University of Toronto, IBM to launch Supercomputer

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By Wojtek Dabrowski

TORONTO (Reuters) - The University of Toronto and IBM Corp are building Canada's most powerful supercomputer, a mammoth machine that will need its own building for storage and will be capable of performing 360 trillion calculations per second.
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Posted on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:05:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Computer games could get Cinema-style Ratings

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 By Peter Griffiths

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain could give all computer games cinema-style age ratings to protect children from increasingly realistic and violent titles, the government said on Thursday.
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Posted on Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Jive Multi-Platform Computer Runs Mac OS and Windows

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RSOL PC has announced what it is calling a multi-platform computer. The system is called Jive and will be available to buy and ship on August 8th. The computer is capable of running Windows, Linux, Fedora, and Mac OS.

The Jive computer will start at $628 plus shipping. The computer will use an Intel E4600 Core 2 Duo CPU, 500GB HDD, 20x DVD writer, 2GB of RAM, NVIDIA 7300GS graphics, and 8-channel audio. The catch is that the system includes no OS. Read more

Posted on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:46:53 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Visionman Computers Delivers Firsts for Notebook Gamers

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I have never heard of Visionman computers before. However, Visionman has releases a new gaming notebook that it claims offers three first to market innovations. The system in question is called the Widow Double-Nine laptop and claims to be the first notebook in the industry to support the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 M GT.

The notebook will support a single card or dual cards in SLI. A notebook running the higher performance NVIDIA 9800M GTX will launch in August. The notebook also claims to be the first to support Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 CPU. The final first is the first notebook to offer 8GB of RAM. Read more

Posted on Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:46:30 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

eMachines Launches Three Desktop Computers

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eMachines announced three new computer systems today with low price tags aimed at students going back to school. The eMachines T3656 is the lowest priced of the three new systems with a MSRP of only $299.99. the machine runs on an Intel Celeron, had 1GB or memory and a 160GB HDD.

The T5247 desktop will sell for $399.99 and uses an Intel Dual-core processor and 2GB of DDR2 RAM. Storage capacity for the machine is 320GB. Also being offered is a complete system called the W3653 that includes a computer running an Intel Celeron Dual-Core and 1GB of DDR2 RAM with a 320Gb HDD. This system also includes a 17-inch widescreen LCD. The W3653 will retail for $498. Read more

Posted on Wed, 2 Jul 2008 08:20:53 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Gateway Announces New Notebook and Desktop Computers

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Gateway has announced new notebook and desktop computer lines for back to school. The new systems are available now from Gateway and from retail stores for prices ranging from $549.99 to $1149.99.

Three new notebook lines are being launched with a P-Series desktop replacement with a 17-inch screen, the M-Series is an all-purpose system with a 15.4-inch screen, and the T-Series is a thin-and-light with a 14.1-inch screen. Read more

Posted on Tue, 1 Jul 2008 07:28:46 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Computers in use pass 1 billion mark: Gartner

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HELSINKI (Reuters) - The number of personal computers in use around the world has surpassed 1 billion, with strong growth in emerging markets set to double the number of PCs by early 2014, research firm Gartner said on Monday.
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Posted on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:19:55 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

AMD Says World’s Fastest Supercomputers Use Opteron’s

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AMD says that 3 of the top 5 supercomputers in the world and 7 of the top 20 supercomputers use AMD Opteron processors. AMD says that for the first time ever its processors are in use in the fastest supercomputer in the world.

AMD says that the Opteron-based Ranger supercomputer at the TACC made its first appearance on the top 500 supercomputers list with a ranking of number 4. The Ranger machine has a score of 326 teraflops. The Ranger machine is used for science research and solves problems for weather prediction and climate modeling as well as genetics and medical research. Read more

Posted on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:05:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Addonics Dual CF Adapter Adds SSD to Computers

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If you have several CompactFlash cards lying around from an old DSLR camera and want to put them to work inside your computer as a SSD drive Addonics has a new adapter that will allow just that. The Dual CF – SATA Adapter has dual CF slots to allow for using two CF cards as the same time via a SATA or USB connection.

The dual cards can be configured to RAID 1, RAID 0 or combined into one large storage volume. The adapter is a 2.5-inch direct drive replacement and optional brackets for other mounting options are available to mount the drive in a 3.4-inch bay or in an external 5.25-inch bay. The Dual CF – SATA HDD adapter sells for $79.99 and the adapters each sell for $4.50. Read more

Posted on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:38:46 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Energy Dept says new Computer world's fastest

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A computer designed to run virtual tests of U.S. nuclear weapons will be the world's fastest, making 1,000 trillion calculations per second, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Monday.
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Posted on Mon, 9 Jun 2008 12:28:15 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

iHome Computer Speakers with iPod Dock

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If we needed any further proof that everything is getting an iPod dock built in these days the new iHome iH70 and iH69 computer speakers prove that point. The iH70 and iH69 are billed as the world’s first computer speakers for iPod.

Both speaker sets can charge, play and sync the iPod directly with the computer without the need for any additional wires or adapters. Both speaker sets are compatible with all docking iPod models. The difference between the two systems is the iH70 has higher wattage Reson8 speakers and a remote control. MSRP for the iH70 is $129.99 and the iH69 is $99.99. Read more

Posted on Wed, 4 Jun 2008 09:04:02 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Apple Back-to-School Deals include Free iPod Touch with Mac Computers?

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We already reported about rumors that the Apple Back-To-School deals will be big this year. MacRumors reports today that according to their sources Apple will be offering a free 8GB iPod Touch to college students who buy a qualifying Mac computer. Read more

Posted on Mon, 2 Jun 2008 13:27:32 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Stealth Computer Ships 24-inch Rugged Touchscreen LCD

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Stealth Computer announced today it is now shipping the SV-2400 rugged 24-inch widescreen LCD. The display is touch sensitive and built to withstand harsh industrial environments. The screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1200, a 16:10 aspect ratio and analog and DVI digital interfaces.

Viewing angles for the display are 160 degrees and the contrast ratio is 1000:1 with 250 nits of brightness. The capacitive touch sensor is optional and the display is sealed behind a tempered glass enclosure. The display can reproduce 16.7 million colors and has a refresh rate of 5ms. Read more

Posted on Tue, 27 May 2008 11:36:40 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Windows to run on One Laptop Per Child Computer

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SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp reached an agreement to make available its Windows operating system software for the One Laptop Per Child Foundation's XO Laptop, the company said on Thursday.
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Posted on Fri, 16 May 2008 00:29:14 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

FBI probes Counterfeit China Computer Parts

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By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI on Friday said an investigation into the sale of counterfeit Chinese computer components to the U.S. government has recovered about 3,500 bogus devices with a retail value of $3.5 million.
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Posted on Sat, 10 May 2008 00:57:35 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Purdue University to get Dell Supercomputer

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When it comes to supercomputers Dell isn’t a name that jumps to my mind. Purdue University thinks differently though and has recently installed one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world powered by Dell.

Purdue says that its new supercomputer is the largest on campus at any school in the big 10 Conference outside of national computing centers. Over 200 University employees built the supercomputer in under a day. Purdue says that the computer will be used for research across different disciplines including engineering, biological and earth and atmospheric sciences, mathematics and physics. The leading researchers at the school pooled grant money to be able to fund the majority of the purchase. Read more

Posted on Wed, 7 May 2008 11:03:31 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

LanSchool v7.1 Keeps Kids in Check on School Computers

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If you have ever wondered how the computer lab at your local high school keeps the kids from surfing porn and uploading viruses to the network something like LanSchool is probably the answer. LanSchool v7.1 is now available.

The new version of the application allows teachers to block USB ports and offers keystroke and application monitoring to keep an eye on what students are doing. The USB blocker can turn off access to the USB ports without affecting other USB devices. That means you can block the port to USB drives but still have a working USB mouse and keyboard connected to the machine. Read more

Posted on Wed, 7 May 2008 07:19:04 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Mercury PowerBlock Compact Rugged Computer

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Mercury Computer Systems announced its new line of ultra compact and rugged computers. Mercury says that its new PowerBlock computers put more than 100 GFLOPS of processing power in the palm of your hand.

The PowerBlock 50 system is an embedded computer designed for small platforms in the 6 to 10 pound range. The system is optimized for real-time image, sensor, and signal processing. Cooling for the system is via liquid and the computer overall measures 4” x 5” x 6”. Read more

Posted on Mon, 5 May 2008 12:03:03 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Psystar Open Computer Apple Mac Clone Review

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Now the back and forth about the existence of Psystar and their Apple Mac Clone is over. We already reported about Open Computers showing up at customers. Now Engadget published a hands-on review with performance comparisons of the Psystar Open Computer to other Apple computers. Read more

Posted on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:43:14 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

RallyPoint Handwear Computer Input Device

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A startup called RallyPoint has developed a sensor-embedded glove that allows soldiers to view and navigate digital maps, activate radio communications, and send commands without having to take his hand off his weapon. The company calls this input device Handwear Computer Input Device (HCID).

Keyboards and touchscreens sure are a problem in the war zone. Controlling gadgets with hand gestures makes sense. Voice control should work though too, I think. Read more

Posted on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:02:48 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

AMD launches first Computer Brand

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By Duncan Martell

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc on Sunday unveiled its first computer brand, aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, with design and sales help from its major chip customers such as Dell Inc.
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Posted on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr