Archive for the ‘Hardware’ Category
24-port 8Gb Fibre Channel Switch
The Brocade® 300 Switch provides small to medium-sized enterprises with SAN connectivity that can simplify their IT management infrastructures, improves system performance, maximize the value of virtual server deployments, and reduces overall storage costs. The 8 Gbit/sec Fibre Channel Brocade 300 provides a simple, affordable, single-switch solution for both new and existing SANs. To simplify deployment, the Brocade 300 features the EZSwitchSetup wizard and other usability and configuration enhancements, as well as the optional Brocade Access Gateway mode of operation. Moreover, it provides state-of-the-art performance and Ports On Demand scalability to support SAN expansion and enable long-term investment protection. The evolutionary design provides these capabilities while consuming less than 2.5 watts of power per port for exceptional power and cooling efficiency.
Sony’s PlayStation 3, long third in the wave of current-generation game consoles, is finally beginning to accumulate substantial sales, statistics show. Bloomberg reports that during the first five months of 2008 the PS3 sold more units than Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which has normally held second place under Nintendo’s Wii. The surge is attributed mainly to high-profile exclusives like Metal Gear Solid 4, and the demise of HD DVD, boosting the appeal of Sony’s extensible, built-in Blu-ray drive.
The 360 may continue to have an inherent edge however, as it has been on sale since 2005, and has thus accumulated a much larger userbase. Microsoft is also attempting to reinvigorate the console with new, larger hard drives, challenging options for the PS3. The PS3 is presently available in a 40GB standard edition, or an 80GB MGS4 bundle. The 60GB 360 will replace a 20GB model, and join the 120GB Elite.
Coming in the fall Xbox 360 update: Netflix! Yes, Xbox 360 owners who are also Netflix subscribers will be able to stream movies available for online streaming now straight to their consoles. You can also share your Netflix movies with friends via your Xbox Live party so you can watch stuff together, although whether or not you’ll all need accounts isn’t clear. Here’s hoping you Xbox owners didn’t shell out for a Roku box, as it’s about to become useless. Oops! But still, awesome.
From Gizmodo
We pretty much knew it was coming, but Microsoft just officially announced the Lips karaoke game official. Just like we’d heard, the singalong title will come with a motion-sensitive mic that lights up in time to your voice. The game interface is somewhat similar to Rock Band or Singstar, where you have to hit various pitches accurately to rack up points — but in addition to the game content, you’ll be able to sing along to your own music off a Zune or iPod.
Nintendo just announced the Wii MotionPlus, a small peripheral that plugs on to the bottom of the Wiimote to give greatly improved motion sensing, allowing for games to truly use your motion on screen for, say, a lightsaber game.
Nintendo’s upcoming Wii MotionPlus accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote controller again redefines game control, by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space. The Wii MotionPlus accessory attaches to the end of the Wii Remote and, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar, allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player’s arm position and orientation, providing players with an unmatched level of precision and immersion. Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play. The Wii MotionPlus accessory reconfirms Nintendo’s commitment to making games intuitive and accessible for everyone. Nintendo will reveal more details about the Wii MotionPlus accessory and other topics Tuesday morning at its E3 media briefing.
The PD-K06e Portable Super Multi Drive supports 20x write speeds on both DVD-R/+R along with the capability to write at 10x speed on DVD-R/+R dual/double layer media. The Quiet Drive Technology reduces the noise level of audio and video playback while also delivering increased writing reliability. Liquid Crystal Tilt/Blur Compensator plays and records to discs more reliably - the ad Research technology that compensates for warped discs. Dual/Double Layer recording provides nearly twice the capacity of a single layer recordable DVD-R (8.5 Gbytes vs. 4.7 Gbytes).
Power requirement
USB bus powered or 5V DC Power
Interface
1X USB 2.0 connection
Connector type
USB type A
Product Size
H 16mm X W 143mm X D 140mm
System requirement
- P3 with 400 MHz CPU or better
- USB interface
- 64MB of RAM or more
- Operating System: Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP & Vista and MAC OS
According to some leaked information yet to be officially announced DirecTV HD tuner for Vista Media Center was missing required pieces to make the HDPC-20 possible. It was also missing RC0 and native H.264 support which is vital to both DirecTV support and the latest Hauppauge HD PVR component capture device. Many have reported that the update will officially be called Windows Media Center TV Pack. Unfortunately it seems that the H.264 and DirecTV support have been pushed to Windows 7, which pretty much means waiting for it till 2010. even though the new update doesn’t have DirecTV support its not completely bad considering some of the added specs; 16×9 thumbnails and HD recording preferences, new favorite channels listings feature, foreign tuner support and teletext for the rest of the world. This and there also the native QAM support. There is also said to be another new feature which is that you’ll finally be able to assign an OTA channel to any channel number you want — so channel 28 can finally be 28, instead of 1281. This is supposed to also help in resolving scheduling conflicts since you can have more than one source for each channel (aka OTA and cable).
The Matrox M9140 LP PCIe x16 512MB quad head graphics card with advanced desktop management support to drive business applications with exceptional performance.
Features
- 512 MB frame buffer
Supports up to four displays at 128MB per channel - Native PCI Express (PCIe) x16 performance
Maximum bandwidth for performance - Single card quad-monitor stretched and independent desktop
Supported in both Windows Vista Aero (WDDM mode) and Windows XP - Pristine image quality for high resolution displays
Up to 1920 x 1200 digital/analog per output - Passive cooling
Fanless design eliminates noise and increases product reliability - Wide enterprise flexibility
Unified driver package compatible with other Matrox products (P-Series, G-Series, QID Series, MMS Series, Parhelia Series, and Extio Series). - Multiple operating system support
Display drivers for Microsoft® Windows® Vista (32/64bit), Windows XP (32/64bit), and Windows Server 2003 (32/64bit). - Low profile form factor
To fit in a wide variety of systems. - Matrox PowerDesk software
Easily configure and manage program windows on multiple monitors. - Global sales and technical support
- RoHS and WEEE compliant
- 3-year warranty
Hardware Included
- Matrox M9140 LP PCIe x16 graphics card (with factory-installed ATX bracket)
- KX-20 to 4 x DVI-I quad monitor adapter cable
- Four DVI-I-to-HD15 connector adapters
Software Included
- Matrox display drivers for Microsoft Windows Vista and XP (also available via download at www.matrox.com/graphics1)
- Matrox PowerDesk desktop management software
ViewSonic on Monday lifted up its VA Series value screens and released a new 26-inch desktop LCD that it hopes will drive down the sizes of very large screens. The VA2626WM generates the same 1920×1200 resolution and also promises similar visual quality to more expensive screens. The panel generates a 6,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and includes HDMI to give Blu-ray players and modern HD consoles native output for their 1080p signals.
The screen also supplies more typical DVI and VGA connectors for computer input and mounts a 2.5-watt pair of stereo speakers for basic sound when dedicated speakers aren’t available. ViewSonic puts the price well below some 26-inch LCDs at $529 and anticipates shipping the VA2626WM in July.
Gefen has announced the availability of its new DVI-1500D DVI extender system, designed to offer a DVI cable extension of over 500 meters without signal loss or delay. Leveraging both sender and receiver units connected to the data source and display location, the solution connects via 4-Link LC-LC multimode fibre cable and can deliver hi-def video at full 1080p or 1920×1200, for up to 500 meters. According to the company, HDCP-compliant video also may be extended through the system using a CAT-5 cable — up to a distance of 100 meters for DDC transmission.
Gefen touts the DVI extender system as “ideal for digital signage applications” and “capable of transmitting hi-def video with zero signal loss or delay”. Should audio delivery also be required, Gefen notes that a 100 meter CAT-5e-based S/PDIF and TOSlink Digital Audio Extender is also available.
The DVI-1500D DVI extender is shipping immediately with a price of $600. Gefen’s Digital Audio Extender costs $150 and is also immediately availability.
