TEAM GROUP PRESS RELEASE
As the digital life era arrives, more and more consumer demand for high-resolution multimedia. Limited by the transfer rate specifications, USB2.0 no longer can handle HD media processing. With this year’s kick off of USB3, Team Group Inc. released three mainstream energy-saving USB3.0 flash drives with ultra transfer speed to satisfy the consumer’s need for HD media files process.
C101
C101: Easy to use, never lose the cap
The surface was designed with link format matte etching; the push-and-pull extending design solves the cap-losing problem once and for all. It is the number one choice for busy workers.
Color Turn
Color Turn: Color rotation, fun and fashionable
The traditional design color rotation drive’s surface has a silver satin finish to avoid fingerprints; the ergonomic rotation mechanism makes it easy to store. It is a favorite among students.
F108
F108: The lightest in the industry
The compact colorful flash drive sports metal sandblasting and anodizing; it is currently the most compact USB3.0 flash drive available on the market.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Sparkle Goes PCI w 8500GT amp; 7300GT Cards
SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., a professional VGA card manufacturer andsupplier, today announced SPARKLE GeForce 8500 GT PCI and GeForce 7300 GT PCIGraphic Cards. SPARKLE GeForce 8500 GT PCI and GeForce 7300 GT PCI Graphic Cardsbring affordable upgrade solutions to special PCI platform and industrialapplications with lower prices.
Based on NVIDIA’s awarding G86 architecture, SPARKLE GeForce 8500 GT PCI GraphicCard adopts innovative unified architecture, dynamically allocates processingpower to geometry, vertex, physics, or pixel shading operations, delivering upto 2x the gaming performance of prior generation GPUs. Built upon technologiessuch as NVIDIA Lumenex Engine, providing support for DirectX 10 Shader Model4.0, NVIDIA Quantum Effects technology for physics computation and GigaThreadtechnology for extreme processing efficiency in advanced, next generation shaderprograms.
In order to provide aggressive price/performance ratio to special PCI platformusers, SPARKLE GeForce 8500 GT PCI Graphic Card features 450MHz core speed, 16stream processors at 900MHz shader clock and 512/256MB 128-bit DDR2 videomemory, delivering good upgrade capability.
Based on NVIDIA high performance G73 architecture, SPARKLE GeForce 7300 GT PCIGraphic Card is the best choice for special PCI user or industrial applicationsplatform to upgrade.Helped with 350MHz core speed and 512/256MB 128-bit DDR2video memory, SPARKLE GeForce 7300 GT PCI Graphic Card delivers rightperformance and price rate to special PCI or industrial applications platformusers. It offers Shader Model 3.0 support—including vertex texture fetch (VTF)—toensure max compatibility with all DirectX 9 applications.
"By introducing SPARKLE GeForce 8500 GT PCI and GeForce 7300 GT PCI GraphicCards, now special PCI platform and industrial applications platform users canget right products to upgrade. "said Kevin Wang, sales director of SPARKLEComputer Co., Ltd. "SPARKLE is proud of providing such a affordable upgradesolutions. Special PCI platform and industrial applications platform users cango on using their favorite machines with less expend on upgrading."
Shuttle launches mSATA supporting XPC SZ68R5 Mini-PC
While certainly not as popular these days as they were several years ago, Shuttle is still keeping its small form factor based XPC lineup refreshed with new models from time to time. A new model dubbed the XPC SZ68R5 has just been released which is based on Intels Z68 Express chipset, using the companys FZ68 motherboard.
This barebone PC is ready for your LGA-1155 CPU of choice and offers support for up to 32GB of DDR3 memory in the form of four physical slots. In terms of expansion options, it has a single PCI-E x16 v2.0 slot (with enough room to house a dual-slot graphics card) along with a PCI-E x4 slot and a mini-PCI-E x1 v2.0 slot.
A first for Shuttles barebone systems is the inclusion of an mSATA slot to be able to add in an mSATA SSD and take advantage of Smart Response Technology. Power wise, the XPC SZ68R5 comes with a 500W 80Plus certified mini-PSU that provides both 6 and 8-pin connectors for your graphics card of choice. Cooling of the system is handled by Shuttles I.C.E. (Integrated Cooling Engine) which features advanced I.C.E. heatpipe technology.
Running over the remaining features and forms of connectivity, the XPC SZ68R5 has two SATA 6Gbps ports and two SATA 3Gbps ports, one eSATA, four USB 3.0 ports (two in the front), six USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and DVI-I outputs (if using the built-in graphics support on a 2nd gen Intel Core CPU), Gigabit LAN and 8-channel HD audio.
The XPC SZ68R5 from Shuttle has been given a suggested price tag of €301.00 (ex. VAT).
Source: Shuttle
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Intel unveils dual-core Itanium 2 processor
After being delayed and seeing its front side bus and power management features cut down, Intel's dual-core Itanium 2 processor has finally been released into the wild. Code-named Montecito, the new Itanium 2 is launching in six denominations as follows:
Compared with the previous Itanium 2 flagship, the new Itanium 2 9050 sports an extra core and three times as much cache. Rated thermal design power is 104W for all dual-core Itanium 2 9000-series chips, down from a ceiling of 130W for the previous lineup. Altogether, Intel says Montecito pumps up performance per watt by 2.5 times over its predecessors (it doesn't clarify exactly how this value was computed, however.) To top it off, the new Itanium 2s also introduce hardware virtualization features like those seen in many of Intel's other recent processors.
According to Intel, Itanium 2 9000 processors are already shipping, and machines based on the new processors should show up in late August and throughout the remainder of this year.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Lenovo and Intel launch the Classmate+ PC
Intel has been moving from partner to partner with its various iterations of the Classmate PC and now the company have signed up Lenovo as its partner for the latest model, the Classmate+ PC. Its still a very basic machine without a lot of bells and whistles, but as its intended as an educational computer for schools, this isnt exactly expected.
At least Lenovo has managed to come up with a more attractive design for the Classmate+ PC than seen in the previous generations, if somewhat industrial in terms of looks. The carry handle is still firmly in place at the back of the Classmate+ PC and its of course still powered by one of Intels Atom processors, in this case a single core 1.6GHz Atom N455 which is paired with Intels NM10 chipset.
It will also come with up to 2GB of RAM, a standard netbook style 10.1-inch LCD screen, an option of either an 8 or 16GB SSD or a 160 or 250GB hard drive. Other features include 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 10/100Mbit Ethernet, a 1.3Megapixel webcam, three USB 2.0 ports, a memory card reader, a D-sub connector and a pair of audio jacks.
Lenovo will supply three different battery packs for the Classmate+ PC, a standard 3-cell unit which is said to deliver 3-3.5h battery life depending on whether its configured with a hard drive or SSD, a 4400mAh 6-cell pack good for between 7-7.5h and finally a 5200mAh high density 6-cell battery pack good for up to 8.5-9h of usage. The Classmate+ PC will only be available to qualified education and government customers through Lenovo or its channel partners.
Source: Intel
Monday, September 16, 2013
New technologies help robots make inroads on daily life
Notre Dame came back from an early deficit and took the lead over Ohio Northern University on a pass. Its defense stiffened in the second half, and it stymied ONU, 26-7.
But these weren't student athletes on the gridiron in a spring scrimmage in late April. Eight robots about the size of big printers slugged it out for each side in the world's first intercollegiate football game with robots on Notre Dame's campus in South Bend, Ind.
Organizers are comparing the historical significance of the so-called Mechatronic Football Game with the first
The student-designed robots performed well on the basketball court-size field, and organizers hope to create an intercollegiate mechatronic football league that accelerates innovation in robotics in the same way that the DARPA Grand Challenge accelerated self-driving vehicles for the military, or the
The mechanical march is gaining steam. To date, robots have mostly been used by automakers and semiconductor firms to produce goods in high volume. They're also in vogue at some warehouses. Amazon.com in March plunked down $775 million to acquire Kiva Systems, a maker of squat, cube-shape robots that move products around shipping centers.
But that was just the start. Cheap, powerful cameras, advanced sensors and other electronics now form the basis of robotics projects. In the 1990s, technology was pricey and limited to industrial settings where large companies could afford to make the necessary investments.
"It sounds like 'Star Wars,' but it's coming," said Bill Vass, a former Sun Microsystems executive who is CEO of Liquid Robotics, maker of a surfboard-like device for underwater research.
"A perfect storm of technology is occurring" for robotics, he said, ticking off the convergence of technologies such as GPS, advances in cell and wireless communications, nanotechnology, Wi-Fi, satellite technology, open-source software and new ARM processors on smartphones.
It's hard to gauge the commercial potential for robotics, as the technology is in its infancy and, once ready, the bots could do just about anything. What's certain, though, is that bots will be ubiquitous in all shapes and sizes for:
-Industrial use. Factory robots, once confined to cages so as not to harm humans with an inadvertent swing of a steel arm, are now commingling with people because of cheaper and more advanced sensor technology.
Japan's Kawada Industries, Switzerland's ABB and other companies are developing dexterous robots capable of assembling smartphones and working safely in close proximity to people. Kawada's $90,000 NextAge bot, which could pass for the robot character WALL-E in the animated film of the same name, is one such model. ABB is designing a humanoid-like robot with "dual-arm" that can assemble consumer-electronic products.
Heartland Robotics, run by iRobot co-founder Rodney Brooks, plans to introduce affordable robots for small manufacturers.
At Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, researchers are working on software that enables a robot to determine which parts to choose and assemble properly. These more efficient tools for repetitive tasks could slice labor costs of consumer-electronic products makers, and free up humans for other jobs.
-Military use. Within 10 years, squadrons of unmanned planes will swarm enemy sites like killer bees, launching missiles and avoiding detection with sophisticated jamming devices.
Self-programmed submarines will replace dolphins to detect and disarm mines. Robotic mules the size of pickups will haul ammunition, medical supplies and food. Drone ambulances will load wounded soldiers and cart them to hospitals. Crablike robots will crawl into buildings to sniff out chemical stashes.
The transition to mechanized weaponry is key to the military's transformation from heavy ground forces to smaller human units fortified with robotic weapons.
-Search-and-rescue missions. The palm-size winged schematic sitting on a table at Carnegie Mellon's robotics lab isn't from the forthcoming "The Dark Knight Rises," but a "vampire bat" bot for above-the-fray surveillance of action scenes, and search and rescue. The 100-gram, foot-wide bot, made of inexpensive molding, is propelled from the ground by an internal spring.
Once airborne, it glides with the wind and would be part of a "swarm" of bots that communicate with each other. The devices are cheap to produce - $40 each - even cheaper if mass produced. They're loaded with a motor, camera, sensors and battery. "Think of the swarm of bats as the equivalent of an (expensive) satellite," said Matthew Woodward, a doctoral student in Carnegie Mellon's nanorobotics lab who developed the mechanical vampire bat.
A few feet away, the wings of "the flapper," a bee-size bot that can get into small crevices such as a mine shaft, beat 45 times a second.
-Research. Liquid Robotics makes a surfboard-shape device for collecting data underwater, such as ocean depth, post-hurricane damage, fish density populations, weather forecasting and shark surveillance. The service would be sold to researchers. Wave Glider is its first marine robot. "It operates in environments where you don't want to send people," Vass said. "Our bots go out in 35-foot waves and 100-mph winds."
David Hanson has been pushing the frontiers of android making for years. The chief scientist at Hanson Robotics helped design an android replica of the head of science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick ("Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", "The Minority Report"), which answers questions as the author would. "We think we can change the face of entertainment," Hanson said. "Facial expression technology is very life-like, and we can advance socially intelligent, compassionate computers (androids) as characters."
America's fascination and, occasionally, guarded fear toward robots runs deep. It dates to 322 BC, when Aristotle alluded to the "need either of apprentices for the master workers or of slaves for the lords." In the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci designed a mechanical device that looks like an armored knight.
"A robot is the interface between the information world and physical world," said Richard Mahoney, director of the Robotics Program at think-tank SRI International.
Though robots have been portrayed as sinister, as in the movie "Terminator," they have also sparked delight in the guise of C-3PO and R2-D2 in "Star Wars," Optimus Prime in "Transformers," WALL-E and other famous mechanical creations.
"People like robots; it's in our psyche and culture," said Skaff, whose company hopes to offer a $5,000 robot within a few years. "The canvas is there. It is our opportunity to paint on it."
"It was amazing how people gravitated to it," said Chris Barbin, CEO of Appirio, which used Titan at a cloud-computing conference in London in May and drew 1,000 people. "It was our biggest event of the year."
Robots are becoming de rigueur as populations age and working couples look for help while at work. Toyota and Honda (maker of the Asimo) are building robo-servants to help Japan's aging population. IRobot's Roomba vacuum already does some of that. And experts expect dog-walking bots and driverless cars in the near future.
It's probably not surprising, then, that people increasingly are more comfortable with walking, talking machines, said Eric Schweikardt, design director of Modular Robotics, which makes robot-construction kits for use in gaming and education. He points to newfangled dishwashers and refrigerators as entry-level household robots powered by microprocessors.
"Robots will be bigger than the PC in 10 to 20 years, but it will be linked to your computing device either in the cloud or on your person," said Paul Berberian, CEO of Orbotix, which makes Sphero, a robot ball controlled by smartphones.
Like others in the industry, Berberian envisions affordable toy robots for the mass market first, followed by larger devices. "While specific-task home robots are cool, the big play will be entertainment," he said.
"Tons of technology starts out in the game/entertainment sector and then migrates to performing common tasks."
Friday, September 13, 2013
JEDEC To Standardize Solid State Drive
JEDEC has initiated standardization for the Solid State Drive (SSD) segment of the computer industry. This nascent market is poised for explosive growth as the price gap between rotating media hard disks and non-volatile alternatives such as flash drives decreases. The JEDEC effort will focus on broad based standardization of interfaces between the host system and the SSD. Realizing that there are a number of companies considering a variety of SSD technologies, JEDEC encourages them to contact the JEDEC office to coordinate efforts and accelerate user adoption of the technology.
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