The new Mac Pro desktop – A powerful beast, but a fully loaded model, can easily set you back $11,000+

del.icio.us Tags: computers,Apple,Mac Pro

CNET -  June 10, 2013 11:07 AM PDT

Apple has introduced a new version of the high-end Mac Pro desktop at WWDC 2013. The updated model skips Intel's fourth generation of Core i-series processors, previously codenamed Haswell, instead sticking with pro-level Xeon processors. But it's the design of this new Mac Pro that became a conversation topic: instead of a big square box, the new Pro is a shiny black cylinder that looks like it fell off the engine of a starship.

Apple unveiled the all-new, radically designed Mac Pro computer today at the World Wide Developer's Conference today in San Francisco.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Steve Jobs had a similar dream years ago in the G4 Cube, a famously minimal gleaming box that was meant to represent the future of desktop computers. The Cube was a cult favorite more than a commercial success, but the new Mac Pro feels like the clear revival of that black-box dream. Instead of cube, think cylinder.

New design, new features
In addition, the Mac Pro at long last has a new look and feel. The current tower design is one of the oldest in the Apple catalog, changing little from when it was called the Power Mac G5. Up until now, the Mac Pro has been missing USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, and other features many MacBook users take for granted.

The new model has a striking new look. The first view we saw was from the top, where the circular design reminded me of Apple's planned new UFO-like headquarters. It's actually a tall black cylinder, but much smaller than the tower it replaces, fitting into one-eighth the volume of the previous Mac Pro.

Components are built around a "central thermal core," and the specs include an Intel Xeon CPU, faster 1,866GHz RAM, and new SSD storage that's 2.5 times faster than current SSD drives. Dual AMD FirePro GPUs are supported (even though current MacBook Pros use Nvidia graphics), and the system can output to as many as three 4K resolution displays.

Why the major overhaul now? One of the reasons Apple previously felt little need to update the Mac Pro was because it appealed largely to a small but steady professional audience and didn't require a flashy iMac-style overhaul to bring in new audiences. But, in the several years since the last major Mac Pro overhaul, the computer industry has shifted dramatically away from the traditional tower-based desktop toward laptops, all-in-one desktops, tablets, and now even touch screen "tabletop PCs" such as the Lenovo Horizon 27.

Does a bold design that's decidedly hardcore fit what pros need? That remains to be seen, but the Darth Vader-ish look of the Mac Pro certainly made a lot of WWDC attendees sit up and take notice. If iMacs are Jedi, the Mac Pro is decidedly Sith.

There's no price information yet, but the new Mac Pro is expected later in 2013.

AMD Announces 5GHz FX Processor; Richland Gets Benchmarked

del.icio.us Tags: processors,CPU,AMD,Intel,computer,technology

Jun 13, 2013 1:46 PM EST

By Michael J. Miller

AMD may be a distant second when it comes to making x86 processors for desktops and notebooks but the company has been making some exciting moves lately. This week it announced what it describes as "the world's first commercially available 5GHz CPU processor." Meanwhile, a number of sites are now reporting benchmarks on the high-end of AMD's more mainstream processors, known as Richland, that I have found quite interesting.

The "5GHz" chip is a new version of the company's FX processor introduced at E3 earlier this week. This model, known as AMD's FX-9590, and a 4.7GHz FX-9370 both are 8-core processors, featuring the "Piledriver" architecture in which a pair of integer CPU cores share floating point and other features. They are traditional CPUs, meaning they do not have integrated graphics, unlike the company's "accelerated processing units" (APUs), which is AMD's term for a chip with both CPU and graphics features on a single die. The reason I put "5GHz" in quotes is that this apparently the top turbo speed. Until now, the x86 processor companies typically referred mainly to the base speed of the processor, and then listed a "turbo mode." For instance, the previous high-end AMD CPU, the FX-8350 was listed at 4.0GHz, with a turbo speed of 4.2GHz. The 9590 and 9370 should be faster at least in their "Max Turbo" modes, but AMD hasn't yet announced what the base speed of these new processors will be.    

(Update: a number of sites are reporting this afternoon that AMD has confirmed the 9590 and the FX-9370 will have base speeds of 4.7 GHz and 4.4 GHz, respectively; and also that this will require 220 watts of power, a huge increase from the 125 watt TDP of the previous top-end chips. As a result, it will likely require special cooling and will probably be available mainly from specialty PC makers.)

Note that some specialized high-end processors such as the IBM Power series have already reached that 5GHz and beyond and we've seen previous PC processors overclocked to this speed and beyond, including from AMD. But this should be the first relatively mainstream processor to ship with official support for this clock speed. Clock speed is far from the only determinant of actual performance though; in general, Intel's higher-end Core chips have been outperforming AMD's but we'll have to wait to get real systems in to know for sure if that still holds.

Desktop Richland Benchmarked

At Computex last week, AMD announced new versions of its Richland APUs. Richland is meant to be a successor to the Trinity APUs and will mostly compete with the lower-priced version of Intel's fourth-generation Core processors, known as Haswell, also introduced last week. 

In my stories last week, I said I was looking forward to seeing how Haswell and Richland would compare. Since then, a number of sites have published reviews of the desktop version of Richland, usually the 4.1GHz A10-6800K and/or the 3.8GHz A10-6700. These include Anandtech, Legit Reviews, and Tom's Hardware.

The results really don't tell much of a changed story from the comparisons of the previous generations, where AMD's Trinity went up against Intel's Ivy Bridge. In most of the tests, Richland shows a small improvement over Trinity, but nothing really special. While Haswell does come in versions with twice as many graphics units, known as HD Graphics 5000 or GT3 and even some with embedded DRAM solutions known as Iris Pro graphics, these are mostly aimed at notebook designs (with the exception of one version aimed at all-in-ones).  So from Intel, the basic desktop parts still have mostly the same level of graphics as the previous generation, and the results show that as well.

Overall, Intel retains a big lead in CPU performance, even with the lower-end Core i3 and especially with the Core i7, but AMD's Richland still shows a massive lead in graphics performance, even compared with the much-more expensive Core-i7. Since on the desktop side it's pretty easy to add a discrete graphics card and a low-end discrete card seems to outperform either in graphics, this leaves Richland mostly to compete on price against a low-end Intel chip.   

The more interesting comparison will be in notebooks where Intel's CPU performance lead isn't as big as it is on desktops, but it offers chips with higher-end graphics. In the previous generation, AMD had much better graphics than notebook Ivy Bridge chips, so Intel-based notebooks aimed at gamers and graphics professionals had to have discrete chips. Clearly some of that market will continue, but Intel has gotten stronger and AMD seems to have somewhat better power management in this generation. So we'll have to see real systems going head-to-head in this market.

In the end, it's hard to see Richland making a big change to the market this year. AMD's big chance should come when it releases a new architecture, known as Kaveri, planned to start manufacturing late this year, with the first systems in early 2014. This introduces an updated CPU core architecture known as "Steamroller," which should offer an improvement in raw CPU horsepower, and what AMD is calling heterogeneous Uniform Memory Access (hUMA), which should allow the CPU and GPU units to work together more closely. 

Add a Wi-Fi hotspot to Windows 8 with Virtual Router Plus

del.icio.us Tags: Windows 8,WiFi,networking

Rick Broida@justrick

• Jun 7, 2013 12:49 PM
• print

Virtual Router Plus

Recently I spent a full week in a hotel, where I grudgingly paid for Wi-Fi so I could get some work done. Unfortunately, it was a per-device purchase: Only my laptop could get online. If I wanted Internet access on my phone (which had a weak indoor signal) and tablet (Wi-Fi only), I'd have to pay again. And again.

Hey, wait a minute, doesn't Windows let you set up a Wi-Fi hotspot to share its connection with other devices? It did, in Windows 7; it doesn't in Windows 8. Actually, the capability is still there, but enabling it requires some serious command-line tinkering.

Fortunately, I found Virtual Router Plus, a free utility that adds Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities to Windows 8. It works, but with a few important caveats.

First, be really careful during setup. The price of "free" here is that the installer comes packed with junk ware. It's easy enough to bypass if you pay attention, but potentially troublesome if you don't.

On the first screen, choose Custom Installation, then uncheck the box below it. When you click Next, a pop-up will appear; click Cancel. Click Next again, then clear yet another checkbox. Now you're good to go with a clean install.

When you run the program, it'll pop open a help page in your browser, which you may need to verify whether you have the required device drivers. But skip that for now; instead, try using the utility.

To do so, give your network a name (i.e. SSID), then enter a password (to keep freeloaders out). Finally, choose the connection you want to share (which is probably whatever appears as the default). Now click Start Virtual Router Plus.

After a few moments, you should be able to detect your new network from your phone, tablet, or even another PC. But don't worry: your laptop will retain its own Internet connectivity at the same time.

As I noted before, the utility worked as advertised, but it did create one problem: I could no longer connect to the various virtual private networks (VPNs) I use. Your mileage may vary, and if you don't work with VPNs, you're golden. As for me, I unfortunately had no choice but to uninstall the utility to regain access.

Want something that's a little more reliable and comes with technical support? Check out Connectify Hotspot. It's not free, but it may be more hassle-free.

Goji's Smart Lock snaps pictures, welcomes you by name

 

By Brian Heater posted Jun 4th, 2013 at 5:05 PM 38

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Burglars of the future beware: the age of the smart lock is coming. There's no shortage of entries into the space these days -- in fact, it was just under a week ago that we spotted the lovely Yves Behar-designed August lock. Goji's (whoever heard of a company named after a fruit?) got a pretty nice looking lock of its own, one it's hoping to bring to the market with help from a $120,000 Indiegogo goal. Like August, Goji's got a sleek disk design. In the place of the green and red dots, however, you'll find blue text that greets the user by name. The lock features bank-level encryption and will send pictures of people as they enter in through the door for added security. You can unlock it using your smartphone and can send people digital keys with your mobile device. Goji's expected to hit around December for $278 -- though you can get in a bit cheaper through the aforementioned crowd funding campaign.

del.icio.us Tags: security,technology

Microsoft’s IllumiRoom peripheral projector is the Xbox 720′s killer feature

del.icio.us Tags: entertainment,home theater,technology,gaming

• By Sebastian Anthony on April 29, 2013 at 9:09 am

Demo Video (HD)

YouTube video (HD)

Microsoft has strongly hinted that the IllumiRoom augmented reality peripheral projector is linked to the next-generation Xbox 720, in much the same way that Project Natal (Kinect) was eventually linked to the Xbox 360. To celebrate, Microsoft has released a new video that showcases the awesome potential of IllumiRoom, and also a ton of details on how IllumiRoom actually works.

If you missed the original IllumiRoom unveil, let me bring you up to speed. IllumiRoom is a wide-angle projector that’s (ideally) situated on your coffee table, pointed at your big-screen TV. The current prototype has a Kinect strapped to the projector, but the final version will have a Kinect sensor built in. The built-in Kinect uses an automatic calibration process to captures the color and geometry (shape, depth) of the wall behind and furniture around your TV. Then you hook the IllumiRoom up to your next-generation Xbox (wirelessly), and watch in awe as peripheral projection takes you to new levels of game immersion.

It isn’t until you watch the video that you begin to understand just how awesome peripheral projection is. The video above was captured in real-time, and hasn’t been edited or composited in any way. What you see is really what you will get, with the Xbox 720 and IllumiRoom projector.

Using its knowledge of your living room’s colors and geometry, IllumiRoom can create a huge range of visually stunning effects. As you see in the video, IllumiRoom can boost the color saturation of your furniture (by projecting red light on a mahogany cupboard), turn your furniture black and white (by projecting desaturated colors), or outline every edge, creating a cartoony effect. IllumiRoom can also project a star field, snowflakes that gather on your shelves, or a futuristic Tron-like grid. One of the weirdest effects, called radial wobble, takes a photo of your living room, distorts it, and then projects the distorted image — so it looks like your living room is wobbling around.

IllumiRoom, turned off

IllumiRoom, increased saturation

IllumiRoom, desaturated (black and white, kind of)

The real magic takes place when games are programmed to take advantage of IllumiRoom, though. At its most basic, IllumiRoom projects the game world onto the wall/furniture, expanding your field of view; imagine sitting on the couch and having the world of Skyrim take up your entire field of view. Another option is to have IllumiRoom only display important features, such as projectiles and explosions — so instead of a shot missing you, you might see the bullet fly off to your left. Taking this one step further, IllumiRoom also makes it possible for objects — such as grenades — to roll out of the TV and onto the floor in front of your coffee table.

All of these effects can be combined — so the next Halo game might have rockets that fly into your peripheral vision, grenades that roll towards you, rain that puddles on the floor, and furniture that ripples whenever you’re struck by a plasma rifle. The same effects can also be used with non-game content; Peter Jackson could release a new version of Lord of the Rings that makes use of IllumiRoom, for example.

The current IllumiRoom prototype, which now needs to be productized

All told, the Microsoft Research team that developed IllumiRoom has created 11 different effects (detailed in their research paper), and they say that a lot more are possible. They have shown IllumiRoom to 10 gamers and 15 game designers, with both groups providing “very positive feedback.” Moving forward, IllumiRoom now has to be productized — it has to be turned into a single unit, encapsulating both a projector and Kinect sensor. “Ideally, IllumiRoom would be directly integrated into a next generation console and new games would be designed for IllumiRoom from the ground up,” the research paper says.

Considering Microsoft originally unveiled IllumiRoom at Samsung’s CES keynote, we’re fairly certain that Microsoft is working with Samsung to bring IllumiRoom to market. As for whether IllumiRoom will be ready for the Xbox 720′s launch this winter, who knows. Price-wise, going by the current price of wide-angle LED projectors, we’re probably talking about a few hundred dollars, too.

ASUS Launches PQ321 Monitor with 3840 x 2160 IGZO Display

del.icio.us Tags: ASUS,display,monitor,technology,computers

31.5-inch 4K Ultra HD Monitor features four-times the resolution of a Full HD display for incredibly detailed and lifelike images

2013/05/30

ASUS today announced the PQ321 True 4K UHD Monitor, a desktop display with a stunning Ultra HD 3840 x 2160 resolution that’s equivalent to four Full HD displays stacked side-by-side. The PQ321 has a 31.5-inch LED-backlit 4K Ultra HD display (140 pixels-per-inch) with 16:9 aspect ratio, and supports 10-bit RGB ‘deep color’ for vibrant images with more natural transitions between hues.

Cutting-edge IGZO panel technology

The ASUS PQ321 True 4K UHD Monitor uses cutting-edge Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) rather than traditional amorphous silicon for the active layer of its LCD panel. IGZO panels support much smaller transistors than amorphous silicon, which in turn gives much smaller pixels and the 3840 x 2160 resolution of the PQ321 is four times that of a 1920 x 1080 Full HD display.
176-degree wide viewing angles on both vertical and horizontal planes minimize onscreen color shift, while the 350cd/m² brightness rating and 8ms gray-to-gray response time ensure smooth, bright, and vibrant moving visuals. IGZO technology also gives reduced energy consumption compared to amorphous silicon and reduces bulk — at 35mm at its thickest point, the PQ321 is the thinnest 4K UHD monitor available today.

Comprehensive video inputs for UHD content

The ASUS PQ321 True 4K UHD Monitor features Display Port and US models offer dual-HDMI ports inputs with Picture-by-Picture support. Built-in 2W stereo speakers remove the need for additional desktop clutter and, in addition to being wall-mountable, the monitor stand offers full height, swivel, and tilt adjustment.

This 18-Year-Old's Invention Could Make Your Future Phone Instacharge

Eric Limer 5/18/13 4:58pm Saturday 4:58pm

del.icio.us Tags: phone,battery,charging,technology

While you are hanging out on the Internet (in your underwear, maybe?) on a Saturday, kids that are smarter than either of us are out there getting ready to change the world. 18-year-old Eesha Khare (left), for instance, not only invented a supercapacitor that could someday be a phone battery that charges in just a couple of seconds; she also won $50,000 for it. Khare is one of the three big winners from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. She and 17-year-old Henry Lin (right)—who created a model that simulates thousands of galaxies—picked up Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Ionut Budisteanu won the Gordon E. Moore Award and $75,000 for his AI model that could lead to a cheaper self-driving car. Khare's invention is the one with some really immediate potential though, and quick-charging phones is something we all want. So far, the supercapcitor has only been tested to light up a LED, but it was able to do that wonderfully and the prototypes new format holds potential to be scaled. It's also flexible and tiny, and should be able to handle 10,000 recharge cycles, more than normal batteries by a factor of 10. It's a great step in the right direction, especially since we all know that battery life is the most important feature a phone can have. But like all supercapcitor tech, it's not exactly close to commercial development yet. But hey, if an (admittedly super smart) 18-year-old can get this stuff figured out, multi-national corporations with an even bigger cash profit incentive on the table should be able to as well, right? Hurry up already. I'll take either solution so long as one comes soon.

LG to demo 5-inch unbreakable and flexible plastic OLED panel at SID HD

 

By Zach Honig posted May 19th, 2013 at 11:33 PM 95

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del.icio.us Tags: technology,display,OLED

LG's got quite a bit in store for us this week at SID's annual display exhibition in Vancouver. In addition to that 55-inch curved OLED TV we first heard about last month, the company will be demonstrating a very nifty 5-inch OLED panel. Created for mobile devices, the display is constructed of plastic, making it both flexible and unbreakable -- certainly a welcome quality when it comes to smartphone design.

Also on display will be 5- and 7-inch HD Oxide TFT panels. That first size features a bezel that's just 1mm wide, enabling a borderless frame when installed in smartphones. Both displays are lightweight and consume less power than their traditional equivalents. Finally, LG will have a 14-inch 2560x1440-pixel laptop panel on hand, along with LCDs designed for use in refrigerators and automotive dashboards.

Passwords: You're doing it wrong. Here's how to make them uncrackable.

del.icio.us Tags: security,passwords,tips

Rick Broida@justrick

• print

For years now I've harangued relatives about their shoddy password practices. Either they use easily-hacked passwords or forget the passwords they've created—sometimes both.

If you won't take it from me, beloved family, consider this Password Day (yes, apparently it's a thing) statement from McAfee's Robert Siciliano: "74% of Internet users use the same password across multiple websites, so if a hacker gets your password, they now have access to all your accounts. Reusing passwords for email, banking, and social media accounts can lead to identity theft and financial loss."

What's the fix? It's easier than you might think. For starters, head to Intel's Password Grader to see just how easily cracked your current password is. (The site promises not to retain any information, though still recommends that you not use your actual password—so maybe just use something similar.)

From there you can scroll down to see a simple step-by-step process for making your "hackable" password "uncrackable." (There's a longer and more informative version of this info graphic on Sicilian's blog—and it doesn't require you to use the Password Grader if you'd prefer not to.)

The key takeaway here is to avoid the usual mix of letters, numbers, and punctuation you're often advised to use, and instead opt for an easier-to-remember passphrase.

So, for example, if your PC World password is something like "PCW0rldD4ve," you'd actually be better off with "I Love Reading PC World!" Sounds crazy, but as McAfee and Intel note, it's not about complexity, it's about length.

And you could adapt a similar passphrase to every other site you visit: "I Love Reading Facebook!", for example, and so on. Now you've got both diversity and simplicity in your corner. The only catch is that some sites won't allow you to use spaces, and others may limit password length.

How'd you fare on the Password Grader, and what other methods have you employed to create a hack-proof password system? I know some folks are big fans of tools like LastPass, which can auto-generate (and auto-fill) complex passwords for you. Your thoughts?

DIY Hacks & How To’s: Get Emergency Power from a Phone Line

 

del.icio.us Tags: technology,cellular,tips

By Jason Poel Smith

• Posted 2013/05/06 @ 12:10 pm
• Category Computers & Mobile, Electronics

What do you do if the power is out, but you need to charge your cell phone to make an emergency phone call? In this episode of DIY Hacks & How To’s, I show you how to tap the power flowing from your phone line.

There is a small amount of electricity that is constantly available in a phone line. This is what powers traditional corded phones. Because the phone system is independent of the power grid, the phone line generally even has power during a black out. While this is not a lot of power, it is enough to charge your small electronics such as your cell phone or other USB device. All you need is a simple voltage regulator circuit.

Complete step by step instructions can be found at:http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Get-Emergency-Power-from-a-Phone-Line/