Archives for April 2006
An Emperor among laptops
Darius Chang | Apr 20, 2006
With a monster of an LCD, the Eurocom M590K Emperor is truly
royalty when it comes to displaying its performance. The first thing
you'll notice is the larger-than-life 19-inch widescreen, which dwarfs
almost every notebook there is except for the Dell
XPS Mobile Concept and Samsung
M70. However, it is what's under the hood which should arouse
the senses of gamers everywhere.
Following the idea
that if one is good and two is better, the M590K has dual top-of-the
line Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 GTX cards linked by SLI (Scalable Link
Interface). Combined with the speedy 2.21GHz AMD Turion 64 processor,
2GB RAM and 100GB SATA harddisk, this portable (and I am using this
term very loosely) breaks the speed limit for games. Initial tests show
a marked increase over its nearest competitor, the Dell XPS M1710, for Doom 3
and FEAR.
The SysMark 2004
performance results, however, are slightly below par for a high-end
system as the benchmark does not rely on the graphics processor. But as
a gaming machine, the Eurocom M590K Emperor is highly recommended not
only for its raw video-rendering power--but carrying it constantly may
even give gamers the physique to dispel their nerdy image. 
Click for larger image
Small in size, big on storage
Damian Koh | Apr 20, 2006
We’re not sure about you people, but this writer here has a bottomless pit with regard to portable storage devices. Good thing Maxtor has unveiled its first small offering in the OneTouch product family: The OneTouch III Mini Edition. No, it’s not the Mac Mini, nor is it the iPod mini. We’re referring instead to a storage device designed for mobile professionals.
As the latest member to the company’s OneTouch III family of hard drives, this pocket drive (honestly, it fits better in a bag or briefcase than a pocket) measures 133 x 90 x 20mm--which is about the size of an adult’s palm--weighs 205g and is available in two capacities: 60GB and 100GB. We won’t go into the math here, but you can store quite a fair bit of data, music, video and photos in this 2.5-inch drive.
The OneTouch III Mini Edition also comes with a bag full of features including a OneTouch button that makes backup copies of your files, two levels of security (Maxtor DriveLock and Encryption) to prevent unauthorized access, automatic synchronization of data between two or more computers, and a system rollback setting to restore your computer to a more stable and rosy past while keeping data current. We’re just wondering if the next edition will up the stakes with biometric scanning.
That said, this external drive requires only a single USB port to run (no FireWire capabilities, though). But according to Maxtor, the software is compatible only with PCs for now, with support for Macintosh platforms expected in the third quarter of this year.
The Maxtor OneTouch III Mini Edition is currently available in stores. The 60GB drive will cost S$219 (US$146.56), while the larger 100GB drive will set you back by another S$80 (US$53.54).
Square-eyes
Juniper Foo | Apr 20, 2006
The Brunel Design awards are here again with great invention ideas that push the envelope. So whatever happened to the class of 2005? At least one held great promise last year when British undergrad Gillian Swan presented a devious concept to combat growing obesity among kids. Called Square-eyes, it's a reward scheme where the more steps one takes, the more TV time one earns. The insoles are embedded with sensors and record the number of steps taken daily. These are then beamed back to a base station via radio signals, and the tally displayed on an LCD screen. Here's what's even more sneaky. Once tube time runs out, the TV automatically switches off until more steps are tallied up. It pays to be a gal here since Swan targeted 12,000 steps for girls and 15,000 for boys. For the record, every 100 steps recorded by the Square-eyes shoes equals precisely 1 minute of TV time.
See the insole upclose | base station
Price: N.A.
Availability: Prototype displayed at the Brunel Design
Device: Shoe insoles
Basic specs: N.A.
Data gets on its feet
Darius Chang | Apr 19, 2006
Editors' note  :Seagate has announced its first
desktop drives using PMR technology; the Cheetah 15K.5 3.5-inch
harddisk series. Available in 73GB, 147GB and 300GB capacities, the
storage manufacturer claims that the new lineup, with a transfer rate
of 73mbps to 125mbps, moves data 30 percent faster than its previous
series. |
Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks? Magnetic storage devices have been around longer than most computer users today and, with perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology, have no intentions of being made obsolete.
Conventional longitudinal recording technology lays data bits flat on the disc as opposed to PMR which makes bits stand on end. In the past, longitudinal recording technology was subject to a force called superparamagnetic effect that might result in bits flipping and corrupting data. This is not an issue with PMR devices. Moreover, by standing the bits, more data units can be fitted on a disc, giving up to 10 times more storage capacity as longitudinal recording devices. This is similar to cramming more people on a train by removing the seats and providing standing space only.
Toshiba has already begun shipping 1.8-inch PMR
disks that pack 40GB onto a single platter. Seagate and Hitachi are
producing 2.5-inch notebook harddisks, with the former announcing its
first 160GB 2.5-inch disk, the Momentus 5400.3, this month. Considering
the advantages of PMR, we expect this technology to be the new standard
in the near future. 
Click here for larger image
LED iKuffs
Juniper Foo | Apr 19, 2006
Even cufflinks have gone high-tech. With iKuffs, you get some bling bling with blink! Illuminated cufflinks that light up, thanks to built-in LEDs. If you're planning to up your geek factor, cruise for hot chicks at Zouk, or simply trying to impress your date, these disco-tech cufflinks should certainly put you right in the spotlight. Comes in a range of six neon colors, though hot pink interestingly appears to be missing from the palette.
Check out the box set
Price: US$149.99 a pair
Availability: ikuffs
Device: Cuff links
Basic specs: Comes in stainless steel, brushed or polished finish, choice of Fusion Red, Sunset Orange, Electric Yellow, Money Green, KuL Blue, Winter White, 2 backup batteries, chrome box
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