows the user to choose the power management setting to extend the battery time.

A good feature of the Aspire 4920 notebook is that it is a streamlined portable entertainment center. It has an embedded DVD writer and the Acer CrystalBrite technology. Plus, the Dolby Certified Sound System offers 5.1-channel surround sound.

Listed below are the additional features of the Acer Aspire 4920 notebook:
*Disk anti-shock protection
*Gigabit LAN
*Easy-to-use system utilities like the Acer Empowering Technology
*Easy-Easy-launch buttons for WLAN, BluetoothR2.0, email, Internet and user-programming

The sleek Acer Aspire 4920 notebook is immediately available in the major Indian cities for a price of Rs.54,999.


source:techshout.com

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Apple Logic Studio with enhanced Features for Musicians launched

Apple has introduced new software called ‘Logic Studio’, a comprehensive suite of professional tools that provide musicians with just about everything they would need to create, produce and perform in the studio as well as on stage.

Apple’s Logic Studio features:
*Logic Pro 8
*MainStage
*Soundtrack Pro 2
*Studio Instruments
*Studio Effects
*a vast Studio Sound Library
*powerful set of production utilities.

According to Rob Schoeben, Apple’s vice president of Applications Product Marketing, “From the fun and intuitive GarageBand to the all new Logic Studio, there’s never been a better time to be a musician on the Mac.”

Logic Pro 8 offers an intuitive single-window interface for instant access to powerful music creation and production functions, including snap-to-transient selection and sample accurate editing directly in the Arrange window.

Mainstage turns the Mac into a powerful live performance rig that produces reliable, consistent sound-whether music is being made at home, in a rehearsal space, or in front of an audience.

Soundtrack Pro 2 is the musician’s bridge to sound for picture with professional editing tools and seamless film and video integration that simplifies every aspect of the audio post production process. Musicians can compose their score in Logic Pro 8 then use Soundtrack Pro 2 to edit dialog, design sound effects and complete the mix in cinematic sound.

Studio Instruments with 40 instrument plug-ins enable musicians to access and play almost any sound imaginable, including enhanced versions of Ultrabeat, Sculpture and ES2 synthesizers, and the EXS24 sampler.

Studio Effects include a new Delay Designer plug-in that offers in-depth control over individual delay taps, and Space Designer, now with True Surround enhancements for multichannel audio processing.

Logic Studio gives musicians a vast Studio Sound Library, featuring content from the five Jam Pack collections and Final Cut Studio 2, for a total of 18,000 Apple Loops, 1,300 EXS instruments and 5,000 sound effects that span a huge variety of genres and styles.

Logic Studio is immediately available for a price of $499 via the Apple Store. However, registered Logic Pro 7 users can upgrade to Logic Studio for just $199.


source:techshout.com

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Lenovo Introduces Small, Low-Energy Desktop

The 'Blue Sky' ThinkCentre A61e is small, light, quiet, and energy-efficient.
Matt Hamblen, Computerworld

Lenovo Group Ltd. Wednesday announced the Blue Sky desktop computer, its smallest, quietest and most energy-efficient desktop.

Available at an introductory price of about US$399 after rebate, the new ThinkCentre A61e (its formal name) ships next month. About the size of a telephone book, it weighs 8 lbs. and is about 25 percent smaller than the previous ThinkCentre model, Lenovo officials said.

Blue Sky is also the first full-functioning PC to run on 45 watts of power, meaning it can be powered by a solar panel or roughly the amount of electricity needed for three compact fluorescent light bulbs, a Lenovo spokeswoman said.

It will run either the Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Athlon 64x2 dual-core processor or the AMD Sempron processor, with several choices of Lenovo's ThinkCentre A61e, known as Blue Sky

Lenovo's ThinkCentre A61e, known as Blue Sky ultrasmall hard drives, ranging from 80GB to 750GB. It has 4GB of memory and comes preloaded with either the Windows Vista Business or Windows XP Professional operating system.

The $399 introductory price only covers the PC. The prices of the monitor, keyboard and mouse are not included. The Blue Sky measures 8.5 by 11 inches in size -- the same as a sheet of paper, and it's 3 inches thick, about the size of large phone book. Shipping starts sometime in October.

Lenovo expects the Blue Sky to do best in the small business, education, medical and financial sectors, where desktop space is limited. It features a low-speed fan for quiet operation.


Blue Sky derived its code name, which has stuck, for its environmental sensibilities. It is made up of 90 percent reusable or recyclable materials, and its packaging is 90 percent recyclable. Because of its energy efficiency and recyclable materials, it is Lenovo's first product to win a Gold EPEAT rating from the Green Electronics Council.

Lenovo said the ultrasmall PC could be a success, noting that research firm IDC has forecast more than 52 percent growth for that product segment from 2005 to 2010.


source:pcworld.com

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How Bill Gates Sounded in his Goodbye Speech to Microsoft

Tens of thousands of Microsoft employees flocked last week to hear Gates speak one last time before he leaves the company he co-founded.
Eric Lai, Computerworld

One last chance to hear Bill Gates speak before he leaves the company he co-founded to head up his humanitarian efforts drew tens of thousands of Microsoft employees to the company's annual meeting at Safeco Field in Seattle late last week.

But garnering the most buzz, according to attendees blogging about Thursday's event, was a demo of Microsoft's revamp to its flagship Web search engine, which is expected to be launched later this month. Additionally, CEO Steve Ballmer's rousing call for Microsoft to be "bold" and incorporate great design into its products -- the strategy that has lifted rival Apple -- made a big impression.

Others hailed Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie's speech on Microsoft's "software+services" vision, and the awarding of a new technical award to the longtime Microsoft engineer who headed up the development of Windows NT among other products.

Mini-Microsoft, the anonymous blog purportedly written by a Microsoft employee, enthused in its typical, half-sarcastic way: "I love this company. I love this company's Company Meeting."

Criticism of the all-day event, which takes place every year at the home field of baseball's Seattle Mariners, included the lack of parody videos as have been presented in the past, and other product demos so boring they inspired employees sitting in the upper decks to rain paper airplanes onto employees sitting at field level.

Estimates of this year's attendance ranged from 20,000 to 35,000.

A Live Wire
At the meeting, a new version of Windows Live Search was shown off. Live Search 2.0 will include better relevance, a larger index, instant answers and other features, attendees said. It's all an attempt to match Google technically and bolster Microsoft's small search-market share.

Microsoft reportedly plans to launch Live Search 2.0 later this month. But Mini-Microsoft called for the company to ship Live Search 2.0 "Now. Right now. Ship it please. Awesome stuff."


Other demos were not as well-received, and some lacked polish. Attendees critiquing those presentations called for greater brevity and more technical info, with fewer dumbed-down sales spiels.

"Some interesting stuff, but each of the speakers could have made their points in about half the time. The demos were particularly bad as there was no good motivation for each," complained one commenter to Mini-Microsoft.

Many external observers were interested in the announcement that Microsoft will begin a new Wi-Fi-enabled commuter bus service to help employees beat Seattle traffic jams.

Microsoft also said it will rent space in a number of Seattle office buildings developed by Microsoft's other co-founder, Paul Allen. Last year's big external announcement was that Microsoft had donated more than US$2.5 billion in cash, goods and employee contributions to charity since 1983.

Microsoft said it had added 12,800 employees worldwide in its most recent fiscal year ending June 30, while losing 8.3 percent of employees to attrition, according to one attendee report.

One of those new Microsoft employees blogged that the meeting "the weirdest thing ever. More like a rally than a meeting."

He drew an illustration that showed where attendees in matching hats or shirts sat, and that in at least three different locations around SafeCo field, there was "no beer."

Speech, Speech
Gates' swan song speech was tepidly received by many attendees, who said it was similar to speeches in the past.

The speech by Ozzie, who replaces Gates as Redmond's chief visionary, received better reviews, though some groused that it lacked specifics.

There was plenty of praise for Ballmer's speech, which attendees said gave a frank scorecard of how Microsoft is doing against competitors such as Apple, IBM, and Google.

Ballmer's "report cards gave me faith that at least at his level, there is no reality distortion," wrote one poster.

Another wrote about Ballmer's speech: "He didn't paint an overly rosy picture which is classic Microsoft self-criticism. It's funny how the outside world doesn't really see that side of the company."

But another poster complained that that the event was too full of "rah-rah" speeches by anonymous executives that failed to give employees a good sense of the company's vision, and how they can help enable that.

Legendary, Angry, Recognized
Meanwhile, Microsoft programming legend Dave Cutler was awarded the new Bill Gates Award, a technical award which one blogger dubbed "the new ultra-supreme award for contributions to Microsoft."

At Digital Equipment, Cutler helped develop the VAX and VMS operating systems. At Microsoft, Cutler directly led the teams building Windows NT, as well as the 64-bit versions of Windows XP Pro and Windows Server 2003 SP. Cutler is now working on Microsoft's Windows Live Platform.

Known as a gruff, no-nonsense boss whose high standards for bug-free code inspired employees to call him both the "greatest programmer/engineer project leader they've ever seen" as well as the "angriest and scariest person they've ever worked for," Cutler received a standing ovation from thousands of employees when he received the award.


source:pcworld.com

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Dell Says Notebooks Driving Gaming Sales

Dell Inc is seeing broad demand for notebooks spill over into the market for high-end gaming computers, saying that gives it an edge over rival Hewlett-Packard Co's stepped-up gaming efforts.


"There's a general trend in the industry that notebooks are becoming more prevalent and we're also seeing that in gaming," said Glen Robson, general manager of marketing for Dell's XPS gaming computer brand.

The single-minded emphasis gamers place on performance has traditionally meant they opt for desktop computers, which deliver more bang for the buck.

But the market is changing as processors from Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc, and graphics chips from Nvidia Corp and AMD get smaller and faster, helping notebooks close much of the gap with desktops.

"If you ask any gamer now, they're going to say they want a notebook. A lot of these guys can build their own desktops, but it's very hard to find a good notebook," said Nelson Gonzales, chief of Alienware, a specialty gaming PC maker that Dell bought in 2006.

"We always knew instinctively that if we could come out with a notebook as powerful as a desktop, it would be greatly accepted and would probably overtake our desktops."

Dell does not disclose sales of gaming PCs, but Robson said that offering such products helps the company push the bounds of technology and attract trend-setting buyers who often help others buy computers.

The Round Rock, Texas-based company is confident its gaming business can withstand a fresh effort by rival Hewlett-Packard, which overtook Dell as the top PC seller by overall unit sales, to take the top spot in the gaming market as well.

HP unveiled a new gaming machine on Wednesday called the Blackbird that aims to fill the niche above its general consumer PC line and below the ultra high-end models offered under its Voodoo brand.

"We already have the two foremost brands in PC gaming. Our world is not one of trying to play catchup, it's about staying ahead through innovation," Dell's Robson said. "HP is going to spend considerable resources to catch up with us.


source:tech2.com
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Intel Ups Revenue Forecast on Rising Chip Demand

Intel upgraded its Q3 revenue forecast on the basis of surprisingly high demand for chips across its product line.
Ben Ames, IDG News Service

Citing surprisingly high demand for its processors, Intel Corp. on Monday upgraded its third-quarter revenue forecast to a range of US$9.4 billion to $9.8 billion from the company's previous estimate of $9 billion to $9.6 billion.

Both ranges are far above Intel's results in the third quarter of 2006, when the company collected $8.7 billion in revenue, a 12 percent drop from the same quarter the previous year. Intel's sagging performance in 2006 led to a corporate restructuring plan including thousands of layoffs and the sale of several divisions.

The company has posted much stronger results in 2007, despite a lingering price war with rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. In July, Intel beat Wall Street estimates with second-quarter revenue of $8.7 billion, with profit up 44 percent over the same period of last year.

Intel's financials forecast upgrade came the same day that AMD launched its Barcelona quad-core Opteron server chip, which is expected to be a strong competitor to Intel's current server chips.

However, Intel said its new forecast is generated by demand throughout its business units, including notebook and desktop chips as well as server processors.

"We're seeing strength in revenue across the board," said Intel spokesman Tom Beermann. The company will give more detailed results when it reports its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 16.


Also on Monday, Intel trimmed another business division, agreeing to sell certain assets of its modular communications platforms business, which makes telecommunications boards, to RadiSys Corp. for $31.75 million. The parts of the division being sold to RadiSys make ATCA computing and packet processing blades, ATCA chassis, AMC modules and cPCI blades and chassis.

The deal with RadiSys did not contribute to Intel's revised revenue forecast today, Beermann said. Intel expects "a significant number" of employees to accept new job offers and move to RadiSys, but has not estimated the number. They will include workers in the engineering, product testing/validation, operations and marketing departments. RadiSys makes ATCA platforms and other products for telecommunication equipment manufacturers. The deal is expected to close in September.


source:pcworld.com

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ASUS P5K3 Premium Motherboard launched in India

ASUS Technology has released the new ASUS P5K3 Premium motherboard, which incorporates the latest technologies and also delivers an all-new innovation in the form of the Turbo D3 Onboard Memory feature.

According to Mr.Vinay Shetty, Product Manager, Component Business, ASUS India, “Technology is just not a terminology at ASUS; we challenge ourselves and try to bring better performance and solutions for those who understand it.”

As the innovative Turbo D3 Onboard Memory feature has been integrated into the ASUS P5K3 Premium motherboard, users will be guaranteed DDr3 overclocking speeds of over 1500Mhz and reduced clock cycle timings by 50% for random data access.

“The integrated DDR3 2GB memory isn’t just a couple of standard DDR3 modules either. These are custom-made modules and only about three-quarters the length of standard DDR3.”

The ASUS P5K3 Premium motherboard provides exceptional functions and utilizes Turbo D3- super onboard memory features that guarantee overclocking above DDr3 1500MHz.

Also, this groundbreaking technology includes the Perfect T-Tree Design and Hyper PCB Design. The P5K3 motherboard also works seamlessy together with ASUS’s exclusive Super Memspeed Technology offering the best overclocking performance.


The newly introduced ASUS P5K3 Premium motherboard also has support for the Intel P35 Express Chipset, which can enable exceptional PC performance while improving energy efficiency, system design and quietness.

Computers that have been embedded with the ASUS P5K3 Premium motherboard are able to deliver CE-like video and sound quality.


source:techshout.com

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Seagate Cheetah 15K.6 Hard Drive launched

In April 2006, Seagate released its Cheetah 15K.5 hard drives. Now, the company has gone on to launch the Cheetah 15K.6 hard drive, which happen to be the newest generation of Seagate’s award-winning enterprise Cheetah family.


The Seagate Cheetah 15K.6 hard drive has been built for the most transaction-intensive enterprise servers and storage systems. In fact, this 3.5-inch form factor hard drive offers the highest performance ever complete with a 28% increase in sustained data transfer rates compared to previous generation drives.


The new Cheetah 15K.6 hard drive is available in capacities of 450GB, 300GB and 147GB.
According to Sherman Black, Seagate senior vice president and general manager, Enterprise Compute Business, “With the Cheetah 15K.6 combination of high-performance, capacity and optimized power utilization, it is ideal for demanding transactional and energy-constrained data center environments.”


Besides the above features, Seagate’s Cheetah 15K.6 hard drive includes Seagate PowerTrim technology which dynamically optimizes drive power consumption at all levels of activity. Thus, this hard drive delivers the highest performance in its class without increasing power consumption.


Also, the Cheetah 15K.6 hard drive lowers idle and operational power requirements as much as 61% in watts/GB, while increasing overall sustained data transfer rates by 28% at 164MB/sec.

The Seagate Cheetah 15K.6 hard drive is scheduled to being shipping worldwide in Q1 2008.

source:techshout.com

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Microsoft Releases New Virtual Machine-Management Software

Microsoft Corp. Thursday released its first software designed specifically to manage virtual machines on a network, and tweaked licensing for its system-management products to take into account virtualization.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007, which has been in the works for about a year and a half, has been released to manufacturing and will be generally available in October as part of Microsoft's System Server Management Center suite of products, the company said.

The new product is built on the same architecture as other products in the enterprise version of the suite -- which include Data Protection Manager, Operations Manager and Configuration Manager -- and is aimed specifically at managing virtual machines in a data center that runs Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2, the current version of Microsoft's server virtualization technology, said Patrick O'Rourke, group manager, Windows Infrastructure. "Customers now can use the same tools to manage both virtual and physical assets [on the network]," he said.

Microsoft also has changed the licensing model for its for its System Center Server Management Suite Enterprise, making it available for US$860 per host server -- which means the actual server that hosts any instances of virtual software -- plus two years of Microsoft's Software Assurance plan. Previously, System Center software was licensed per device being managed in the data center, O'Rourke said. The new licensing should make managing virtualized environments with Microsoft's software more cost-effective for customers, he said.

Microsoft has been developing and fine-tuning its virtualization strategy over the past several years to keep up with virtualization leader VMWare Inc. and others, as well as to serve the needs of large customers who increasingly are using virtualization in their data centers. However, the company's strategy has predictably hit some road bumps.

Microsoft is developing next-generation virtualization technology, code-named Viridian, that takes advantage of virtualization-optimized processors from Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and will help keep the company up to speed with competitors. However, though Viridian will be a component of Windows Server 2008, it won't be available until six months after that new OS is released. And since Microsoft recently pushed back the release of Windows Server 2008 to the first quarter of next year, Viridian's release is nearly a year away. The company also decided earlier this year to pull out some originally planned features of Viridian due to timing concerns.

In the meantime, customers can use a combination of Microsoft's stand-alone Virtual Server and its System Center products to install and manage both virtual and physical machines in the data center. Microsoft also is planning a mid-market version of Virtual Machine Manager, called Workgroup edition, for release in January. The software will cost $499 per host server.

Microsoft also plans to extend the capabilities of the next version of Virtual Machine Manager so that it not only supports Windows Server virtualization technologies but also third-party virtualization from VMware and XenSource Inc., O'Rourke said. A beta of that software is expected to be available around the same time as Windows Server 2008, and Microsoft plans to update its roadmap then as well.


source:pcworld.com
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HP Picks Intel Chip for Quad-core Servers

HP's new server is based on Intel's Tigerton quad-core Xeon processor.
Ben Ames, IDG News Service
Hewlett-Packard Co. launched a server based on Intel Corp.'s new Tigerton quad-core Xeon processor Thursday, battling IBM Corp. for customers who run data-intensive business applications like enterprise resource planning and virtualization software.

HP announced the rack-based ProLiant DL580 G5 and the blade-shaped ProLiant BL680c G5, each using four of Intel's Xeon 7300-series chips.

Compared to HP's current ProLiant servers with dual-core versions of the Xeon or Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s Opteron chips, both new servers are designed to better support virtualization, allowing users to handle their applications with a smaller number of servers than they need today, the company said.

The announcement comes less than a week before AMD is expected to launch its own quad-core server chip, called Barcelona. HP, Sun Microsystems Inc. and other vendors are expected to use that processor in a range of new platforms for similar markets.

In the meantime, Intel is enjoying increased popularity for its Tigerton chip. IBM also chose the Xeon 7300 chip to upgrade its server lineup, combining the processor with its own X4 chipset instead of Intel's Clarksboro chipset. IBM announced the System x3950 M2 server on Wednesday, also touting its virtualization abilities.

IBM designed the server for fast-growing businesses, so it can easily scale up for larger deployments such as data centers and ERP or customer relationship management applications from providers like SAP and Oracle, said Jay Bretzmann, manager of product marketing for IBM. Compared to systems based on its X3 chipset, IBM will add memory and an internal USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface for loading embedded virtualization software.

"As cores started multiplying, the need for memory started growing, particularly in the virtualization space. So we offered a low entry price point and head room to grow," Bretzmann said. Together those improvements will allow users to get greater utilization out of their servers, instead of having the computers sit idle while waiting for new jobs, he said.

"There are so many applications that really scale; databases are the flagship; if you write a database that doesn't scale well you're not going to be in business for long. But virtualization allows you to load multiple OSes, and achieve the flexibility and utilization that are key for quad-core technology," he said.

IBM intends to keep its X4 chipset in the market through 2009, then offer a fifth-generation version by 2010, he said. IBM plans to launch the System x3950 M2 server at high volume in the fourth quarter.

HP is selling the DL580 for US$9,219 and the BL680c for $9,669. IBM will announce pricing for the System x3950 M2 when it is shipped, in the fourth quarter.


source:pcworld.com
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HP Announces Multimedia and Gaming Powerhouse PCs

The company has unveiled two powerful new desktop PCs, and a high-performance multimedia monitor to match.
HP has announced two new high-end desktop PC systems and one new multimedia-oriented monitor. The new PCs include the HP Blackbird 002, a joint venture between HP and its recently acquired Voodoo PC gaming division. There's also a new high-end multimedia PC in the HP Pavilion Elite m900n series, and the multimedia-oriented HP w2408 24-inch widescreen LCD monitor.

The HP Blackbird 002 is an overclocked gaming PC built into a sculpted aluminum chassis, and is the newest addition to "The $5K Club" with price tags in the $5,000 range, depending on your configuration.

The second PC introduced today is the HP Pavilion Elite m9000n series high-end multimedia PCs. The first system, a Pavilion Elite m9040n, comes with a quad-core Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor, NTSC/ATSC (HDTV) tuner, 3GB of system memory and 640GB of speedy hard drive space. The m9040n includes bays for both of HP's removable hard drive technologies, the aptly named HP Pocket Media Drive and the larger, higher capacity HP Personal Media Drive. While having both may be overkill for some, early adopters and removable hard drive fans will enjoy this option.

HP's w2408 widescreen monitor is the company's answer to mid-to-high-end 24-inch widescreen monitors like Gateway's FPD2485W and Dell's 2407WFP. The w2408 is a 1,920-by-1,200, 16:10 widescreen like the others, and pivots from portrait to landscape mode, so you can read vertically and horizontally optimized programs or Web pages. The w2408 is HDCP compliant, so you can watch HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs on your PC. Notable innovations include a keyboard storage area under the monitor, and rear-firing speakers (the competition requires external speakers or a speaker bar).

HP Launches Budget Business Laptops

HP is attempting to keep pace with Dell's Vostro laptop line by launching its own budget laptops tailored to small businesses

With Dell having recently launched its small-business Vostro line of desktops and laptops, it's only fitting that HP should have similar offerings tailored to its small-business customers. The HP Compaq 6820S and Compaq 6720S are business laptops that cater to professionals on a tight budget. You don't get the tough metals, the security features, and fast processing parts that are found on HP's enterprise laptops, but you do get a set of laptops that will get the basic stuff done

Starting at $649, you can get an Intel Celeron processor, 512MB RAM, and an 80GB hard drive with either the Compaq 6720S or the Compaq 6820S. The 6720S is the smaller of the two, integrating a 15.4-inch widescreen and weighing 5.5 pounds. The 6820S brings the weight up to 6.5 pounds, but you also have 17 inches worth of screen real estate. Both laptops have three USB ports, ExpressCard slots, and an SD/MMC card slot, and the base optical drive is a DVD-ROM/CD-RW. The only real sore spot is that neither of these systems will have options for Windows XP Pro—they're Windows Vista only.

source:pcmag.com

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Intel Ships Quad-Core Tigerton

The showdown is set for AMD's Barcelona with Intel's release today of Xeon 7300 chips.
Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service

Intel Corp. plans to unveil today a version of its Xeon processor that's designed for high-end servers with multiple processors -- setting the stage for a showdown with rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s upcoming quad-core Barcelona chip.

The Xeon 7300 chips, called Tigerton, are the first quad-core processors from Intel designed to be used in servers with four or more processors, a relatively small but lucrative segment of the server market. Previously, the Xeon processor for this segment of the market had two cores, despite the availability of quad-core Xeon chips for single-processor and two-way servers.

The new chips offer significantly better performance compared to their predecessors, Intel's Xeon 5300 chips, said Adesh Gupta, regional platform architecture manager at Intel Asia-Pacific's Server Platforms Group.

"Across the spectrum of different applications, we're seeing really, really good performance," Gupta said.

Benchmarks run by Intel showed significant gains for many enterprise applications, including SAP AG's ERP (enterprise resource planning) software, Gupta said. The 7300 series chips can handle roughly 82 percent more ERP users and 92 percent more database transactions than the 5300 chips, he said.

The 7300 is part of the Caneland chip package, which also includes Intel's 7300 chipset, known as Clarksboro. The new chipset has four 1,066MHz interconnects that are linked to an individual processor, helping reduce latency between the processors and main memory.

Caneland is the last release expected from Intel before AMD announces the availability of its Barcelona server chips on Sept. 10. Barcelona is widely expected to offer significant performance increases over AMD's existing dual-core server chips, and should mean tighter competition with Intel in the server space.

Intel will initially offer six versions of Tigerton. At the top of the range is the X7350, a 2.93GHz chip designed with 8M bytes of shared on-chip cache and a thermal design power (TDP) of 130 watts. TDP is the highest sustainable level of power for applications that Intel expects to be run on the chip, and the number describes how much heat a system must be able to dissipate from the chip.

Intel is also offering several Xeon 7300 chips with a TDP of 80 watts. The E7340 runs at 2.4GHz and offers 8M bytes of shared on-chip cache. The E7330 also runs at 2.4GHz, but has 6M bytes of cache. The E7320 and E7310 both have 4M bytes of shared cache and run at clock speeds of 2.13GHz and 1.6GHz, respectively.

Intel will also release a 50-watt version that runs at 1.86GHz. The L7345 has 8M bytes of shared on-chip cache and is designed for blade servers and high-density rack servers.

Two dual-core versions of the Tigerton chip, the E7220 and E7210, will also be available, running at speeds of 2.93GHz and 2.4GHz with a TDP of 80 watts. Both chips have a shared on-chip cache of 8M bytes and are designed for high-performance computing applications.

Tigerton's improved performance doesn't come cheap. The processors are priced from US$856 to $2,301 per chip in 1,000-unit quantities, a standard measure of processor pricing.

The 7300 will also be the last server chip announced by Intel, before its upcoming Penryn chips are made available later this year. Made using a 45-nanometer process that will allow more cache to be put on each chip, the first Penryn server chips are expected to be released in November.

Those chips are intended for use in single-processor and two-way servers. The Penryn server chip for multiple-processor servers is called Dunnington and will not be available until late 2008, Gupta said


SOURCE:pcworld.com
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HP Announces 3 AMD Powered Laptops

HP has announced three new laptops that are based on AMD processors. The new models that have been introduced are the Pavilion dv9500z ($1000), dv6500z ($750) and Compaq Presario v6500z ($500). While the first two models are aimed at multimedia desktop replacements, the final one is an entry level machine. The AMD processors that are on offer on these machines are variations of the Turion 64 X2 58/60/62/64 chips.


The 17-inch dv9500z is a desktop replacement machine with Nvidia GeForce Go 7150M or 8400M GS graphics chipset, comes with max up to 4GB of RAM, up to 500 of HDD storage, HD DVD drive, 17.1 inch LCD panel with 1680 x 1050 resolution, fingerprint reader, webcam, microphone, a/b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth, Verizon Wireless V740 ExpressCard, digital TV Tuner, and Windows Vista. The same specifications are applicable for the dv6500z except max storage is reduced to 250GB.The 15.4-inch Presario v6500z provides up to 2GB RAM, max 160GB hard drive, dual layer DVD burner, GeForce Go 7150M graphics, a/b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth, ExpressCard, TV Tuner, and Windows Vista.


source:tech2.com



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