No Sound on Computer? – Fix Sound Card Driver Problems in Minutes

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

1337538664 94 No Sound on Computer? Fix Sound Card Driver Problems in Minutes

No sound from computer? it is an annoying problem which bothers thousands of computer users. I got this problem once. When I used windows media player to play a video, but there was no sound from computer. Fortunately, I fixed this problem finally.

How I fixed this problem? before I tell you the method, I would like to tell you the usual issues which cause the problem. one factor is the sound card problem and another is the driver. You should follow the steps below to fix the problem. (The process may be a little different between Windows XP and Windows Vista. )

1. Check your Sound Card

1) Check the Sound Card.
Firstly, you should check out if your sound box is working. if your sound box is working, then check out your sound card. if it is attached close to the socket;if the chipset is still working?

2) Check BIOS Setting.
If you are using on board sound card, you should check your BIOS. When you enter BIOS, open Integrated Peripherals and find your sound card(normally its name is AC97 Audio). then set it to be Auto or Enable. then find On Board AC97 Control and set it to be Auto or Enable. Save and exit.

If all those issues are all right, but still no sound on computer, it must be the problem of the driver.

2. Check the Audio Card Driver.

1) Open Device Manager.
Right click My computer and Properties. then the Properties Window opens and click Hardware tab. Click on Device Manager. the Device Manager will pop up.

2) Check the Audio card.
Click Sound, video and game controller. You will see a list of items, if there is a red cross before an item, it means this item is disabled. then you right click it and set it to be Enable.

3) Driver is corrupted or outdated.
If you see an exclamatory mark before an item, it means that the driver is corrupted or outdated. so you need to install a new driver for it.

Normally corrupted or missing driver files cause the sound problems. the best way is to back up and update your drivers regularly.

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USB Wireless Adapters – A Perfect Choice For Wireless Network Adapters

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

1337536884 17 USB Wireless Adapters A Perfect Choice For Wireless Network Adapters

In connecting the computers to a wireless network, there are many choices of the wireless network adapters you can install including the USB Wireless Adapters, PCI wireless network adapters, or card bus adapters (for your notebooks). well, when you come to decide – which type of adapter would be your choice? My recommendation is USB, why?

There are many reasons why you should choose USB wireless adapters for the wireless connection. If you manage more than one computer in home or in office that need to connect to the wireless network environment, choosing USB adapter would give you many benefits.

The first benefit you can get by deploying the USB wireless adapters is easy installation. Installing the USB adapter is relatively much easier than PCI adapter. with PCI adapter, you have to open the computer case to install it; inserting the adapter into one of the available PCI slots of the computer. For some people who do mind with the hassle of opening the computer case, USB adapter would be the perfect choice. besides, only computer engineer may open the computer case for maintenance reason. with USB adapter, you can easily install and insert the adapter into the desktop computer or laptop with USB enabled without opening the computer case.

Helps Troubleshooting

With USB wireless adapters, you can easily remove the adapter off the computer and installing to other computer or laptop for troubleshooting reason. in networking environment, there will come the time you need to troubleshoot the network connection problem in one computer. the easiest way to determine if the adapter is faulty is by swapping it with the one that is proven to work on the other computer – again without the need of opening the computer case. Swapping the computer components for troubleshooting reason is the easiest way to justify that the component is still functional or not. unlike USB adapter, PCI adapter can only work with the desktop computers with PCI slots enabled. Similarly, with the card bus adapter you can only install it into the notebooks or the laptops. USB wireless adapters are versatile; you can install them both into the desktop computers and the notebooks. thus, helps you troubleshoot the network connection problem.

Compatible with Next-Gen USB 3.0

Digital technology changes very fast. in 2007, Intel demonstrated SuperSpeed USB (aka USB 3.0) at the Intel Developer Forum. USB 3.0 is the next generation of Universal Serial Bus to dramatically simplify the connection between host computer and peripheral devices. up to this year 2010, USB 2.0 has been firmly entrenched as the de-facto interface standard in the PC world. in the next several years, the next generation of the computers will be embedded with this new generation USB 3.0. One of the promises feature of USB 3.0, besides its higher transfer rates up to 4.8 Gbps, it is backward compatible with USB 2.0 wireless adapters you currently invest now.

Which USB Wireless Adapters

In considering purchasing the USB wireless USB adapters, you should select the latest version available at the market today. Choose the adapter which supports the next generation of the wireless technology standards: wireless -n (draft 2.0 802.11n). Wireless -n is the future of the wireless technology available in the market you can taste today. You don’t need to worry with the compatibility issues with the legacy wireless b/g devices, mostly the wireless -n devices are backward compatible with 802.11b/g devices (with Wi-Fi Certified label).

If your wireless environment supports dual-band both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands, it would be much better if your USB adapters support dual-band as well. Is the USB wireless adapter the best choice in all cases? off course not, in a situation where the computers are placed in public area and can be accessed by public users, the deployment of the USB wireless adapters is prone to stealing. USB adapter is easy to unplug without being noticed. therefore, the wireless PCI adapters would be the best choice.

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Dell XPS 13 Review

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

1337535064 96 Dell XPS 13 Review

With the introduction of the Dell XPS 13, Dell manages to come up with an impressive, extremely compact 13” laptop that is just slightly bigger than the Macbook Air 11. Sold at around the same price than the latter, it clearly outperforms its Apple counterpart in terms of specification and would-be “switchers” may want to look twice at the value proposition of this laptop.

For those who are worried that such a compact laptop isn’t powerful enough, take a good look at the benchmarks, and the Core i7 option that Dell offers. That said, the XPS 13 faces tough competition as Netbooks from many other vendors are hitting the market, and the competition is just becoming intense. in this review, we will go over the strengths and weaknesses of the Dell XPS 13 to show you how it feels to use one in the real world.

Industrial design

It’s a matter of personal preferences, but it is fair to say that Dell has done a really good job with the Industrial design of the XPS 13. one of the feature that Dell emphasizes the most is the carbon-fiber material visible at the bottom of the laptop. it greatly contributes to the overall rigidity of the Dell XPS 13 chassis, and the finish is impeccable. Also, the bottom is very clean and free of any sticker or Windows license.

On the other side, the back of the screen has a nice aluminum finish, with the Dell logo in the middle. Opening up the laptop reveals the black keyboard and display. the design is very minimalist here and only the white letters stand out.

On the right side, there is a battery indicator, a Displayport and a full-size USB port. on the left side, you can find the power connector, another full-size USB port and a 3.5mm headphones connector.

Keyboard: the keys letter are larger than on most laptops, which makes them particularly readable. the keys themselves are slightly curved, and I have to admit that I was impressed -and surprised- by the overall keyboard quality. this is probably the best keyboard that I have tried since the Lenovo X1. Dell did a great job on this one. the keyboard is an essential element that no manufacturer should “cheap out” on. If we could get slightly larger arrow keys… that would be awesome!

Trackpad: the trackpad is smooth enough and it is called a “clickpad” because users can induce a mechanical “click” from anywhere on the surface (no physical buttons). the lower-right serves as the right mouse button, while the rest of the surface is considered to be the left button. I still prefer the glass trackpads, but you may have your own preferences.

Overall, I find it to be very good, but I have also experienced accidental clicks when my right hands was going for one of the keys around the “H” key. this never happened to me with other laptops, so the sensitivity of the trackpad may need some tweaking.

Display

Left: a Macbook Air 11" (gen1), right: the Dell XPS 13

The display is built with very thin bezels. That allowed Dell to build a 13” computer that is close to a 11” in size. the Dell XPS 13 with is about 1cm shorter than my Samsung Series 9 13”. the general design of the bezel is impressive, but I wonder if it has affected the view angle of the display in a slightly negative way.

The screen viewed from a high-angle

The screen viewed from a "semi" high-angle

Straight-on, the colors are perfect. this is how the image should look like

Now, we're looking at it from a low-angle

And finally, the extreme low-angle

The image looks good if you stand right in front of it, but the colors can change relatively quickly when the vertical angle changes. To some degree, most laptops have that problem to some extent, but I found it a bit more obvious on this computer (as opposed to the Macbook Air and the Samsung Series 9 13” that we have in the office). it would have been better if the design allowed the screen to go further back, because it would have made it easier to adjust the screen position. However, this is not the case.

Fortunately, the display view angle is fine when I’m sitting at a desk/table, but your luck may vary if you are taller (I’m 5’11), or in a cozy place (airplane seat) – which I haven’t tried.

If you look at the display straight on, the image is actually very nice and the contrast is high. That’s also due to the glossy surface used by Dell on this screen. It’s shiny outdoors, but indoors, the colors look very good. That’s the typical matte vs. glossy tradeoff.

Webcam

The webcam of the Dell XPS 13 is pretty decent, and if I compare it to the computers that I have on my desk, it lands somewhere between the Macbook Air 11” (gen1) and the Samsung Series 9 13.3” (2011). It’s a bit difficult to describe the difference in image quality given that none of them are “excellent”, but there’s no question that they all get the job done if you want to hop on a quick family video chat. I’ve uploaded some screenshots done in Skype during optimal network conditions to show you what the “receiving” end sees.

Performance

In terms of performance, the Dell XPS 13 does well for a computer in this category, especially if you take into account that we ran these tests with the entry-level model equipped with the Core i5 Intel processor (CPU). Dell has a Core i7 option, which should be even faster. We’ve compiled some CPU scores using Geekbench, and you can tell that the Dell XPS 13 provides a level of performance that is on-par with other high-profile laptops in this category.

The fast SSD explains the very high score in PCMark Vantage's productivity test

However, it easily wins the PCMark Vantage Productivity test, thanks to its very fast solid-state drive (SSD) storage system. If you compare it with my (now aging) Samsung Series 9 laptop, you can clearly see the benefits of using newer SSD technology, and frankly, many performance issues that users hits are storage-related, so this is very important.

Without a discrete GPU, it's hard to score high in games

Unfortunately, the XPS 13 does not have a discrete graphics processor (GPU), so while the day-to-day graphics run fine, games like Just cause 2 don’t run fast enough for a good gaming experience. in that respect, the numbers from the Macbook Air (gen 1) show that even with a “weak” CPU, it is possible to get good gaming performance if the GPU is fast enough.

Perceived performance: Of course, the “perceived” performance is even more important than the raw synthetic numbers. I have to say that the Dell XPS 13 exceeded my expectations in terms of responsiveness. If you put aside gaming, I think that this computer would work just great for most people, and I would say that overall performance is very good. now, if you want to play modern games, I would suggest that you look for a computer that has a discrete graphics processor. There is just no way around it, for now.

Value

Raw performance is one thing, but it should clearly not be the only metric. It’s not very hard to build a fast computer that is heavy and expensive. it is also easy to build a thin and light one which is slow. That’s why we like looking at performance via prisms, like the performance in relation to the price and weight.

You can see that for its weight, the Dell XPS 13 provides very respectable processing power. However, when it comes to graphics power, the lack of discrete GPU bites it from this perspective as well. If you don’t mind about gaming, the XPS 13 provides pretty good value for the price.

If you take the design into account, you will realize that the Dell XPS 13 is a much better choice than the Acer S3 which is otherwise not that far away in terms of CPU and Graphics. That said, the XPS 13 SSD drive crushes the Acer S3 mechanical disk.

Battery Life

Battery depletion (7.5hrs): in a standard battery depletion test (display 50%, WiFi ON) the Dell XPS 13 reached 7h29mn before hitting 4% and going to sleep mode.

Simple battery depletion test are very important because it’s a “floor” for scenarios that involve a low-intensity workload. For example, if you type a text document or read an eBook, the computer works very little as it is just waiting for the next keystroke or page turn. in fact, the main processor actually goes to “sleep” mode in-between keystrokes.

1080p video (4hrs): the Dell XPS 13 can also play a 1080p MP4 video file for about 4h5mn, which is equivalent to two movies (well, maybe not two Titanic…) during a mid-range flight. If the display’s brightness was lower and WiFi was OFF, this may be pushed a bit further, but still would not be enough to play a 3rd movie.

Battery charge speed: it takes about 2h20mn to recharge from 7% to 80%, and it takes a total of 3h18mn to go to the full 100% charge. this is pretty long, and I expect some competitors to do better, or “much better” in this area.

As you may know, most batteries will charge at linear speed, up to a point (usually 80%-90%), so the charge time is important, especially if you are on the go, in between meetings or planes. it is unlikely (but possible!) that battery technology will get a significant boost (they have mainly gotten “bigger” in recent years), so the ability to charge quickly is desirable.

Offline battery depletion: Additionally, happened to leave the XPS 13 turned OFF (and unplugged) for about one week, and when I came back, the battery was still at 84% or so. I don’t exactly remember what the charge was when I closed it, but this is a worthy piece of information because it means that you can leave it, pick it up “days” later and it will turn on.

Misc

Charger: Dell has done a very good job at making the charger small. However, we really need better cable management. For one, what about making that thick power cable optional? That would go a long way in helping keep this charger more compact and clean.

Secondly, we need some kind of cable management system for the small cable that connects to the laptop. That would probably cost one more dollar to build (I actually don’t know, but it can’t be very expensive), and make the life of every single user better, every single time the computer moves around. Actually, I would *pay* for that.

Conclusion (great)

The Dell XPS 13 is impressive: in a form-factor slightly bigger than the Macbook Air 11”, Dell has managed to provide a powerful 13” thin-and-light platform that scales up to a Core i7 processor, 256GB of SSD storage and 4G as an option. at $999, it offers twice the RAM and twice the SSD storage when compared to the current ($999) Macbook Air 11″, and its battery is 50% higher as well (7.5hrs vs 5hrs).

The XPS 13 works particularly well if you are a nomad who can work on a table, as this is the optimal position to get the best image quality from the display. For those who care about productivity, the keyboard performance is stellar and stands closest to the Lenovo X1 which I still consider to be the best keyboard out there. Dell has been consistently making its computer designs better, and it shows: this is probably the finest laptop that Dell has produced in recent years.

I hope that this review was helpful. If there’s something that I did not cover, or if you have additional questions, you can leave a comment below, and I will reply as soon as I can.

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FSP Technology Inc. : FSP Group, the Green Power Expert

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

1337531462 11 FSP Technology Inc. : FSP Group, the Green Power Expert05/15/2012 | 05:32am

?Taipei, Taiwan -May 14th, 2012?FSP Group, the leading manufacturer in power supply industry, was praised by international buyers and media in 2011 Computex Taipei for its cutting-edge of power supply. This year, FSP is going to demo eco-friendly, high efficiency products that beyond market trend. Including 80PLUS PlatinumPC Power Supply, High Wattage 80PLUS Gold PC Power Supply, Slim Adapter, LED Power Supply/Driver, IPC Power Supply, LCD-TV Power Supply, Uninterriptible Power Supply and Power Bank, etc. FSP owns the most completed and innovativepower supply products, and welcomes all to experience it at 2012 Computex Taipei, Nangang Exhibition Hall, booth no. I0218.

Below please find our distinctive products’ overview:

?SSL POWER SUPPLY:

LED lighting is the mainstream of worldwide lighting. FSP Group provides the most professional and reliable SSL power supply which highly extend product’s life. In this coming show, FSP will show you patented LED power supplies/drivers which have sensor module inside. Through your smart phone or remote control, you can dim the light by Zigbee, Bluetooth or infrared rays(IR). our state-of-the-artdesign can bring convenience to all users.

?AURUM SERIESPC PSU:

-PLATINUM MODULE SERIES?

AURUM 92+, a new series with 80PLUS Platinum Certification, had adopted all the best features of last year’s giant, AURUM Series. The unique patent technology MIA ICTM(Multiple-Intelligence Ability)provides the best performance. It reaches above 92% efficiency at 50% load and gets well cable management. It is no doubt the best PSU for overclockers and multi-GPU gamers.

-AURUM PRO SERIES?

AURUM PRO series is qualified 80PLUS Golden certification, comes with 850W, 1000W, 1200W high wattage. It has been designed to meet the demanding requirements of PC enthusiasts such as overclockers and multi-GPU gamers. The AURUM PRO is built by using industrial-grade components and main Japanese capacitors to provide the pure, clean, stable output. The AURUM PRO comes with dual transformers matrix design to provide up to 90% efficiency and +12V single rail capable of delivering 100A (1200W). This makes it ideal for any kind of CPU/GPU combination like SLI/Crossfire with new generation processors which require high amounts of stable power at 12V.

-AURUM XILENSER SERIES?

AURUM XILENSER Series 500W PSU is certified with 80PLUS Gold certification and presented with the 2012 TAIWAN EXCELLENCE AWARD by The Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan. its fanless design causes almost no noise and considered the best choice for home theater, studio, lab PC demand.

?NB Q PLUS ADAPTER:

NB Q90 PLUS is another 2012 TAIWAN EXCELLENCE AWARD winner. its EZ cable management allows you to pack and go in a flash. The ultra-slim design makes it only 1/2 volume and weight of the traditional adapter. NB Q90 PLUS also offers a USB Sleep & Charge Port for your smart phone and other USB devices while enjoying the stylish design, the 90% high efficiency helps to save energy and makes it a real eco-friendly 3C product.

A nominee of 2012 Best choice award for its compact design and light weight. It equips dual USB charging ports with true power 2.1A and the patented EZ cable management allows you to enjoy an unlimited mobile life.

as a leading manufacturer of power supply, FSP Group is devoted to develop Green Powers. We provide reliable, rugged and state-of-the-artdesign for all our products. 2012 Computex Taipei starts from 6/5 to 6/9. FSP Group will showcase all our most innovativeproducts to catch your eyes. If you are looking for a high-efficiency power supply unit, FSP power will be no doubt your one and only choice.

FSP Group products: AURUM CM Series/AURUM Xilenser Series/ NB Q 90PLUS Series

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Leyden Energy Broadens Management Team with Appointment of Rick Wilmer to President and CEO Position

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

1337529722 29 Leyden Energy Broadens Management Team with Appointment of Rick Wilmer to President and CEO Position

FREMONT, Calif., May 18, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –Leyden Energy, Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced lithium-imide (Li-imide(TM)) batteries, today announced that mr. Rick Wilmer has joined the company as president and CEO and will also assume a seat on the company’s board of directors. Wilmer brings more than 25 years of experience in operations and executive management to Leyden Energy at a time when the company is scaling its operations to satisfy growing demand for advanced battery technologies.

Aakar Patel, Leyden Energy’s previous president and CEO, will remain in a vital role serving as Leyden Energy’s chief strategy officer focused on business and product development as the company enters its next phase of commercialization. Patel will also serve on the company’s board of directors alongside representatives of the company’s venture capital investors, new Enterprise Associates (NEA), Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sigma Partners and Walden International.

“Under Aakar’s leadership, Leyden Energy hit a number of recent product, manufacturing and customer milestones, requiring that the company scale its management team and add depth to its roster to help execute its next stage of growth,” said Ron Bernal, venture partner with NEA and a Leyden Energy board member. “Rick brings years of experience in large-scale technology manufacturing and commercialization, adding exactly the right mix of business and corporate development experience that will position Leyden Energy to go to the next level. with Aakar now focused on strategy, product and business development, and working directly with the company’s partners and customers, we’re expecting big things from Leyden Energy.”

Prior to Leyden Energy, Wilmer was CEO of Pliant Technology where he successfully led its acquisition by SanDisk. Prior to that, he was chief operating officer of Santur, a fast-growing manufacturer of optical components. Previous to Santur, Wilmer held executive engineering and operations positions at a number of leading networking and storage companies, including Aruba Networks, 2Wire and Seagate. Wilmer holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

“With the rapid advancement of mobile consumer electronics and electrically enhanced vehicles, to name just two of the mass markets Leyden Energy’s technology is applicable to, there couldn’t be a more exciting time to join the company,” said Wilmer. “Demand for durable battery chemistries that address the thermal limitations of existing Li-ion platforms, with higher energy density, longer life and increased safety is at an all-time high. with Li-imide, Leyden Energy has the right chemistry platform at the right time to capitalize on these significant market opportunities and improve the consumer user experience. I look forward to working closely with Aakar Patel, our investors and the exceptional management team he assembled at Leyden Energy to help the company realize its full potential.”

Leyden Energy’s thermally superior batteries are perfectly suited for mobile consumer electronics applications due to their higher energy density, reduced swelling, improved safety and longer cycle and calendar life properties. These attributes also make Leyden Energy’s batteries well suited for use in electric vehicles and the harsh conditions associated with backup and grid storage applications.

“I am excited to collaborate with Rick Wilmer to help take our cutting-edge technology and the active customer engagements we have cultivated here at Leyden Energy to the next level,” said Patel. “By intensely focusing on our customers and working directly with them to design products powered by our advanced Li-imide chemistry platform, we can fundamentally improve how well end consumers can engage with their devices in work and play environments. Once Li-imide takes off, tablet, laptop and smartphone designers will no longer need to compromise by using previous generation Li-ion battery chemistries.”

The expansion of the Leyden Energy management team is just the most recent in a series of milestones the company has hit on its way to full-scale commercialization of its proprietary Li-imide battery chemistry platform. Recently, the company was named a “Cool Vendor” in Consumer Energy Management by world-leading industry analyst firm Gartner. The company was cited for having a battery chemistry platform that was innovative, impactful and intriguing.

About Leyden Energy, Inc.

Leyden Energy is the world leading manufacturer of advanced Li-imide(TM) batteries for the mobile, consumer electronics, energy storage and light electric vehicle markets. The company’s patented and proprietary lithium-imide chemistry platform addresses the shortcomings of previous generations of lithium-ion batteries by offering higher energy density, superior thermal stability and longer cycle and calendar life, resulting in optimal safety and durability, even in high temperature environments. Leyden Energy’s investors include new Enterprise Associates (NEA), Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sigma Partners and Walden International. Leyden Energy’s pilot manufacturing, testing facility and executive offices are located in Fremont, Calif. for more information, visit leydenenergy.com .

About Gartner’s Cool Vendors Selection Process

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

SOURCE: Leyden Energy, Inc.

for Sales, Technical Support and Partnerships: Leyden Energy, Inc., +1-510-933-3800 info@leydenenergy.com or for Press and Analyst Inquiries: Schwartz MSL Liz Nelson, +1-415-512-0770 (Media) leydenenergy@schwartzcomm.com

Copyright Business Wire 2012

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Verizon Wireless’ New MiFi Mobile Hotspot Vs External USB and PC Card Broadband Devices

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

1337527861 42 Verizon Wireless New MiFi Mobile Hotspot Vs External USB and PC Card Broadband Devices

The newest device to enter the market looking for a portion of your broadband-bucks is the MiFi (pronounced my-fye) Intelligent Mobile Hotspot from Verizon Wireless. Priced at around $99 (with new 2-year contract), the MiFi is pricey, but within reach for those looking to expand their mobile broadband network.

The MiFi’s main difference from traditional external USB and Broadband devices is that it has dual abilities, half modem and half wireless router. after activation the MiFi 2200 will work as a modem when it’s connected to a computer, or a router when disconnected. In modem mode it provides an Internet connection to only the computer to which it is physically connected.

In router mode, however, the MiFi connects to the Internet and shares that connection wirelessly with up to five other Wi-Fi enabled devices. this mode works just like any other Wi-Fi hotspot allowing wireless devices to pick up its signal automatically. A very cool feature to have, now that so many devices around the house are wi-fi compatible. Connect your laptop, along with your iPod Touch, Nintendo Wii, TiVo, and have another wireless slot still available for a friend.

Just slightly larger than five credit cards stacked together, the Verizon Wireless MiFi is small and attractive. You can easily keep it in your pocket of purse, which makes this great for grab-n-go with your kids. Imagine a family road trip where your teenage kids are using their Internet, iPod, and you can keep up travel advisories and weather along the way. all simultaneously, and all based on the one single device-your MiFi.

Data plans are different than the standard mobile broadband plans, so make sure you know what you’re getting. The most notable difference is that there is not option for unlimited date transfer. currently, Verizon is offering two plans: either $40 for 250MB a month or $60 for 5GB month, (overage charges are 5 cents and 10 cents per MB for the $60 and $40 plans, respectively).

The bottom line is that if you’re looking for cell-based mobile Internet, the MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot from Verizon Wireless is a great option to consider.

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Smartphone Boom Drives Market in Hybrid Processors

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

1337515274 38 Smartphone Boom Drives Market in Hybrid Processors

Hybrid processors that include two or more types of core now account for half of the $111 billion processor market, driven by growth in smartphones and tablets, according to new research by IMS Research.

The most common type of hybrid processors combine a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU). These processors are particularly suited to use in smartphones and tablets, which need to deliver high performance and HD graphics from within a compact form factor.

AMD and Intel have been developing hybrid processors to compete for PC market share since 2010, but a number of mobile processor vendors including NVidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments have also started offering heterogeneous application-specific processors with a microprocessor core and integrated GPU.

Now that smartphone sales exceed PCs, and tablets are gaining popularity, the demand for hybrid processors is growing. IMS Research has identified 20 processor vendors that provide heterogeneous processing solutions on a single chip, and values the market at over $55 billion.

According to Tom Hackenberg, semiconductors research manager at IMS Research and author of the Comprehensive Processor Report, the need for hybrid processors will only become more urgent as semiconductor providers reach the physical limits of Moore’s Law.

“This hybridization is getting even more competitive with an Intel Atom-based smartphone on the market this month, demonstrating that Intel is serious about entering the mobile device market by combining an x86 microprocessor, graphics licensed from NVidia and configurable security logic as a hybrid processor triple play to capture share,” he said.

Hackenberg said that the extremely high volume of single chip microcontrollers (such as smart cards) means that hybrid solutions are unlikely to overtake single core solutions in volume any time soon. However, higher performance device demands will continue to push the market further toward hybrid processors.

Meanwhile, some chip vendors are turning their attention to configurable processors that can deliver application-specific cores. for example, Intel’s Z2460 mobile processor includes a configurable security engine, and Analog Devices’ BF60x DSP includes configurable logic to accelerate vision applications.

“If processor suppliers are going to continue meeting performance expectations set by Moore’s Law, clearly this is a necessary trend,” said Hackenberg. “Future processors may be less marketable by their top-end frequency and more by their application specific cores.”

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Origin Genesis X79

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

1337513463 98 Origin Genesis X79

Origin already has one system on our performance desktop chart; consider its Genesis LGA 2011 X79-based rig to be an encore, as when your favorite band finally busts out your favorite song (and then some) after it’s bowed and exited.

This $4599 desktop (as configured) returns to the computing concert with a hex-core processor in tow. Origin has juiced up Intel’s Core i7-3930K from its stock-clock speed of 3.2GHz to a whopping 4.9GHz. Time to send in the water-cooler—Origin’s own “Frostbyte 360” cooling system, featuring a triple-bay radiator and three 120- millimeter fans—lest one’s desktop burst into flames.

The impressive overclock joins 16 gigabytes of memory and four solid-state drives configured in two separate 240-gigabyte RAID 0 arrays (one boots straight to the system’s 64-bit installation of Windows 7 Home Premium). No fewer than three Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 video cards grace the clean insides of the Genesis ’s custom BitFenix Shinobi XL chassis—eating up the entirety of the Intel DX79SI motherboard’s available PCI Express slots. while it’s surprising that Origin didn’t opt to water-cool its video cards as well, that move would likely have added still more to the new Genesis’s price.

The system price may seem steep, but it’s actually right in line with its class, especially when you compare the Genesis’s ’s performance in WorldBench 7 against its peers. the desktop’s score of 196 doesn’t lead the category—full-tower desktops like Maingear’s Shift Super Stock (205) and Primordial Computers’ Medusa (207) are technically faster. They’re also a lot pricier: For just under a five percent drop in performance, Origin’s Genesis arrives anywhere from $1896 to $3368 cheaper than the competition.

And this desktop keeps up on its gaming, too: Its 154.8 frames per second on a Dirt 3 benchmark (2560 by 1600 resolution, high quality) is just a hair under the Medusa’s 156 frames per second. on Crysis 3 (same resolution, ultra quality), the Genesis outperforms both the Medusa and the Super Stock.

The Shinobi XL chassis looks absolutely stunning. Red highlights painted (or glowing) on the case’s front look even better than the case’s normal all-black façade. the system’s water-cooling setup forces its multi-format card reader and Blu-ray combo drive to sit in the bottom two 5.25-inch bays; you might be able to install additional devices into Genesis ’s two free screwless 5.25-inch bays, but it’ll be a pretty tight fit. Four USB 3.0 ports rest near the top of this desktop’s front panel, joined by an additional USB 2.0 connector that Origin’s commandeered and boosted for faster recharging of connected devices.

The internal wiring job on the Genesis is practically flawless — that’s boutique craftsmanship for you. the medusa of SATA and power cables for the system’s four SSDs and single two-terabyte drive is well-hidden – you’re on your own should you choose to add two more drives to the systems’ final two free drive trays. a single blue LED light strip adorns the extreme left side of the case, a nice (but meager) complement to the case’s side-panel window. and you’ll definitely want to keep that side panel nice and shut. Even with it on, the Genesis is quite audible as a result of its beefy air- and water-cooling setup.

The Genesis’s rear might seem sparse at first, but that’s due to the complete (and acceptable) omission of any graphical connections for the system’s X79 motherboard. Two USB 3.0 ports join six USB 2.0 ports, optical S/PDIF, a FireWire port, two gigabit LAN connections and integrated 7.1 surround sound on the mobo itself. the systems tri-SLI setup delivers a whopping six DVI, three HDMI, and three DisplayPort connections. All that’s missing from this smorgasboard is some eSATA love, a fairly minor omission given the diversity of all the other connection types.

Origin didn’t bundle a mouse or keyboard with this review system, but you’re welcome to choose from a number of different products when configuring the system on the company’s easy-to-use website.

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to dislike Origin’s Genesis performance desktop. the price point is lower than the competition; the performance, practically top-shelf; the particulars, pleasing. It’s not the fastest overall system on the charts (barely so), but it offers one of the best combinations of features, construction, accessibility, and “wow” that you’re going to find, period. and this delightful desktop doesn’t even need a fancy new Ivy Bridge chip to get its point across, either!

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REVIEW: Fujitsu Primergy RX300 S7

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

1337509863 19 REVIEW: Fujitsu Primergy RX300 S7

Intel’s new Xeon E5-2600 (Sandy Bridge-EP) processors have been quickly adopted by all of the big server vendors to power a new generation of faster, more capable, products. As usual, Dell and HP are leading the charge but there are others, such as Fujitsu, who has used the new chips to upgrade a number of servers―not least the popular Primergy RX300, now in its seventh (S7) incarnation.

A 2U rack mount server capable of accommodating a pair of the new multi-core Xeon E5-2600 processors, the Primergy RX300 S7 is a workhorse 2U2P server that can be used to power a whole range of datacentre applications. everything from basic Web farms, e-mail and database servers to highly available virtualisation servers and VDI platforms.

As with the previous S6 model, the all-metal chassis is well engineered. Ours shipped with a single 800W power supply although dual, redundant, supplies can be specified if wanted. Access is via a one-piece lift-off lid with minimal cabling and any hot-swap parts clearly marked (in green) for ease of maintenance.

The all-new motherboard fits snugly inside the chassis, just behind the storage and five hot-swap fans, with the processor sockets in the middle complete with large heatsinks and a one-piece cooling baffle, to direct airflow, on top.

The majority of buyers will populate both sockets as a matter of course with lots of choice when it comes to not just processor but memory and storage too. As such price will be dependent on specification, although there are a number of standard configurations to choose from including the review system, a relatively high-end solution selling for £5,699 (ex VAT).

In theory you can opt for any member of the Xeon E5-2600 family from the 4-core 1.8GHz E5-2603 upwards. To get the full benefit of the new 32nm Sandy Bridge-EP architecture, however, more demanding buyers will go for an 8-core implementation, such as the 2.6GHz E5-2670s fitted on the server we tested.

With HyperThreading as standard these 8-core processors also benefit from an impressive 20MB of L3 cache per socket plus a full set of 8.0GT/s QPI links. Added to which there’s support for Intel’s new Turbo Boost 2.0 technology enabling individual cores to be temporarily speeded up to cope with peaks in processing demand.

Our server also came with 32GB of DDR3 memory―a good starting pointing for a lot of applications, but it is possible to fit as much as 768GB in total. Bear in mind, however, that as with other servers this doesn’t come cheap―especially if you need to specify large capacity DIMMs―and some care is needed not to over specify.

Storage options are adequate for this class of server, if not quite up to what’s available on rival servers such as the Dell PowerEdge R720. Hot-swap drive bays are provided as standard, with room for just 6 if you go for 3.5-inch disks and up to 16 for those opting for the smaller 2.5-inch products.

The review system came with the 2.5-inch bays which can be filled with a variety of SATA, SAS and SSD disks, although only one was occupied on ours, by an enterprise class 300GB SAS drive with a 10,000rpm spin speed. This was then cabled to an LSI MegaRAID controller fitted into one of the PCIe expansion slots, dedicated to such use and positioned towards the front of the motherboard for ease of cabling.

Unfortunately, despite being a decent 6Gbps adapter, the LSI card supplied only offers basic disk mirroring (RAID 1). A reasonable choice for buyers looking for availability, those after the performance of RAID 5/6 will need to spend extra to get something more capable.

Budget buyers, meanwhile, can get away with using the 4-port SATA controller built onto the Fujitsu motherboard. however, this isn’t expected to be a popular option except with companies with storage networks, where the internal disks are used purely to load the OS or a hypervisor.

Speaking of which, it’s also possible to boot the Primergy RX300 S7 using an embedded hypervisor by plugging in a USB key, into either one of the external USB ports or a custom connector provided for this purpose inside. Alternatively, there’s a Fujitsu USB Flash module with its own socket which can be specified for this purpose.

Networking isn’t particularly well served with just two Gigabit ports to be found at the rear of the Primergy RX300 S7 chassis compared to four on similar servers from other vendors. Fortunately more can be added to using plug-in adapters with six PCIe expansion slots on the motherboard in addition to the one for the storage controller.

Thanks to the new Xeon E5 processors and associated Intel C600 these all support the latest PCIe 3.0 technology with a number of multiport Gigabit cards and 10GbE adapters on offer, along with plug-in host bus adapters for both internal and external storage expansion.

One of the network ports can be used for remote management if needed, with a third port dedicated to this role also available, both options giving access to the embedded iRMC S3 remote management controller over the LAN. using this we were able to connect to the Web-based management console then use the tools provided to manage and monitor power settings along with a number of other hardware options. Added to which our configuration came with a license upgrade giving us KVM over IP including support for remote media mapping.

We liked the Primergy RX300 S7 and can see it being used to host a variety of applications in medium-sized to large datacentres. it does have a few limitations, but in the main these can be coped with using the various modules and options on offer. Moreover, in terms of performance it’s right up there with the leaders of the server pack, delivering a real speed boost compared to previous generation Xeon 5500/5600 platforms plus support for the extra memory and enhanced storage options needed to go with it.

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How to Care for Your Hearing Aid Batteries So that They Last

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

1337508085 26 How to Care for Your Hearing Aid Batteries So that They Last

There is nothing worse than being out and your hearing aid batteries go flat. Not only is this frustrating, it can also be dangerous. so one accessory you will need to know something about is hearing aid batteries and how to care for them so that they last as long as possible.

There are a number of excellent brands of hearing aid batteries on the market including Rayovac and Energizer. When shopping for batteries, keep in mind that they come in two types which are zinc-air and mercury. You will find that most people use zinc air batteries because they tend to have a longer shelf life. there is nothing worse than having you aid batteries die on you just when you need them. Unlike hearing aid prices that can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, batteries are competitively priced.

Zinc air hearing aid batteries can last up to 2 times longer than mercury batteries and are activated by exposure to air once you pull off the tab. we all know that mercury based products are very bad for the environment so it won’t be surprising to see these batteries banded in the near future. It doesn’t matter if you where a digital hearing aid or analog hearing aid, you will still need batteries for it. Most people prefer disposable batteries for their hearing aids but rechargeable batteries are also available. with hearing aid prices being quite expensive, you want to make sure that you have good batteries in them to ensure optimum performance from your hearing aid.

Some important tips to remember when installing new batteries in your hearing aids is to take the tab off and give your new batteries some time to ramp up before putting them into your hearing aids. your new batteries should ramp up in a minute or two and then it will be ready for installation. if you put a brand new battery into your hearing aid without giving it ramp up time, it may cause your aid to beep signaling that the battery is dead. to avoid this, just wait a minute or two before replacing your hearing aid batteries. Because of hearing aid prices these days, many people use drying kits. if you do and you also use zinc-air batteries, it is recommended that you take the batteries our before placing your hearing aid in they dry kit.

Drying kits will dry up your battery’s electrolyte. if this happens, your will shorten the life of your battery. if you wear digital hearing aids with noise circuits that adjust themselves automatically and you are in a noisy atmosphere, your hearing aid battery drain can be up to two or three times more than if you are in a quieter environment. Significant battery drain can also occur when you in a place with high humidity.

Hearing aid manufactures such as Starkey, Siemens and Phonak all have different ratings for noise levels so one may consider a situation a noisy environment where another may not. You best bet is to check with your audiologist to get more detailed information. Partial deafness can be frustrating, as can hearing aid prices. The last thing you want to be concerned about are hearing aid batteries. we hope we have given you enough information to make a wise buying decision as well as information on how to care for your batteries.

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