Vienna, February 21st 2012 - Noctua today presented its new NH-L12 low-profile cooler for Small Form Factor cases and HTPC environments. The NH-L12 features a flexible NF-F12 (120mm) / NF-B9 (92mm) dual PWM fan setup that can be configured either for full performance in dual fan mode or extra-low profile (66mm) with the top fan removed.
"The industry trend towards Small Form Factor and Home Theatre PCs is well-established, but there's still a lack of suitable high-quality quiet CPU coolers", explains Mag. Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO. "Building a powerful PC always requires a capable CPU, which in return demands a competent cooling solution. But who wants his HTPC to sound like a jet engine? This is precisely where the NH-L12 steps in."
Thanks to its exquisite dual fan setup consisting of Noctua's highly optimised NF-F12 (120mm) and NF-B9 (92mm) premium fans, the NH-L12 pushes the bar in terms of low-profile quiet cooling performance. Alternatively, the NH-L12 can also be used with the NF-B9 92mm fan only in order to reduce the overall height to 66mm. This way, the cooler is suitable for many typical µATX or Mini-ITX enclosures and ideal for whisper-quiet HTPC systems.
Over at Tweaktown, they have published a review of the Fractal Design Define R3 USB 3.0 Black Pearl Mid-Tower Case.
"For what seems like the better part of last year, I was working emails, Cameron was working emails, even Chris Ramseyer sent one over thinking he had the magic fingers to write the appropriate e-mail to address our desire in seeing for ourselves what all the hype was surrounding the Fractal Design chassis concepts and implementation.
To my dismay most of our e-mails went unanswered, all but one. At that point I was supposed to be looking at the flagship chassis, but as luck would have it NCIX.com beggared up that deal and I never received the chassis."
Exciting news for the factory workers of the electronics company Foxconn. After much-needed involvement from both foreign and domestic governments, the people who work long, and sometimes draconian, hours to produce the technology that we get to enjoy everyday will be happy to know that their salaries and wages will be raised to a reasonable amount, as well as having their hours reduced to provide a more workable schedule.
"BEIJING — The announcement Saturday that Foxconn Technology — one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers — will sharply raise salaries and reduce overtime at its Chinese factories signals that pressure from workers, international markets and concerns among Western consumers about working conditions is driving a fundamental shift that could accelerate an already rapidly changing Chinese economy.
But the true meaning of Foxconn’s reforms, analysts say, will depend in part on how effectively the company can remake an economic system that has relied for much of the last decade on luring migrants to work cheaply for long hours in mammoth factories building smartphones, computers and other electronics."
It seems Microsoft has been receiving some pressure from software critics, some are saying that Windows 8 bears a strange resemblance to the open-source operating system Linux. Now we won't go into the history of all the business deals made by Microsoft, but there is some amount of suspicion, maybe not without reason, from some speculators.
"Here in the world of technology, there's no denying that developers of even the most creative new products and ideas "stand on the shoulders of giants," just as innovators in most other realms do too.
New ideas inspire more new ideas over time, after all, so it's not surprising to see myriad commonalities and linkages among them.
Lately, however, that notion is being examined a little more closely than usual in light of recent revelations about Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) forthcoming Windows 8 and -- in particular -- how much it has in common with Linux.
'Does Windows Do It Better?'
"Eight features Windows 8 borrowed from Linux" is the name of the ITworld article that kicked off the conversation in the Linux blogosphere earlier this month, and the ruckus hasn't died down since.
File copy dialogue and ISO mounting are among the features the article names while asking provocatively, "Linux got there first, but does Windows do it better?"
Individual comments could barely be heard over the sound of the thundering stampede of the Linux masses, rushing to share their thoughts. More than 600 comments appeared on Slashdot in short order, so Linux Girl knew it was time to learn more."
In recent news, the main-stream sale of the Apple iPad has been halted by a legal ruling set forth by the People's Court. Of course Apple will not be taking this lying down, and it only makes sense that they will be striking back with their own legal team.
"A court in China has ruled that retailers should cease iPad sales, dealing a setback to Apple in its battle for the iPad trademark in that country.
Xie Xianghui, a lawyer for Shenzhen-based Proview Technology, told the Associated Press that the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Huizhou made the ruling Friday.
However, the report says the ruling is not expected to have a far-reaching effect, noting that Proview has asked commercial authorities to block iPad sales in 40 cities. Apple representatives did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the ruling, but the company has previously stated that it made a deal with Proview that the Chinese company refuses to honor.
"We bought Proview's worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago. Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter," an Apple representative told CNET."
Over at TweakTown, they have published a review of the Enermax Revolution87+ 1000-watt Power Supply.
"Enermax is on a stretch of refreshing their lineup, making sure that they have a solid offering for any enthusiast.
First up was their high wattage MaxRevo, followed by their Platimax 600W and now their new Revolution 87+.
We've even got another one in the works from the folks at Enermax so they are very busy bringing you the latest and greatest in PSU technology. The new Revolution 87+ comes feature packed with 80Plus Gold efficiency.
Let's tear into their new power supply and see if it is up what we expect from Enermax."
So you've probably heard about the cyber-attack orchestrated by the group Anonymous on the Department of Justice following the rise and fall of SOPA; now, however, they've set their sights a bit higher. This time, instead of a singular website, multiple government websites were hacked. As with before, Anonymous has made clear their opposition to any such type of legislation, and understandably so. As always, we'll keep you posted should any new updates come our way.
"The hacker group Anonymous has struck again -- this time taking down the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's consumer protection business center website as well as one touting National Consumer Protection Week.
In their place was a German language video mocking ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
The FTC promptly removed the video, which has been described as violent and bloody: A man in a ski mask guns down people for downloading copyrighted music. In a profanity-ridden statement, Anonymous threatened to "rain torrential hellfire down on all enemies of free speech, privacy and internet freedom" if ACTA is approved."
For those who have don't have a steady hand ... fear not. With this new Image Stabilization feature from Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4, getting the best picture/photo is a easy as waving your hand!
"The S4 Camera, or more specifically, the Image Signal Processor (ISP), boasts advanced features that are designed to allow any Smartphone or Tablet to double as a high-end digital camera. The HTC Titan II, announced at CES 2012, features an astounding 16Megapixel camera running on an S2 processor. With S4, any given mobile device can shoot up to 20 Megapixel stills, as well as 1080p (30fps) video capture and up to 3 cameras (the third can be used for 3D capture).
The S4 ISP also comes equipped with Qualcomm's proprietary 3A camera technology (Autofocus, Auto Exposure and Auto White Balance), enabling practical camera applications such as blink detection, smile degree, and gaze estimation. Other advanced features that tap into the ISP include active "Range-Finding", zero shutter lag, and image stabilization."
This war on patents is getting a little ridiculous now! Come on! I mean ... slide to unlock is patented? And those "unlock" features found on other smartphones too?
I could patent ... "shake to unlock". Anyone want to loan me some cash so I can file it to the patent office, and sell it to Google or Apple.
"The patents present four (somewhat) novel forms of unlock that range from simple to complex. The "Big Three" of the Android world -- HTC Corp. (TPE:2498), Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KS:005930), and Google Inc.'s (GOOG) nearly-acquired subsidiary-to-be Motorola Mobility -- all share a common legal adversary -- Apple, Inc. (AAPL). Apple has asserted a slew of claims against the Android phonemakers, and they haven't been shy about firing back, sometimes quite successfully (other times not so much)."
LG UNVEILS UNIQUE 4:3 RATIO, 5-INCH OPTIMUS VU: AT MWC 2012 - With Productivity in Mind, LG Demonstrates its LTE and Display. Leadership with Device that Does, Well, Everything.
SEOUL, Feb. 19, 2012 – LG today unveiled one of the most anticipated LTE devices, the Optimus Vu:. Equipped with LG's advanced LTE and IPS display technology, the Optimus Vu: offers a unique combination of tablet-like viewing with smartphone portability. Running on a powerful 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 32GM internal memory and a large 2,080 mAh battery, the Optimus Vu: is a multimedia lover's dream device.
"The Optimus Vu: was designed to maximize what customers could do with a smart-phone," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company. "By offering an optimal 4:3 ratio viewing experience, 5-inch display combined with superfast LTE technology, Optimus Vu: is just one example of what we can achieve when we combine our best technology with customer needs."
