July
31


Asus today introduced the world’s first overclocking version of the latest NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT GPU – the ASUS EN9500GT TOP/DI/512M graphics card. With this superlative variant, users will enjoy 103% performance boosts for gaming experiences. In addition, almost all of the EN9500GT Series models will come with the exclusive Glaciator Fansink to keep GPU temperatures up to 13ºC cooler than reference designed boards. Besides this extreme cooling capacity, the Glaciator Fansink is also ultra quiet with operating levels of only 25dB – almost imperceptible in a quiet room; and caters to users who require maximum cooling without excessive fan rotation noise.

The Asus EN9500GT TOP/DI/512M delivers GPU, shader, and memory clock performance boosts from 550MHz up to 700MHz, from 1375MHz up to 1750MHz, and from 1600MHz up to 2016MHz respectively. This creates an elevated performance that raises the EN9500GT TOP’s 3DMark Vantage High Preset score – from 689 to 1401 – to an astonishing 103% improvement in speed when compared to any other reference designed board.

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July
31


LG and Dolby Laboratories signed an agreement that grants LG a license to embed Dolby Mobile technology into its handsets. LG would be the first handset maker to incorporate Dolby Mobile into handsets bound for the global market. Dolby Mobile is an audio processing technology platform designed to deliver rich, vibrant audio and dramatically improve listening enjoyment. Built on Dolby’s extensive portfolio of technologies, Dolby Mobile has been optimized for mobile applications.

Dolby Mobile is designed to allow customers to optimize and tailor audio for an enhanced entertainment experience. LG plans to apply Dolby Mobile technology to a wide range of multimedia features on its phones.

Seoul, Korea and San Francisco, July 30, 2008-LG Electronics (LG), a worldwide technology and design leader in mobile communications, and Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB), the global leader in technologies that are essential elements in the best entertainment experiences, announced that LG would be the first handset maker to incorporate Dolby® Mobile into handsets bound for the global market. The companies signed an agreement that grants LG a license to embed Dolby Mobile technology into its handsets.

Dolby Mobile is an audio processing technology platform designed to deliver rich, vibrant audio and dramatically improve listening enjoyment. Built on Dolby’s extensive portfolio of technologies, Dolby Mobile has been optimized for mobile applications.

“Being the first company to incorporate Dolby Mobile technology into handsets for the global market reinforces LG’s role as a leader in the mobile industry and in multimedia phones,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “We believe this technology will raise the bar for audio quality on multimedia phones and expect Dolby Mobile to help us create a new trend in the mobile phone industry. LG is committed to providing our customers with the best features available and our new collaboration with Dolby helps us deliver on this pledge.”

“LG shares our passion for cutting-edge innovation. This agreement combines LG’s vision and resources with Dolby’s pioneering leadership in entertainment technology to deliver the next generation of mobile entertainment,” said Bill Jasper, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dolby Laboratories. “Our broad experience and success working with LG in the past gives us great confidence as we move forward.”

Dolby Mobile is designed to allow customers to optimize and tailor audio for an enhanced entertainment experience. LG plans to apply Dolby Mobile technology to a wide range of multimedia features on its phones.

Some of the Dolby Mobile features that LG plans to incorporate into its phones include:

Mobile Surround, which delivers a realistic surround sound experience using headphones
Sound Space Expander, which creates a wide, rich, and spacious soundstage experience especially suited to music playback
Natural Bass, which adds powerful boost and bass extension
High-Frequency Enhancer, which enhances music and other content by restoring high-frequency effects
Graphic EQ, which helps tune the audio experience for different content types
Sound Level Control, which helps level out audio for a more consistent playback volume
Mono-to-Stereo Converter, which improves the playback experience of user-generated content
The companies held a signing ceremony earlier today in Seoul to officially kick off their collaboration. Dr. Woo Young Kwak, R&D Center Head of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, and Stuart Mitchell, Senior Vice President, Sales at Dolby Laboratories, attended the ceremony.

LG plans to begin launching high-end multimedia phones that incorporate Dolby Mobile technology from the fourth quarter of this calendar year

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July
29


The new Asus USB-N11 wireless N USB adapter is a compact sized marvel that allows users to simply push a button on the adapter and the router to create a protected wireless environment without complicated setups! Fully certified with the 802.11n wireless standard, the Asus USB-N11 can provide data transfers of up to 5 times faster throughput (90Mbps) than 11g standards. This is ideal for wireless multimedia streaming, file sharing and online gaming. Being fully certified with 802.11n draft and WiFi Alliance approved, the USB-N11 will also allow easy interoperability with all draft-n 2.0 devices; and it is backward compatible with previous 802.11 b/g standards – allowing users to utilize b/g devices without any compatibility issues. The ASUS USB-N11 comes with a WPS button to simplify setup – allowing users to setup a protected networking environment with ease. All the user has to do is to connect the USB-N11, push the WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) button on the adapter and the router, and the set up is done – all without complex configurations. Being WiFi alliance WPS certified, this little marvel contains no compatibility and works for any WPS certified router. The device measures 84mm x 21mm x 11mm.

The ASUS USB-N11 comes with a WPS button to simplify setup – allowing users to setup a protected networking environment with ease. All the user has to do is to connect the USB-N11, push the WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) button on the adapter and the router, and the set up is done – all without complex configurations. Being WiFi alliance WPS certified, this little marvel contains no compatibility and works for any WPS certified router. The device measures 84mm x 21mm x 11mm.

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June
17

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What did the first quasars look like? The nearest quasars are now known to be supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies. Gas and dust that falls toward a quasar glows brightly, sometimes outglowing the entire home galaxy. The quasars that formed in the first billion years of the universe are more mysterious, though, with even the nature of the surrounding gas still unknown.

Above, an artist’s impression shows a primordial quasar as it might have been, surrounded by sheets of gas, dust, stars and early star clusters. Exacting observations of three distant quasars now indicate emission of very specific colors of the element iron. These Hubble Space Telescope observations, which bolster recent results from the WMAP mission, indicate that a whole complete cycle of stars was born, created this iron, and died within the first few hundred million years of the universe.

Image credit: NASA/ESA/ESO/Wolfram Freudling et al. (STECF)

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June
3


The BCM4323 is the world’s first single-chip 802.11n solution for universal serial bus (USB) adapters. The newest member of Broadcom’s Intensi-fi wireless LAN (WLAN) family enables very small and cost-effective USB adapters that consumers can use to connect PCs, TVs, set-top boxes, personal video recorders, and other devices to a Wi-Fi™ network. As a result of this unprecedented integration, the new Intensi-fi solution enables smaller, more cost-effective USB adapters that can be used to add high-performance wireless connectivity to devices without built-in Wi-Fi.

The BCM4323 offers best-in-class 802.11n performance to provide a superior multimedia experience for video, voice, and other bandwidth-intensive applications. The BCM4323 single-chip 802.11n solution for USB adapters is now shipping in production volumes. Pricing is available upon request.

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June
3


Casio Oceanus OCWM800TBA-1A the world’s first atomic solar powered chronograph is suited for the sophisticated, adventurous man who enjoys all of life’s pleasures. The Casio Oceanus line is known for its Multi-Band 5 Atomic Timekeeping, which guarantees precise and reliable timekeeping by receiving radio time calibration signals from US, UK, Germany and Japan. These timepieces also boast Tough Solar Power, which fuels the battery with light from the sun as well as indoor sources, eliminating any worries of losing track of time. Additional features include world time, alarm clock, 100M water resistance and a reverse countdown timer with second hand.

The Casio Super Chronograph has a stylishly designed light-weight titanium band, which proves that no man has to sacrifice comfort for fashion. A spherical sapphire crystal with non-reflective coating provides scratch resistance and reduces glare for lasting fashion and durability. The Casio Super Chronograph OCWM800TBA-1A carries a suggested retail of $900, and is available now at select department and jewelry stores.

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May
30


Over the years, Milan has evolved from merely hosting a furniture fair every spring to having almost every street taken over by all types of innovative design every April. This year, sustainable design joined in the fray more than ever, with many exciting exhibits highlighting socially conscious design, including the Well-Tech Awards. At this inspirational show we discovered the Lifesaver bottle - a beautifully simple concept for portable water filtration, and one that could make a real difference to a world increasingly threatened by shortages of clean, drinkable water.

The Lifesaver was developed in response to natural disasters such as 2004’s tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. The concept is relatively simple, based upon the fact that the smallest virus is 25 nanometers across, so by using a filter with holes 15 nanometers across, all nasties can be trapped without the need for chemicals. The term ‘nasties’ is actually quite an understatement. Lifesaver can filter out bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi and all other microbiological waterborne pathogens. And in the real world, of course, the bottle was much harder to realize than we’ve described it. The bottle is the world’s first ultra filtration water bottle, and the inventor put all of his life savings into developing it.

But it was this level of development effort that has brought about a product that is exceptionally easy to use. Fill it with water by unscrewing the base and dipping it in the nearest puddle or stream, screw the base back and use the pump to force the water through to a teat at the other end. The clean water can then be drunk directly or poured into a separate container for storage. These simple instructions make it suitable for use by children, and in developing countries.


The unit uses replaceable filters, which can treat about 4000 liters of water – five and a half years of usage if you drank 2 liters every day. The filter is speedy, too - 750ml of water can be prepared in just under a minute. And users can rest safe in the knowledge they’re getting maximum life out of the product without poisoning themselves, as the unit has a unique feature to shut itself off when the cartridge has expired.

Costing £230 ($460), the Lifesaver isn’t exactly cheap, but it is a world first, and we’re sure the price reflects the genuinely innovative R&D that went into its development. Not only was it featured at Well-tech, it won ‘Best Technological Development for Future Soldier System Enhancement’ at Soldier Technology 2007. It’s ironic that a design that can bring world peace can also support world conflict, but here’s hoping it’s used for the former rather than the latter.


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May
30

World premiere at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
New: Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel with GTL and BTL
Synthetic diesel fuel reduces emission of CO2

At the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours on 14/15 June, the three Audi R10 TDI prototypes entered by Audi Sport Team Joest will race for the first time with the next generation of Biofuel manufactured from Biowaste and promising a reduction in the emission of CO2 by almost 90 per cent when compared with traditional diesel.

Audi fields the 650-hp plus R10 TDI, which has already won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, in sportscar races since 2006. Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel produced by development partner Shell has been used since the very beginning. It’s a particularly powerful and efficient synthetic fuel which is created from Natural Gas in a process called Gas To Liquids (GTL). Fuels with these components are already available at the pumps.

For the third appearance of the Audi R10 TDI at Le Mans, a small amount of Biofuel of the next generation is mixed for the first time with the previously well-proven GTL components: BTL (Biomass To Liquids), as it is officially called, is extracted from Biowaste that is unfit for use in foodstuffs, for example from waste wood. BTL promises a reduction in the amount of CO2 emission by almost 90 per cent compared to traditional diesel.

Although they are manufactured from different raw materials, the two alternative fuels BTL and GTL are practically Sulphur free and odourless. They combine quality and efficient combustion with reduced exhaust emissions.

“Audi voiced its support early for the use of next generation Biofuels at Le Mans,” explains Michael Dick, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG with responsibility for Technical Development. “It underlines our philosophy that we view Le Mans as a tough test field for new technologies which will be available at a later date in production cars for our customers. The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) provides the opportunity to use alternative drive concepts and fuels, which we exploit to the full.”

The V12 TDI known for its efficiency and fitted to the Audi R10 TDI has already been tested successfully with the new fuel on the dynamometer and during tests. The first public appearance follows this coming Sunday (1 June) at the official test day at Le Mans. It traditionally provides teams with the only opportunity to test on the 13.629-kilometre circuit of Le Mans before the race.

Practice is on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. All three cars of Audi Sport Team Joest and all nine drivers will be in action.

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February
11


Plextor is first in the market to offer a combo DVD- Rewriter that also plays Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies. The Plextor PX-B300SA is a dual-layer internal DVD drive for PCs and uses a SATA connection. It is priced highly competitively and offers an ideal entry into high definition playback for consumers. It combines all the DVD standards into one single drive. The Plextor PX-B300SA not only plays the latest Blu-ray (6x) and HD-DVD (3x) movies, but is also a highly versatile dual-layer DVD drive that combines multiple formats - DVD R/RW and RAM - into one. Write speeds: 16x DVD+R/-R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 4x DVD+/-R DL, 5x DVD-RAM, 40x CD-R and 24x CD-RW. In addition, Plextor has added extra convenience by including LightScribe technology to enable custom text and designs to be printed/burned onto discs.

The Plextor PX-B300SA meets EU RoHS and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directives. The Plextor PX-B300SA will be available from end of February 2008 at Plextor’s network of dealers.

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January
22


TDK has developed and began mass production of the industry’s first automotive clamp filter in December. The new filter is called the ZCAT08V-BK, ZCAT12V-BK. TDK developed clamp filters that are suitable for automotive use as an effective noise countermeasure against the effects of electromagnetic noise on the cables that link the various onboard ECUs and units. TDK’s clamp filters have an original structure consisting of a vertically-split cylindrical ferrite core with an integrated resin case for mounting on cables. The ferrite material, a key component of the filter, provides outstanding magnetic characteristics and high-frequency absorption properties achieved through precise control of the fine structure using TDK’s original materials and process technologies.

The resin case and core material have been improved to enhance heat resistant and shock resistance for use in automotive applications. The operating temperature range has been increased from earlier TDK products (-25 C - 85 C) to -40 C - 125 C.

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