Items tagged with ECT
Internet addiction is a controversial topic, its very existence is debated, but that hasn't stopped China from classifying ten million teens (about 10 percent of all teenagers) as Internet addicts. Treatment camps for the affliction have sprung up in China, but the reported tactics and methods of the doctors are often questionable. Last Sunday, 16 year-old Deng Senshan was beaten to death by his three supervisors, allegedly for running too slowly. "My son was very healthy and was not a criminal," the boy's father, Deng Fei, told newspapers. "He just had an Internet addiction when I left him at the camp. We can't believe our only son was beaten to death."The words "only son" carry a great deal...
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Maingear Selects Asetek To Cool New, Powerful F131 Gaming PCsIntel Core i7-based Custom Gaming PCs Deliver Outstanding Thermal Performance at Extremely Low Noise LevelsSAN JOSE, Calf. November 20, 2008 – Asetek announced today that its popular LCLC liquid cooling solution has been chosen by MAINGEAR Computers for their latest generation of high performance, luxury custom computers. Based on Intel's powerful Core i7 and Core i7 Extreme processors, the newest F131 systems can handle the most extreme gaming and entertainment applications. "We're confident the Asetek liquid-cooling unit is the premium solution for our i7 based F131. It has proven to be both powerful and reliable with very low noise,...
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As we've mentioned previously, Marco has been working on a Storage Media Server build for a project showcase at Symantec's Security with Speed site. The purpose of the site is an effort by Symantec to create awareness that their new Norton Security 2009 product has been completely engineered from the ground up with speed and low system resource utilization in mind. As a side benefit to their campaign, the Security with Speed site is also a pretty good resource for multitude of PC tech info, including HotHardware's contribution to the Storage Media Server project that Marco has been working on. Today we offer you the next installation of BigWop's video journal on building...
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In the almost seventy years that the photojournalism magazine LIFE magazine was published, the publication amassed a huge collection of images. Some of the images in this collection even date back to eighteenth-century etchings and nineteenth-century photographic glass plates. The total collection of images in the LIFE archive numbers approximately 10 million--the vast majority of which have never been published before. With Google's help, that is all about to change. Google and LIFE have already digitized about 2 million of these images; starting today, Google is making all the images publicly available online. Google promises that it will be bringing the entire library of 10 million images...
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The Wii Fit is all the rage these days. Selling like hotcakes, it was only a matter of time before another company tried their hand at virtual fitness. The first up to the plate is video game giant Electronic Arts. EA has unveiled its take on fitness. Unlike the "eastern" oriented Wii Fit, which focuses on balance and stretching, this "western" styled fitness game takes a more cardiovascular approach to fitness. EA Sports President Peter Moore has geared the game towards women, especially mothers, and aims to give people a more strenuous workout by distracting them with the fun of video games, yet still get them to sweat. "It can't feel like a workout," he said, "the team has to figure...
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Our man Marco BigWop Chiappetta has been doing a little bit of moonlighting on us, at the Symantec Security with Speed site. One of his projects there has been to put together a Storage Media Server build as a showcase of sorts that takes a DYI approach. In one of his first episodes, Marco steps us through component selection and there are some pretty interesting choices here. Take a look... We'll keep you updated on the project in the weeks ahead but thought you might enjoy this little walk-through of the setup of his self-made storage server mayhem. ...
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Remember the CherryPal, cloud-based, thin client we reported about in July that was supposed to be available by the end of that month? The ship date obviously slipped a few months, but it looks like the CherryPal desktop is finally gearing up to make its real-world debut in only a few weeks from now. The CherryPal site announced that the CherryPal is finally ready to ship on Election Day: November 4. Credit: CherryPalWhen the CherryPal desktop ships it will look a little different than the glimpse we had of it in July. The case is a bit slimmer and with a more polished, glossier look. Also, instead of a 4GB SSD, it will ship with an 8GB SSD. Luckily these changes will not impact the...
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High-speed browsing on the go just got a little better with AT&T and Option’s launch of the new USBConnect Quicksilver. Sporting full High Speed Packet Access speeds (where available, of course), the USBConnect Quicksilver is the first USB mobile broadband device worldwide to use the Icera Livanto chipset. This new device weighs just 1.2 ounces, yet packs the ability to browse the Web at high speeds worldwide…AT&T has the nation's fastest 3G network, delivering LaptopConnect customers typical downlink 3G speeds between 700Kbps and 1.7Mbps and typical uplink 3G speeds between 500Kbps and 1.2Mbps.Featuring an award-winning design, the Quicksilver has a protective cap for the USB connector....
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The enterprising lads over at iFixit sure like to take stuff apart. Then again, that's at the heart of their bread-and-butter--they take the risks with potentially broken parts and lost screws so that they can assemble comprehensive DIY guides for instructing you how you can repair your own Apple products, such as MacBooks and iPods. If you don't know how to take it apart, how are you going to know to put it back together?Their latest disassembly was of the new "unibody" MacBook Pro that was unveiled only two days ago. Here are some highlight of what they discovered during their dissection: The removable battery Bottom plate removed The system board Dissected!(Credit:...
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We wrote earlier about HP's announcement about NVIDIA GPU failures in 38 of its slimline desktop PCs. While that's bad enough, The Inquirer says it has memos from allegedly from an internal knowledge base at Apple which states that all of NVIDIA's parts based on its G92 architecture sent to Apple have had to undergo the same change in bump material required to fix the issues in the heat-related failures we've been talking about since earlier this year.It should be noted that taking the source into account, a big fat "rumor," or perhaps "unsubstantiated" should be placed right here.However, they're not always off the mark. And, after all, if HP is seeing issues, why not another PC...
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It was just a matter of time, but the defective Nvidia mobile GPUs that keep coming to light in a growing number of laptops models have finally made the unfortunate leap to desktops. Hewlett-Packard (HP) is reporting that 38 different models in its Slimline Desktop PC line are potentially affected by possibly defective Nvidia-based GPUs. HP reports that the affected models "may not boot or may not display video," and has implemented a "Limited Warranty Service Enhancement" that "provides for a motherboard replacement at no charge for 12 months from the date your one-year Hardware Limited Warranty expires or until December 31, 2009, whichever is sooner." Owners who have already paid for repairs...
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The bruhaha over defective Nvidia mobile graphics chips keeps rolling along, even months after the initial headlines have faded. Despite Nvidia's promises to Apple that its Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT-based MacBook Pros had dodged the bullet and were immune from the defect, Apple now counters that it wasn't, in fact, so lucky: "In July 2008, NVIDIA publicly acknowledged a higher than normal failure rate for some of their graphics processors due to a packaging defect. At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M...
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One of the criticized "features" of the iPhone since day one has been the lack of a user-swappable battery. For any heavy user, the fact that you can no longer rely on being able to carry a spare battery for a long day of use, but rather, a charger, has been a sore point. Of course, with the device's amazing popularity, many have overlooked that flaw, or worked around it with external battery extenders. However, the EU will likely not be so kind. Current regulation, introduced with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) in July of 2006, primarily sought to prevent the unnecessary use of toxic metals in batteries as well as making it easier to recycle and dispose of used batteries....
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So we were kicking around the lab for the weekend with nothing much to do (ok, ok, we have plenty to do but we decided to goof off). And what do any self-respecting Tech Geeks do with a little time on their hands? We take stuff apart of course. This time our victim was the Dell Studio Hybrid. We'll be showcasing this machine next week in on our Video Spotlight channel but this sneak peek will actually give you a pretty solid understanding of what the Studio Hybrid is made of. Actually, you'll see exactly what she's made of here... The Dell Studio Hybrid, that we'll be looking at next week, is built upon an Intel 965 chipset with...
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You know our HH Forum regulars are definitely a lively, ambitious crew, always eager to lend a hand, some advice or an opinion, sometimes whether you ask for one or not. Many of the HotHardware Elite possess a wealth of knowledge such that, if you're in the dark on something, they'll be happy to oblige and shed some light, tips or tricks from their own personal tool bag; if you'll just simply take the time to register and then fire off a thread. In addition, many of our dedicated members are gifted with some pretty "mad skillz" when it comes to custom mods, systems builds and designs. Take Nelson's custom-cut, watercooled Monster Rig, for example. The man has been working...
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Do you remember that half a billion dollar Microsoft ad campaign we told you about a couple of months ago, architected to improve the image of Microsoft and Windows Vista? Well, the first two ads in the campaign have hit, and if nothing else, they've got people talking.The first ad featured Jerry Seinfeld stumbling upon Bill Gates shopping in a Shoe Circus store for discount shoes. There's some wacky banter between the two, a few funny moments, and an Easter egg or two (am I the only one that noticed Bill's mugshot on the platinum card?), but basically nothing Microsoft or technology related comes up, except for an off the wall question from Jerry at the very end.The brand new second ad...
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If you think the contents of your work computer are your business and only your business, then think again. Applying federal rulings from other jurisdictions to help guide its ruling, the New Jersey State Appeals Court ruled in a recent case that "an employee has no reasonable expectation of privacy in personal files stored on a company-owned computer." This is a significant finding as it sets a precedent for the state of New Jersey, and adds to other similar rulings from the 4th and 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (U.S. v. Angevine and U.S. v. Simons, respectively). In fact, not only did the court rule that a employee of a company has no expectation of privacy of the contents of his work...
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The best DirecTV DVR was the DirecTiVo, and that is no longer sold --- and we can likely thank Rupert Murdoch for some of that, as it was his desire after acquiring a controlling stake in DirecTV to move to in-house DVRs. Now he's gone, but we still have the DirecTV DVRs. But for DirecTiVo lovers there is light at the end of the tunnel! On Wednesday, DirecTV and TiVo announced they were making their on-again, off-again relationship on-again. Not that you couldn't still use an old DirecTiVo, but as we said, they weren't selling any new ones. In the press release announcing the new DVR, Tom Rogers, TiVo's CEO and president said: "We have had a very successful history with DIRECTV. Together we brought...
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A recent survey of IT professionals reveals that just under half of them (45 percent) were either "not confident or only slightly confident" that they were aware of all the endpoints connecting to their organizations' networks. Perhaps not surprisingly, half of the respondents were also concerned that a security breach on their organizations' networks could jeopardize their employment or that of some of their staff. The study was sponsored by Mirage Networks, a Network Access Control (NAC) provider, and included "194 respondents, representing a variety of IT functions and companies that ranged in size from small businesses with less than 100 endpoints to large enterprises with more than 10,000...
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You'll probably remember the portent of things to come: New York State's new sales tax on Internet retailers, which went into effect in June. Both Amazon.com and Overstock.com have sued over the tax, in fact, which was written so as to apply "physical presence" to retailers who had affiliates (generally, web sites advertising for the retailer) based in New York. Formerly, only retailers which an actual brick-and-mortar presence in a state were required to collect sales tax. New York legislators went so far as to nickname the new tax the "Amazon tax." The announcement was made to Newegg customers residing in New York in an email on Friday. The email said:Dear Valued Newegg Customer, As a result...
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Intel's Aaron Brezenski recently made an entry to the Intel Software Network Software Blogs entitled "Welcome to G45! Better (but still imperfect...)" in which he talks about the introduction of the new G45 chipset and the early issues facing the chipset. In the post, Aaron talks about some of the good, bad, and ugly issues Intel is dealing with in regard to the G45's IGP and its capabilities in a home theater setup. In the blog post, Aaron says, "The first couple weeks of motherboard availability on Intel's latest and greatest integrated graphics chipset have been tumultuous.First, our competition threw together a demo booth which stated baldly that HP laptops with G(M)45 did not accelerate...
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Ever had to take your laptop out of its bag and had it gone over with a fine-tooth comb at an airport? We have, and they turned it on, and ran over it with a swab to check for explosive residue. Yet another time-eating ritual. On Friday the TSA announced that Saturday, new laptop bag rules would go into effect, and laptops would be allowed to stay in some laptop bags deemed "checkpoint-friendly." The TSA asked asked laptop bag manufacturers to design bags that would not obstruct the image of a laptop when put through an X-ray machine, and chose the three styles above, butterfly, trifold, and sleeve, after submissions were made. In a press release, the TSA said (emphasis ours): If you intend to...
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