The Zone

Operating using the Sterling Engine theory, whereby the ebb and flow of heat waves are able to push a balanced piston which in turn, rotates the fan to cool your northbridge, the fan on the MSI ECOlution motherboard is simply a sight to behold. Check out a video on a 3D diagram, but we do have questions - will it generate at least 5cfm? Will it work vertically (as hot air rises and the piston will only be just another wall)? Since the mechanism is in fine balance, will the ubitiquous dust bunny ruin operation?

All this and more when the motherboard is realsed...soon!

Oh no! Pioneer has decided to cease production of their excellent plasma display panels (not to be confused with the final PDP TVs), meaning that the already rare Kuro has to be recategorized as 'endangered'. Reuters also reported that their new glass might be coming from Matsushita. So, would you fancy a Kuro-Viera?

Extreme Tech recently did a shootout on Terabyte hard drives that are available on the market, and surprise, surprise! Most of the very latest models are superbly up to spec on what consumers want, whether be it high MBTF values, silent operation, data transfer speed and price/performance ratios. Check out the shootout here, and see which drive is perfect for you! Last thing we heard, you can get both Seagate and WD winners for below RM1.2k in Plaza Low Yat.

By golly! The latest iPhone firmware has been jailbroken hacked, thanks to the iPhone dev team, and now, you can use your beloved brick anywhere in the world with ANY application! No limitations involved, although apparently you lose the Spotlight feature. Among the additional extras are:

• Appstore
• Parental Controls
• SDK Support
• Calculator is more advanced
• CISCO VPN support
• Mail mass deletion

You even get Microsoft Exchange Server support for push email, and the fact that the phone can use any service provider makes this a major victory for the team!

[Giz] 

Kingston, the world's most recognisable memory dealer has launched a contest that will definitely bring the creative side out of you! Dubbed the HyperX Girl Design Contest, it is up to you to create the perfect spokesperson for the HyperX line of performance memory. How to join? Go to www.hyperxgirl.com!

usb.brando.com.hk, the best site for all your USB-induced fetishes has released the mother of all USB hubs -

Yes! Insert your SATA hard drives in the same NES ROM fashion, and it accepts both 2.5" and 3.5" sizes with ease, and supplies enough power for an additional four USB ports over a single USB connection. This means that your hard drives will be exposed on your desktop, what better time to break out that Raptor X that you've been hiding in your closet system! Check out this link to buy it for a mere 82 bucks! In other news, Top Gear's Stig has been caught testing a NASA space truck=

Our graphic designer is one lucky gal. Her 5 year-old G5 recently had a hard drive crash and is now in posession of the world's fastest drive - in her G5. Somewhere out there, some kitties has just passed on.

In the chilly town of Uitikon in Switzerland, an IBM datacenter owned by GIB-Services AG is putting its waste heat to good use - by warming the town's hot pool which incidentally sits next door. Although the town had to pay to hook the thermal transfer mechanisms up, they get to enjoy piping hot water in their pool for the rest of the millenia for free, given the hospitality of the Swiss. Of course, the image above does not represent the actual pool.

More info here

Fake Steve Jobs, whom we admire for his down-to-earth rants, has posted up a video review of the iPhone from XiaXue, that 'celebrity' blogger from Singapore. What's interesting is that she actually prefers a chinese knockoff of the Foxconn-made device rather than the real deal, which by the way is going for RM1800 now, jailbroken with 1.1.4. Her video also shows why reviews are best left to reviewers, and why touch-capacitive devices are best left to people with well-manicured fingers instead of the blinged-out atrocities they are. Steve, we feel for ya!

Fake Steve Jobs

The PC Fair official launch included a real cannon full of confetti! 

It was a tiring weekend but it was totally worth it with the response that HWM and GameAxis recieved from the crowd at PC Fari (I) 2008. Although there were several issues regarding the unfair abuse of PIKOM tag-holders such as exhibitors and visitors who sneaked in, we will implement a system that is fair and just to both our readers who deserve that all-important free gift and to exhibitors who love the mags. Here are some shots that were taken during the fair by both FatCatLim and myself, enjoy and we welcome any feedback from you guys! More pics after the jump!

Coming to a carrier or a mobile store near you, HTC's latest Diamond, a Windows Mobile-powered stunner carries with it a prism-like design, a large 2.8" VGA display and 4GB of memory in a form-factor that will also, supposedly pack a QWERTY keyboard. While all is quiet on the local front, expect more announcments to arrive after HTC's big launch in London tomorrow afternoon.

check out more specs here (translated)

nd because of this; I lost the match 2-1, thanks to my useless goalie. Although its just a video, the game has this added level of realism whereby players from the opposing team actually actively hunts for the ball, even when you're in possession and standing still; it happened in a match where I was preoccupied and the AI simply took over the game, making a mockery of my own footie skills. Anyways, watch out for the review in next month's GameAxis!

You have to salute these guys for cosplaying, not only because they've got the radiation sickness in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (hate to type the title, love the game in all its buggy glory) down pat, they actually conducted a mock warfare against factions in the real Zone! Complete with APC! Complete with real radiation! It shows how games based on real life can produce excellent cosplaying opportunities. More pics and link after the jump. Guess who's Strelok?