Vision 3D-BD

Are you looking for small footprint device as your media centre in your living room. The ASRock Vision 3D-BD might be an excellent choice.

Based on Intel core Architecture Mobile processor running on Intel HM55 chipset, it definitely outperforms the previous generation ION 330HT-BD system we reviewed before.

In terms of specs wise, this box is capable of 3D vision by virtue of NVIDIA GeFOrec 300/400 series graphcis within.

Other than that, this board uses DDR3-1066, 2 x SO DIMM supporting up to 8 GB of RAM. It uses a 2.5″ HDD and comes with BD Combo drive.

In terms of audio, it has a 7.1ch HD audio with THX trustudio pro. Gigabit LAN is onboard for faster conenctions to files on other servers.

The box also comes with HDMI, DVI-I, USB 2.0, card reader, esata ports etc. a MCE remote controller is also equipped. It has a dimension of 200 x 70 x 200 (mm) and a volume of 2.8L.

ECS A890GXM-AU Black Series Motherboard
Won Computex Best Choice Award

May 26^th 2010, Computex Taipei, Taiwan – Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) announces the greatest honor of Computex Best Choice Award of A890GXM-AU Black Series motherboard.  ECS A890GXM-AU is powered by ATI Radeon™ HD 4290 IGP with “ECS 4most™ Display Design” providing HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI and D-Sub connectors on the rear panel providing great convenience to meet both home entertainment and gaming requirement.  For home entertainment, A890GXM-AU motherboards bring Full HD 1080P video experience.

 You can read OCWORKBENCH’S REVIEW HERE

For gamers, A890GXM-AU support Microsoft® DirectX®10.1 with stunning 3D effects.  The on-board SidePort DDR3 1333 memory is a great plus on graphics for gamers.  It enhances the gaming experience by ATI Hybrid Graphics technology with no doubt.  In addition, A890GXM-AU assists with ATICrossFireX™ technology giving hardcore gamers magnified gaming performance.

  You can read OCWORKBENCH’S REVIEW HERE

A890GXM-AU comes with user friendly technologies:

?     ECS eBLU: ECS easy BIOS Live Update Utility which benefits users with easy on-line link the latest BIOS for right model.

?     SATA 6.0Gbps: provides 2 times faster than previous data transfer rate.

?     SuperSpeed USB 3.0: breakthrough the bottle neck of system performance up to 5Gbps data-transfer rate.

?     ECS Qooltech™ III: comes with twin-heat-pipe cooling solution, which provides a stable working environment when system is on.

?     ECS 15 ? Gold Contact: offers 3 times extra protection to secure the motherboard stabilities and durability

?     ECS Easy Button, Easy Clear and Easy Debug: designs offer an easy way to enjoy boosting system performance without pain.

?     All solid capacitors and lower RDS(on) MOSFET: improves up to 50% efficiency and lower temperatures by 16%.

 You can read OCWORKBENCH’S REVIEW HERE

Start happy talking on StarHub Mobile with extra talktime minutes at no cost!

Singapore, 27 May 2010 – Don’t just talk. Start happy talking on StarHub Mobile!

From 28 May 2010, StarHub will start offering HappyTalk, a new benefit that gives mobile customers an extra 300 minutes of talktime every month to make local outgoing calls.

Available to all customers on any 3G SmartSurf or PowerValue plan, HappyTalk minutes are on top of the bundled local minutes that the respective mobile packages offer, and best of all, at no additional monthly charges to the customer!

“StarHub recognises the importance of staying in close touch with family and friends, and what better than to give them a call on the phone! We are pleased to introduce HappyTalk so that our customers can enjoy savings on talking to those people that matter to them,” said Mr Chan Kin Hung, StarHub’s Head of Products and Solutions. “With additional 300 HappyTalk minutes every month, our customers can easily keep up with a sociable lifestyle, talking to their family and friends on the mobile with complete peace of mind.”

Customers with HappyTalk minutes could utilise the additional free local minutes to enjoy MyZone, MyCircle or MyTime service, based on their lifestyle preference.

MyZone – Whether at school, work or play, customers can make free local calls to phone numbers on any network at 37 campuses, 11 military camps and four popular shopping malls, namely ION Orchard, Plaza Singapura, Raffles City Shopping Centre and Bugis Junction where they can talk on the mobile freely while shopping or feasting. Please refer to the editor’s notes for the list of MyZone locations.

MyCircle – Customers can make free local outgoing calls to three of their favourite StarHub Mobile or fixed-line numbers. They also enjoy additional free 500 outgoing SMS/MMS to these selected numbers, in excess of the bundled SMS/MMS on their mobile packages.

MyTime – Using HappyTalk minutes, customers could dial any StarHub phone number and chat with their friends for free between 12 midnight and 7am daily.

“HappyTalk has been designed to allow our customers the freedom to choose a cost-saving option that best fits their lifestyle. They also have the flexibility to switch between the options according to lifestyle changes,” Mr Chan added. ”With three ways to choose from in which they can enjoy HappyTalk, including free calls at the shopping malls, our customers could feel free to talk happily!”

To activate HappyTalk, customers can call StarHub’s customer care hotline at 1633 or simply send an SMS with the keywords to 6773:
? For MyCircle, key in “MyCircle” “Add” “8-digit mobile number”.
? For MyTime, key in “MyTime” “Add” “Time”.
? For MyZone, key in “MyZone” “Add” “Zone”.

For more information, log on to www.starhub.com/happytalk.

MyZone covers more than 50 locations including four shopping malls, 37 campuses and 11 military camps:
 
Shopping Malls
1. ION Orchard
2. Plaza Singapura,
3. Raffles City Shopping Centre
4. Bugis Junction
 
Universities
1. National Technological University
2. National University of Singapore
3. Singapore Institute of Management
4. Singapore Management University
Polytechnics
1. Nanyang Polytechnic
2. Ngee Ann Polytechnic
3. Republic Polytechnic
4. Singapore Polytechnic
5. Temasek Polytechnic
 
Junior Colleges
1. Anderson Junior College
2. Anglo-Chinese Junior College
3. Catholic Junior College
4. Hwa Chong Institution
5. Innova Junior College
6. Jurong Junior College
7. Meridian Junior College
8. Nanyang Junior College
9. National Junior College
10. Pioneer Junior College
11. Raffles Junior College
12. Serangoon Junior College
13. St Andrew Junior College
14. Tampines Junior College
15. Temasek Junior College
16. Victoria Junior College
17. Yishun Junior College
 
ITE Colleges
1. Ang Mo Kio Campus
2. Balestier Campus
3. Bedok Campus
4. Bishan Campus
5. Bukit Batok Campus
6. Clementi Campus
7. Dover Campus
8. MacPherson Campus
9. Simei Campus
10. Tampines Campus
11. Yishun Campus
 
Military Camps
1. Bedok Camp
2. Changi Naval Base
3. Home Team Academy
4. Khatib Camp
5. Pasir Laba Camp
6. Paya Lebar Air Base
7. Pulau Tekong Camp
8. SAFTI-MI
9. Sembawang Camp
10. Stagmont Camp
11. Sungei Gedong Camp

Taipei – As MSI strives toward its goal of becoming one of the world’s top ten name brands by 2011, MSI will not be outdone in terms of product innovation, stylish design, quality, and multimedia performance. MSI CEO and President Joseph Hsu states that since its establishment 23 years ago, MSI has led the world in motherboards and graphic cards and has been very popular with consumers. What’s more, it has accumulated experience in product innovation, design, and R&D in notebooks and continues to introduce ground-breaking new products.

Innovative technologies, striving be world’s best

Hsu points out that after being the first in the world to unveil the 10” Wind U series in 2008, MSI was first in 2009 to roll out light X-Slim equipped with the ULV core. Now, notebooks can be thin, light, and chic, while still being big enough to use comfortably. Innovative capabilities like these have caused the MSI brand to shine on the global NB market. MSI is now among the top ten brands in some 30 countries and is expected to become one of the top ten brand names in the world overall in 2011.

This year, MSI’s innovative energy in terms of product development and design has gone into overdrive. MSI will be showing 30-plus notebook computers in six major NB series in booth L607 on the fourth floor of the TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall during Computex, June 1-5.

MSI GT660

Ultimate sound—F & G series

MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern states that of the notebook computers being displayed at the exhibition, those with the most outstanding performance and multimedia in the G series are the 17” GX740 and GT760 and the 15.6” GX640 and GT660 models. Of these, MSI worked in cooperation with world-renowned sound system manufacturer Dynaudio to create the newest kings in gaming notebooks—the GT660 and GT760. They come equipped with MSI’s own TDE+ technology to give you overclocking at the touch of a finger, instantly boosting processor and graphics performance for new levels of gaming enjoyment that could never be had with traditional NBs. World champions Fnatic and US champions Evil Geniuses will be present at the exhibition hall on 1-5 June. Both teams attained their achievements at the keyboards of MSI gaming NBs and will be doing battle on the GT660. It looks to be an exciting clash.

With MSI’s all-new F series, you can now own a quality and stylish laptop characterized by sophisticated and innovative design at reasonable prices. Models include the FX400, FX600, FX610, FX700, and FR600. Ranging from 14” to 17” in size, the FX400, FX600, FX700, and FR600 come equipped with Intel’s latest high performance Core i5 CPU. The FX610 features AMD’s new Danube Champlian platform. The FX700 incorporates Dynaudio design for cinema-class surround sound. The entire series comes with world-leading THX theater-grade surround sound performance and certification. Models with discrete graphics in the F series are the first NBs in the world to be equipped with GPU Boost technology to automatically bolster sound performance to maximize your multimedia experience. 

MSI F Series

New stylish classic NBs—C & P series

Representing the Classic series, MSI will be showing seven models—the CX410, CX420, CR420, CX620, CX623, CR630, and CX720, which range from 14”-17” in size and which all feature the latest Intel Core processor and the high performance display combination with superior multimedia processing performance. Coated in MSI’s own Color Film Print technology with classy cross-hatch design and equipped with MSI’s chiclet keyboard and seamless touchpad, they are the epitome of minimalist elegance.

Designed by MSI’s top design team, the newest business model, the P600, incorporates a high definition, power saving, LED backlit display, an embedded super thin DVD Super-Multi CD-ROM drive, and the latest Intel Core i5 processor. Even more exciting is the fingerprint reader which provides the ultimate in data security for the businessperson on the go. It weighs in at a mere 2.41kg and comes with MSI’s exclusive ECO Engine power saving technology which can stretch battery life to as much as eight hours per charge. Light, secure, and plenty of battery time make the P600 the ideal choice for the businessperson on the move.

*Actual battery time will vary with differences in computer use and settings.

MSI CX623

Urban slims for mobile life in the city—U & X series

To meet the needs of individuals on the go, five models, each from the MSI’s Wind U series and the X-Slim series, will be showcased. These include from the U series the 10” U135 and U140 as well as the U160, which received Germany’s iF Product Design Award, and the 12.1” U200 and U250. And from the X series, the 13” X340, which just received the Taiwan Excellence Award, the 13” X350 and X360, the 14” X420, and the 15.6” X620 which also won Germany’s iF Product Design Award. The U160, which runs for up to 15 hours on one charge, received Germany’s iF Product Design Award for 2010. The U160 allows you to run about all day on one charge.

The U250 features AMD’s newest power-sipping, high-performance duo core Genevo CPU and MSI’s own power-saving designs. The U250, which comes with trendy Color Film Print, received international certification from Energy Star and offers twice the battery life per charge of conventional NBs. MSI’s X-Slim series, which has received a number of awards, is characterized by a raised black diamond, an all-new power-saving duo core with souped-up processor and powerful 3D high definition display performance. It will undoubtedly snatch the spotlight at the upcoming Computex 2010.

MSI Wind U160

New world of wireless entertainment—MSI WiMAX laptops, Slatebook

To meet the world’s fourth-generation mobile telecommunications needs, MSI pulled no stops in developing and producing WiMAX notebooks. A number of its new 10”-15.6” models support WiMAX and are available for purchase in ten countries on four continents, including the US and Japan. MSI will be displaying all its newest models in the WiMAX area at Computex 2010, including the Wind series of netbooks (U135 and U140) as well as the 13.4” X350 and the 14” X420 of the X-Slim series, so you can experience the ultimate in new levels of speed, low power consumption, and high performance in mobile Internet devices.

After turning the IT industry on its collective head with the exhibition of its dual-screen e-book and its single-screen Slatebook at CES and CeBIT in the first part of the year, MSI will be rolling out a new concept product—its 10” Slatebook which boasts outstanding hardware performance and software functions. The MSI Slatebook features Intel’s latest power-saving CPU platform, eight hours of battery power, and multi-touch control for the preloaded Windows 7 operating system. It tips the scales at a mere 800 grams, comes with 3G and WiFi wireless transfer, as well as USB and HDMI ports. It’s the perfect marriage of wireless urban entertainment and touch technology.

SANDISK SHIPS ITS HIGHEST CAPACITY SD CARD EVER,

THE 64GB SANDISK ULTRA SDXC

SanDisk’s Highest Capacity SD Card Offers Increased Storage,

Making it Ideal for Extended HD Video Recording

Singapore, May 26, 2010 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, announced that it has begun shipping the 64 gigabyte (GB)¹ SanDisk Ultra® SDXC™ card, the company’s highest capacity SD™ card ever. With its 64GB capacity, up to 15MB/sec read speed² and Class 4 speed rating, the new card is ideal for capturing and storing massive 1080p High-Definition video files and then transferring them quickly to a computer.

            SDXC cards are based on the new SD 3.0 specification, which makes it possible to manufacture cards with storage capacity up to 2 terabytes (TB)³. The SDXC card’s exFAT file structure helps consumers record long-duration HD videos. The 64GB SanDisk Ultra SDXC card can store more than eight hours of such video.

            “SDXC is the successor to the world’s most popular card format,” said Susan Park, director, retail product marketing, SanDisk. “The 64GB SanDisk Ultra SDXC card delivers the speed and capacity consumers need for extended HD video recording and improved rapid shooting of still images. The card is an ideal complement for recently-announced SDXC-compatible cameras and camcorders.”

            Because the SD 3.0 specification is brand new, only a handful of devices currently support SDXC cards. However, the pace of new camera model introduction supporting the SDXC format is accelerating. Canon announced at CES that all of its new VIXIA camcorder models and PowerShot cameras are compatible with SDXC cards. Widespread adoption of SDXC is expected to occur across a range of consumer electronic products including HDTVs, Blu-ray recorders/players, camcorders, cameras, mobile phones, navigation systems and computers. SanDisk ImageMate™ memory card readers are compatible with SDXC cards if the connected PC uses an operating system that supports exFAT. 

            The 64GB SanDisk Ultra SDXC card comes with a lifetime limited warranty. The card is available at leading electronics retailers now and comes with a suggested retail price of SGD $426 (including GST).

 ASRock AIWI Software.
After installing the ASRock AIWI software on your ASRock PC and iPhone / iPod touch, it can turn your iPhone / iPod touch as a game joystick to control PC games! (Just like a Wii Joystick)
You can play Virtual Tennis 2009 or Tiger Woods Golf game by swing your iPhone!!
The Most important of all is, it’s all FREE and supported by ASRock FULL Series Motherboards.

To experience intuitive motion controlled games is no longer only available at Wii. ASRock AIWI utility introduces a new way of PC gaming operation. ASRock AIWI is the world’s first utility to turn your iPhone/iPod touch as a game joystick to control your PC games. All you have to do is just to install the ASRock AIWI utility either from ASRock official website or ASRock software support CD to your motherboard, and also download the free AIWI Lite from App store to your iPhone/iPod touch. Connecting your PC and apple devices via Bluetooth or WiFi networks, then you can start experiencing the exciting motion controlled games. Also, please do not forget to pay attention to ASRock official website regularly, we will continuously provide you the most up-do-date supported games! 

The Benefits of ASRock AIWI Utility 

Playing Games by Holding Your iPhone

Games Package – 4 Big Games, 7 Flash Games

3-in-1 Function (keyboard, mouse, powerpoint presenter)

Zero Cost of Playing Interactive Games

ASRock AIWI Quick Start Guide 

Samsung Galaxy was revealed at CITA Wireless 2010 and the full specification of the phone was never released till now.
Today the spec has leak via FRAndroid A French Tech/Android Blog.

• CPU : ARM Cortex A8 1GHz – Hummingbird
• GPU: PowerVR SGX540
• ROM : 8 GB / 16 GB
• RAM : 512 MB
• Size: 122 x 64 x 10 mm
• Weight: 118g (with battery)
• Networks: QuadBand (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 3G tri-band (900/1900/2100 MHz), 3G HSDPA 7.2 MBps (3G +) HSUPA
• GPS
• Wi-Fi: 802.11 (b / g / n)
• Bluetooth 3.0
• Battery: 1500mAh
• microSD (2.0 compatible)
• Camera: 5MP, 720p 30fps
• Resolution: 800×480 pixels (WQVGA)
• Android 2.1

Galaxy S screen hardware also comes with a 16 point multitouch Atmel maXTouch that can handle up to 16 input simultaneously (theoretically sound but we are not sure if Samsung has fully implemented it into the phone. With such high end parts comes higher production cost for the screen. So are we paying more for something that we might not use? We will have to wait till Android OS get ironed out to realize if Galaxy S can prove itself as a powerhouse smartphone to be reckon with) Something we do notice is that the phone multitouch is more accurate than the HTC Desire.

Aside from this piece of good news. We recently came across Gameloft dropping a surprise for Android users. We saw 10 games via their own pay site which was pull down after the initial launch (Some nexus users complained that some of the game offered did not work, OCWorkbench suspect that these 10 games was actually build for and aimed at Galaxy S as the launch platform thus the pull out till further notice.) FRAndroid manage to get their hand busy playing  NOVA on Galaxy S.

More pictures of the phone in action can be found here

GF100 embedded ~ Albatron GTX 470 graphics card

Albatron, Taipei 2010/05/23 – To deliver the stunning gaming experience to gamers, Albatron Technology, the professional customized graphics cards manufacturer, will announce the latest VGA card “GTX 470” on June 2010.

The “Fermi” embedded VGA card shows awesome innovation by its “CUDA cores”, “GDDR5” and “GPU process”. When most products are focusing on “frequency” & “frame per second”, GTX 470 try to provides the best hi-resolution & true to life images. It means if you are the one who want playing games on large screen, GTX 470 should be your best weapon to conquer the games.  Besides, with DirectX11, PhysX & NVIDIA 3D vision, you can enjoy games in a totally different way.

Product features

1. 40nm GPU process
2. 448 CUDA cores
3. 1280MB GDDR5
4. Supports 2-way & 3-way SLI
5. Max digital resolution: 2560*1600
6. Supports DirectX 11

As Nexus One users get their fix of the Froyo Android 2.2 update, we query the local telco Starhub as they are the exclusive partner of Motorola Milestone.

They have passed on the query to Motorola and this is their response :

“We’ve heard back from Motorola that they will make provisions for software upgrades when the time comes.”

Looks like Milestone users will eventually get the 2.2 update, just that you have to wait for its availability.

* Do send in news updates if you have any for our news posting.

1. Your Nexus One MUST NOT BE ROOTED.

Introduction to BIOSTAR TA890FXE AMD 890FX+SB850 Mainboard
Bluetooth 22 May 2010

If you prefer boards that doesn’t come with integrated graphics, the BIOSTAR TA890FXE based on the AMD 890FX + SB850 board might suit your needs.

This board powered by AMD 890FX chipset supports Socket AM3 processors AMD Phenom II / Athlon II processor  AMD Mutil Core(x6,x4,x2) up to 140W. It also has 4 DIMM that support DDR3-1800(OC)/1600(OC)/1333/1066. There are 6 SATA 6Gbps ports supported by the South bridge SB 850. With 4 PCIe full length slots, this board supports ATi CrossFireX. There is also on board 1394 and eSATA3. Most importantly, this board has BIO-unlocKING technology enables the ACC function on AMD processors and unlock extra 3rd or 4th core with a super-simple click on your keyboard e.g. Phenom II 550BE to quad core or Phenon II X4 960T to 6 cores.

For system stability, BIOSTAR TA890FXE has a 2-phase independent power design to increase memory voltage stability and durability. It also uses Armour plated Biostar Technology, all the capacitors have been put with 100% Solid Capacitors , providing linger lifecycle, durability and stability for the crucial components. BIOSTAR G.P.U (Green Power Utility) is a new function, it will enhance energy efficiency by disabling extra phases while CPU on light loading. It integrated a friendly GUI to monitor what’s your CPU resourcing, response and optimized the power saving on your system. Such as Heavy 3D Gaming, Internet or MSN charting, G.P.U will always arrange the best power efficiency in your system.

PCWorld has an article on how to install Android on your iPhone 3G. It is still a Work in Progress
Although this port does everything that you expect your smartphone to be able to do, it isn’t usable for day-to-day activities just yet–I haven’t implemented any power-management functions, so a fully charged iPhone running Android will last only an hour or so.

A few bugs and performance issues remain, too, so while the phone will be usable, it won’t be fast. If you do something unexpected (such as forcing the iPhone off), there is a small chance that you may end up restoring your device. However, it is impossible for any bugs to brick or disable your iPhone permanently.

Finally, media syncing is not working, so loading your media onto your phone is kind of a pain. I’m working as hard as I can, though, and I expect to fix these issues soon.

You can find the instructions at the here

AMD Phenom II X4 960T overclocked to 4.1GHz on AIR with Biostar TA890FXE mainboard

The cores can be unlocked using the Biostar TA890FXE mainboard. The board CPU Vcore is set to 1.45v and multiplier set to 20x and CPU CLK at 200MHz. Viola, the sytsem boots fine and HyperPI runs without any problems. We used T-overclocker to tune up the CPU CLK to 205MHz, giving us 4.1GHz. See attached picture below (click on it to zoom in).

This year Google seems to be streaming ahead with HTML5 contents on Day 1 of Google Input Output event. Showcasing GWT (Google Web Toolkit) for building faster, slimmer and more efficient Web for years to come. Chrome will also welcome Apps in near future also thus breaking away from memory hogging extensions. Flash was not left out too as games such as Plant Vs Zombie and Lego StarWars was ported over as Apps. (Will we see this as Google plans to compete against the IPAD?)

If you want to build an app now . GWT is avail here http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/

Day 2 belongs to Android, Flash Mobile 10.1 and Google TV

Android Froyo seems to be a leap and bounce from Éclair. With Dalvik JIT compiler, Android phones will be able to compute more complex calculations at shorter timing, allowing smoother game play. I guess it is about time that more high performance games will appear on Android handsets soon. One of the most significant update will be Adobe Flash 10.1 for mobile browsers. Flash games on Facebook might be possible now (Fingers crossed as many Farmville users will be happy about this) and Apps2SD (having the ability to transfer your apps to SD storage) implementation will save many people of the frustration of having to delete apps when they ran out of space. Now with one click… apps get transfered over to SD card with ease.

check up the video for more on Froyo 2.2

or if you are a developer, Froyo 2.2 sdk is available here.

http://developer.android.com/index.html

Google TV – Web meets TV integration will be see light in Fall 2010. Google is moving into TV space trying to creep up on TV contents giving Users more access to TV content when needed rather than the current offering. Do we need more TV? Google think so .

Besides the Google TV hardware by Sony and Logitech, there is also phone suppliers that gave us the Wall of Android.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/androidandme/sets/72157623971136149/with/4622337842/

Acer also has a new phone on the horizon. Acer Liquid Stream. No words from Acer of the specs and if this phone will be  come with 2.2 Froyo.

For more insights you can watch the replays of the keynote DAY 1 & 2 here.

http://www.youtube.com/GoogleDevelopers

The Crucial Ballistix PC3-12800 CL8 4GB DDR3 RAM kit contains two 2GB modules, which just needs a little voltage increasement to operate at DDR3-1600 CL8.

In the current review we will see, how far the memory modules can be overclocked and how the kit performs against other memory modules.

Source

Unlock CPU Cores made easy
MSI AMD800 series can unlock cores in Windows

[Taipei – Taiwan] At MSI we are convinced that technology should be easy accessible and simple to use, for everybody. This is why we developed software which allows users to unlock cores on their mainboards without the hassle of being an BIOS expert.

Technology made easy
MSI exclusive overclocking technology called “OC Genie” made it possible to overclock your computer system with a simple click without having to be a BIOS export. From that moment we opened overclocking to a total new generation of people who don’t know the BIOS.

Core unlock in Windows
MSI was the first who could unlock a 4-core AMD CPU to a 6-core because MSI does not use any “unlock” chip on our mainboards. MSI engineers developed a BIOS technology to unlock cores which can be easy upgraded via new BIOS.

Because of this flexible BIOS core unlock feature, MSI can today announce that it made BIOS unlocking easy and accessible for the big audience who don’t know their way into the BIOS screen. This new MSI software tool allows users to unlock CPU cores from Windows with just a few simple clicks, no need to enter the BIOS. The software is available from the MSI website and supports all MSI AMD800 mainboards: http://event.msi.com/mb/unlockap

AXN HD in Singapore

20 May 2010, Singapore – Viewers will soon have another reason to stay glued to their television sets. SPE Networks – Asia, home to pay-TV channel brands AXN, AXN Beyond and Animax, is excited to offer viewers the AXN experience in the rich detail, sounds and vibrant colours of high definition (HD) technology.

Starting 25 May 2010, the new channel, AXN HD will be made available to viewers on StarHub TV Channel 559, and will be part of its Entertainment Basic Group. AXN, the heart of action & adventure, and Singapore’s leading English general entertainment pay-TV channel*, has always been synonymous with first-run action, adventure, drama, reality-TV and all-round unparalleled entertainment that “Wows!”. That same experience will soon be available in HD.

Viewers can look forward to AXN’s latest exclusive hits in true HD, including 2009 TV season’s top-rated new investigative action drama series from the US, NCIS: Los Angeles, starring Chris O’Donnell (Batman and Robin) and LL Cool J (S.W.A.T.); the region’s perennial favourite CSI crime and investigation franchise including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: NY and CSI: Miami; along with the slick and stylish heist series Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton (Kidnapped), amongst many others.

“As the number one English general entertainment pay-TV channel* in Singapore, we believe launching AXN HD is a vital step to retaining viewer loyalty and maintaining our leading position. Going HD is a natural progression, for many of our Singapore viewers already own an HD TV set. AXN HD will provide the top quality visual experience that viewers now seek, with AXN’s distinctive brand of action and adventure, high-impact and world class entertainment presented in utmost clarity,” says Ricky Ow, Senior Vice President & General Manager of SPE Networks – Asia.

“As the leading pay-TV operator in Singapore, StarHub is delighted to partner SPE Networks – Asia to bring to our customers AXN in high definition over our superior cable TV platform. As demand changes with technology advancement, StarHub continues to enhance our services and offer viewers not just popular, but also high definition quality programmes for their viewing pleasures. We are pleased to collaborate with our long standing partner, offering exciting AXN HD channel to our customers,” says Ms Ong Bee Lian, StarHub’s Vice President of Home Solutions.

AXN HD is available for free to all StarHub TV customers from 25 May to 31 July. They must have a HubStation HD or HD set-top box and a subscription to the Entertainment Basic Group to be able to enjoy this channel. More pricing information will be made known at a later date.

Existing customers who wish to have their set-top boxes changed can either call 1633 or bring their set-top boxes down to StarHub Customer Service Centres for a one-to-one swop and self-install. The public who wish to take on a StarHub TV package can call 1630 or visit www.starhub.com/tv for more information.

AXN HD will begin broadcast on 25 May 2010, 6.00am, on StarHub TV Ch 559

Chrome Web store is the new service that Google has announced at I/O 2010, together with Android 2.2, or FroYo. This service will allow users to find the best web apps, and developers to sell their apps in an online market. Froyo, or Android 2.2, now has a release date – it will be out in June.

The idea only goes to prove that Google thinks web apps are the future. This is an idea they have worked with in the past few years. Google Docs is just an example.

Even if it is called the Chrome Web Store, these apps, Google says, will be usable by anybody that has a computer and a web browser at their disposal. They won’t be restricted to Google Chrome.

The apps will be installable, meaning that a shortcut and some data will be stored on your computer.

Google didn’t say when the store will be available, they only said it will be ”later this year”. Developers can already take a look at the official documents so they can develop an app that is up-to-speed with the store.

As for the new version of Google Android, version 2.2, you have to know that it has a tasty name, just like the other versions. It is called FroYo – the name comes form Frozen Yoghurt. It will be out in June and the most important thing it brings is native Flash and AIR support. If Steve Jobs decided to ban Flash, Google seems to be fine with it. WiFi tethering will also be available in the new version. This means you will be able to use it just like you do with a USB dongle.

Source

ASRock demonstrates that the power rating output through the USB is 1.5A after installing the driver on ASRock N68 board. This enables it to charge up the iPad 40% faster than normal.
To prove it, they used an osciliscope to measure the amperage. See pictures below.