The Zone

Have you checked out the new HardwareZone Malaysia forums? We got a mountain of Asrock Intel and AMD motherboards and we're getting rid of them dirt cheap! Some mobos go as low as RM100, which is a huge bargain! Check out our wares and save, Save, SAVE! Offer for a limited time only, so hurry on to the forums today! 

Bargains galore! 

Class and sophistication in a notebook? Why not, says Acer. Check out these pictures of their recent launch after the jump.

In a shocking revelation over the weekend, we found out that Dell is now planning to approach channel sales and distributors in an apparent move away from their regular (and often taken as religion) business model which cuts out the middleman entirely. While this means that you can now buy those tantalizing Dell monitors from your regular IT store, it might also mean that prices are going to be a little bit higher than usual, giving the cost of marketing and distribution and all.

How rugged is the Corsair Survivor flash memory? Very rugged, according to one tech website that made it went through a torture test from hell. Not only did they submerge it in a swimming pool, they boiled it in a pot of water and whacked it with a hammer. And the Corsair Survivor still performed fine. Now that's a real Survivor. Price? USD 80 - 150 for an 8GB drive. Expensive, but when you need to transfer files at the top of Mount Everest, I guess it would come in handy. 

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Business Week has released pictures of what it seems to be the world's thinnest notebook. Intel posed a challenge to its engineers to create a fashionable, and slim notebook that has the ability to connect to wireless networks - any wireless network.

While the lady isn't really a good scale in terms of slimness, rest assured, the gallery over at Business Week showed that a motorola RAZR looked fatter than the notebook which is touted to use only the latest Intel processing technologies. 

More at Business Week, including a photo slideshow

That's right, Windows 6 is the last Windows that will come in a 32-bit (x86) version!

In order words, future Windows will only come in 64-bit (x64).  No fret though, for 32-bit software can still run on 64-bit Windows, due to a built-in emulator.  However, if you have 32-bit software with 16-bit code, now that's a problem.

64-bit Windows can run 64-bit software and 32-bit software, but not 32-bit software with 16-bit code.

Likely this won't be a problem when the next Windows comes out years from now, for by then, it's likely all existing software will be updated to 32-bit at least, and it's highly unlikely 32-bit software with 16-bit code will be around anymore.

In the least, the problem would be computers with 32-bit processors won't be able to run post-Vista Windows.  So this means if you have the Intel Core Solo (single-core) or Core Duo (dual-core), you won't be able to run post-Vista Windows, for it's a 32-bit processor.  Only the Core 2 Solo and Duo onwards are 64-bit for the Core line of Intel processors.

On the Pentium line, only the 600 sequence of Pentium 4 processors, and the 800 and 900 sequence of Pentium D processors are 64-bit. The initial 500 sequence of the first pin-less (775 contacts) Pentium 4 processors are 32-bit.

A package from Seagate came in today and boy-oh-boy, the reviewing materials got us in stiches =

After all those years of not R-ingTFM, at least somebody has to come up with a way to get people to read their manuals, and this perfectly hit the nail on the head. Good job, Seagate! :D Look out for the FreeAgent Pro review next month!

In an announcement that took quite a lot of people by surprise, Microsoft has released Surface, its first "surface computer". In layman terms, the Surface is akin to a 30-inch touchscreen. But according to the official press release, its of course much more than that.

The Surface is sort of like a collaborative tool where multiple users can interact and work on the same platform. Imagine you and your team are trying to prepare a pitch for a multimillion dollar deal that's going to go down tomorrow. Instead of normally sitting in the conference room and jotting down notes on the white board or your notebook, you guys can sit around the Surface and simultaneously work on the presentation. 

The Surface accepts multiple inputs at once unlike conventional touchscreens. additionally, it even accepts inputs from objects where they can trigger a response like digital content transfer. The OS for the Surface is a customized version of Windows Vista and connectivity options include Ethernet, wireless 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth 2.0.

Full details here.

(Ignore the "new" word. These are not the new iMacs) 

Rumors are abound that Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) from 11th to 15th June will see the long awaited debut of the new iMacs. Some say that we'll see them fitted with the new Santa Rosa chipset and receive a brushed aluminum treatment (not unlike the G5s).

Some even say that they will sport a "new industrial design that will leave onlookers and competitors smitten." But on the other hand,  the same source is reporting that it could be just wishful thinking. They don't believe that Apple will introduce a new iMac during the WWDC. Instead, the event will focus more on the upcoming OS X Leopard and third party development on the iPhone.

Well, if the new iMac is a no show, at least you guys still have the new Santa Rosa MacBook Pro to cheer about. Coming with faster Core 2 Duos (2.2GHz - 15" 1440x900 LED, 2.4GHz - 15" 1440x900 LED and 2.4GHz 17" 1680x1050 LCD) and more RAM, they are the among the fastest Intel-based notebooks anyone can have (see here and here). By the way, the 15-inchers are using the new mercury-free and power-saving LED-backlit displays.  

There were no more disputes when the real speaker gods showed up at the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), thanks to urban artist Marka27. Made from vinyl, like all your other Micheal Lau toys, these 'toys' are from a limited edition run, and there are only 800 units available - at the SDCC only. While they look cute and all, they certainly are large, with each speaker standing at a full 16". Would we want a pair? You bet!!

In other news, a Russian ATM was caught with its pants down - it had an unactivated copy of embedded Windows. Anything can be done in Russia, really, but we wouldn't know if that ATM had the nessacary patches required to stop hackers from getting free money - and vodka.

More often than not, Taiwanese products are acknowledged as "affordable and bang-for-the-buck" alternatives in the world of IT, though sometimes their "design philosphopies" are rather questionable. Case in point, the Amigo R622AG Wi-Fi Router spotted at the recently concluded Computex Fair in Taipei, Taiwan. Looks familiar, doesn't it? 

Well, you don't get a prize if you guessed that it looked like Microsoft's Xbox 360 console. If Microsoft didn't come up with the Xbox 360 first, we'd say that this router looks dashing and rather sleek, although we're not so sure about the, uhm, large Xbox-ish size.

Like most Wi-Fi routers nowadays, the Amigo R622AG supports 802.11a/b/g and has four Ethernet ports for wired connections. It also has an additional two USB ports for connecting USB devices to the network. If you need to boost the range of the wireless connectivity, you can even stick a high-gain antennae on the back as well.

If you're interested in one, too bad. It's not on sale in Malaysia, yet. From the official website, www.amigo.com.tw, we think it's probably only available in Taiwan and the US for now.  

One question. If the thing breaks down, will it get the dreaded 3 Red Rings of Death just like the Xbox 360 too?

I shudder to think what the Computex 2007 mascots actually are, especially with the giant arrows pointing to their crotches. Click the jump for more pics.

Now is a good time to buy RAM (main system memory) for your desktop or notebook if you've been thinking about upgrading your sluggish computer.

Why? Because RAM makers increased their production to anticipate the wide adoption of Windows Vista with its RAM hunger (at least 1GB to install, 2GB to run nicely, 4GB or more for serious work or games).  Unfortunately, this expectation wasn't matched with reality.  Vista has been proven to be slowly adopted instead.

So much so some computer makers have begun to offer Windows XP instead of Vista, bowing to customer's demands. So what does this all mean?  There is a surplus of RAM from the expected demand that prices of RAM have been dropping!  You can now get 1GB of RAM for about RM150, when just a few months ago it was going for double the price!  So what are you waiting for? Go stuff your machine with more RAM and enjoy XP better, or give Vista the RAM it needs now!

Source : MarketWatch

Proton moving out of the car business and into displays instead? Nah. Just a HD  TVs manufacturing company sharing the same name...though the logo design looks suspiciously similar to the older Malaysian Proton logo. 

(And for anyone thinking that they're a new company ripping off Proton's name, they claim they were established in 1982)

Click the jump for more pics!

Pretec's novelty USB flash drives engineering samples look yummy enough to gobble up. More pictures of the 3rd and final day of our trip to Computex 2007 after the jump.