Security features on computers have been expanded and improved upon with greater frequency, not to mention efficiency, over the the past decade, so it only makes sense that we get closer to the ideas that most of us have seen in action and sci-fi movies.  For those of you who remember a few years back, the fingerprint scanner was a new feature added to Dell and HP brand computers and marketed toward students who were paranoid about losing their laptops.  It was quite innovative, at the time, to be able to unlock your computer with a touch of your finger; but now we're moving on to the next big thing, retina scanners.  If you've recently purchased an iPad, then you're probably already aware of this feature and have no doubt had a good bit of fun with it.  Well now you can enjoy it on the latest Macbook Pro.  Unfortunately, there is rumor circulating that potential customers might miss out on certain features due to the design.  It's a rather thin computer.  Nevertheless, it will most likely be a big hit with the traveling entrepreneur who carries vital documents on longbusiness trips but doesn't want a lot of extra weight.

"The new 15-inch MacBook Pro will be a significant departure from the current design, with a retina display and an ultra-thin profile, 9to5Mac claims, citing sources from Apple's supply chain.

It will be so thin, in fact, that it won't have room for an optical drive, just like its lightweight cousin MacBook Air.

Other design changes include a power button on the keyboard itself (replacing the eject button) and, possibly, the lack of an Ethernet port (replaced by an extra Thunderbolt port).

The MacBook Pro's new retina display -- the same technology that's in the new iPad -- is described as "definitely the most important Mac innovation in years" by the sources who've handled a prototype of the device. The specifics are unknown, but users should be able to choose between several Retina resolution modes."

Source: CNN

If you're like me, you like fast internet.  Of course, a lot of us are still limited by the hardware available to us.  Granted, it's still fast by our standards, but compared to some countries, we have a lot to be expected.  Luckily, the men and women over at Buffalo Tech have come up with a rather ingenious new method of router design that will offer a significant increase in internet speed.  This new release will be known as the first 5G device and it's expected to do well in stores and in offices and homes.

"Buffalo Tech on Monday became the first on the market with wireless products touting 802.11ac WiFi, also known as "5G WiFi."

These are its AirStation WZR-D1800H wireless router and WLI-H4-D1300 wireless media bridge.

They purportedly offer speeds up to three times faster than 802.11n, and they are fully backward compatible with 802.11a, b, g and n.

With the release, Buffalo Tech has just beaten out NetGear, which had announced a similar next-gen WiFi product in April and planned to release it later this month. Belkin earlier this month announced plans to offer 5G products as well.

"It was a race to the end," Jay Pechek, Buffalo Technology's spokesperson, told TechNewsWorld. "Buffalo was the first to publicly demonstrate 802.11ac technology at CES [the Consumer Electronics Show] this past January, so we felt that we had a small leg up on the competition."

Source: Tech News World

We've just published a review on the Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Motherboard. It utilises Intel's latest Z77 chipset suitable for all Intel Ivy Bridge - LGA 1155 processors. The motherboard absolutely packed with some great features including Gigabyte's infamous Ultra Durable technologies, 3D BIOS, 3D digital engine, and much much more. Here's a snip ...

"If you are looking for a solid Z77 motherboard that does not break the bank this is a great choice .... You get great overclocking across the board and stable voltages. Efficiency is great to boot, overall I cannot help but recommend the Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H."

Read the rest of the review here ... http://www.funkykit.com/component/content/article/51-motherboards/9085-review-gigabyte-z77x-ud3h-motherboard.html

Similar Product:

Motherboard & CPU:

Intel Core i7-3720QM - Ivy Bridge For Mobile Review: Monster Kill! on DailyTech.

Palit GeForce GTX 680 4GB Jetstream on Guru3D.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 on The Tech Report.

Storage:

OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD (with 1.4 R6 firmware) on TweakTown.

Akitio MyCloud Duo NAS on TweakTown.

Memory:

Kingston HyperX Genesis DDR3 1866 16GB Quad Kit on Pro-Clockers

Patriot Viper Xtreme Division 4 DDR3-1866 16GB Quad Channel Memory Kit on ThinkComputers.

Looking to get a tighter grip on mobile and hoping to corral the multitude of apps available for its platform, Facebook on Wednesday launched App Center, a hub for Facebook apps of both desktop and mobile varieties.

"The App Center is built to drive growth for great apps, whether they're built on iOS, Android or [the] mobile Web," Facebook spokesperson Malorie Lucich told TechNewsWorld. "Many of the top iOS and Android apps are integrated with Facebook, and the App Center gives people another way to find them, and gives developers another channel to gain more installs, users and engagement."

Developers will have to submit an app detail page to show users what their wares do, but they won't have to modify their existing apps. "We hope this will encourage developers to create new apps and more categories of apps," Lucich added."

Source: Tech News World

A rumor has been circulating around the internet that the new iPad Mini might be also be skimping on its storage capacity.  According to the rumor, the smaller version, unlike its larger counter-part, would only come with a maximum hard-disk size of only 8 Gb; less than half that of the a standard iPad which ranges from 16 Gb to a full 64 Gb.  Luckily, this is only a rumor, so there's no need to get up in arms just yet.  However, we will keep you posted as new info arrives.

"A smaller version of the iPad will be less expensive and offer less storage than Apple's full-sized model, but will have the same resolution, according to a new report.

Citing a previously reliable source, iMore today adds to the handful of existing iPad mini rumors, with something a little different.

The outlet says such a device is very much in the works and will come in around the $200 to $250 price range. On the lower end, that's less than half the price of Apple's current entry-level iPad model, and $150 to $200 less than the 16GB second-generation model that Apple still sells. That would also overlap with the pricing of Apple's iPod Touch line, which starts out at $199 and tops out at $399 for the 64GB model."

Source: C|NET

If, by now, you've gotten the basic premise of CISPA, then you'll probably be glad that it hasn't been passed yet.  But that's another story; this one is about the case of an Occupy-Wallstreet participant whose info is being requested by the federal government.  Twitter, however, has refused to simply release the private data on the grounds that the authorities in question must obtain a search-warrant before they can oblige.  At the very least, it's nice to know that some social media outlets are willing to stand up for their users. 

"Twitter, which has a history of complying with court requests for users' data, appears to be drawing a line in the sand.

The company filed a motion in a New York State court on Monday to quash a court order that would force it to hand over data pertaining to a user involved with the Occupy Wall Street movement, according to a blog post from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Malcom Harris, the user in question, is being prosecuted by the District Attorney's office in Manhattan for disorderly conduct during the Occupy movement's march across the Brooklyn Bridge last year. The prosecution is asking Twitter for Harris's email address and all his tweets over a three-month period.

Twitter, however, countered that the court would need a search warrant to get that information. It pointed to a recent Supreme Court decision which found that attaching a GPS device is considered a search under the Fourth Amendment, which prevents unreasonable searches and seizures."

Source: CNN

We've just published a review on the Zotac ZBox Nano-XS AD11 Plus. It's probably one of the smallest, yet complete PC system on the market. It's powered by an AMD E-450 Dual-Core APU running at 1.65 GHz, and comes with 2Gb of DDR3 ram as well as a 64Gb SSD! Here's a snip ...

"The performance of the ZBox impressed me. It can't touch my high end desktop of course, but given the size and the price it is quite impressive. You can do some low end gaming, watch any videos you might want to regardless of their resolution and it snaps windows around and loads programs quite quickly, thanks to the SSD."

Read the rest of the review here ... http://www.funkykit.com/component/content/article/57-chassis-and-systems/9047-review-zotac-zbox-nano-xs-ad11-plus.html

Simialr Product:

We're one step closer to having people like yourself waving your arms in the air like a crazy old man! ;)

"Microsoft has shown off an augmented reality system that allows users at different locations to work together on tabletop activities, sharing objects which they can both handle.

The MirageTable was demonstrated at a conference in Austin, Texas and is outlined on the firm's research site.Researchers said it could "fool" the eye to suggest both parties were using a "seamless 3D shared task space".

The team admitted more work was needed before the system could be marketed."

Source: BBC

Yes, it's coming the new next-generation iPhone ... oh, and the new 10-inch iPad too! So what screen size will the new iPhone have? Who knows, but one thing's sure .... it's gonna have to be larger than the current 3.5" inch, otherwise they'll lose ground to Samsung's massive range of "lush" looking Galaxy phones.

"Pegatron Technology reportedly has landed orders for a new-generation iPhone to be launched in September and a 10-inch iPad to be launched in the fourth quarter, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers. Pegatron is currently an OEM for the iPhone 4S and new iPad.

Pegatron has already finished expanding its equipment and labor force for Apple's orders.

In addition to Apple's orders, notebook orders from Toshiba, Acer, Lenovo and Fujitsu are all contributing revenues to Pegatron to allow the company to gain profits."

Source: Digitimes