Looking to personalise your iPod? You can do so at the Apple Online Store.
Apple, the maker of Mac computers, iPhone and iPod digital audio player, has opened its online store here.
The Malaysian Apple Online Store went live this morning at 8am, according to a statement from Apple, and is accessible at store.apple.com/my.
Just like at conventional retail stores, customers visiting the online store can now purchase Apple’s complete line of Mac desktop and notebook computers, iPods, software, cases and accessories for iPod, iPhone and Mac, gift vouchers and refurbished Macs and iPods, among other items.
But unlike its retail counterparts, Apple Online Store offers unprecedented options for customising Macs and iPods. Customers can, for example, select components and software to go with their Macs as well as order personalised engraving on their iPods, which is complimentary with every iPod purchase.
Also available only through the online store is (Product) Red Special Edition iPod, a range of products where proceeds from every sale go directly to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa.
A gift wrapping service is available for selected Apple products, and shipping is free for orders above RM250. Customers are required to open an account with the store before they can make purchases.
A call centre to provide assistance in both English and Bahasa Malaysia will be available for the Malaysian Apple Online Store at 1800-80-6419.
Apple Online Store Apple will be offering a limited edition Apple t-shirt to commemorate its opening here, according to the company.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Logitech announces Logitech Z-500 wireless notebook speaker
Free your audio from your computer with the new Logitech Z-500 Wireless Notebook Speaker. The perfect complement to your notebook computer, Logitech's newest speaker uses high-performance wireless technology allowing you to place the speaker virtually anywhere in your room without adding the clutter of cords.
For PC and Mac computers, the Z-500 speaker delivers balanced audio from its premium acoustic drivers. To start enjoying music right away, simply connect the Z-500 speakers to your computer using the included wireless USB dongle – it's that easy. Plus, the rechargeable battery provides 12 hours of play-time on a single charge.
The Logitech Z-500 Wireless Notebook Speaker is expected to be available in South Africa beginning in February 2009 for a suggested retail price of R2 199 including VAT.
For PC and Mac computers, the Z-500 speaker delivers balanced audio from its premium acoustic drivers. To start enjoying music right away, simply connect the Z-500 speakers to your computer using the included wireless USB dongle – it's that easy. Plus, the rechargeable battery provides 12 hours of play-time on a single charge.
The Logitech Z-500 Wireless Notebook Speaker is expected to be available in South Africa beginning in February 2009 for a suggested retail price of R2 199 including VAT.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
AnalogicTech's High Voltage Step-down Controller Maximizes 12V Adapter Design Flexibility Use of External MOSFETs Supports Both Synchronous and Non-Sy
Continued...
Price and Availability
Qualified across the -40 degrees C to +85 degrees C temperature range, the AAT1185 is available in a low cost, Pb-free, 14-pin TSOPJW package. The IC sells for $0.79. in 1K quantities.
About AnalogicTech
Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc. (AnalogicTech) is a supplier of Total Power Management(TM) semiconductor solutions for mobile consumer electronic devices, such as wireless handsets, notebook and tablet computers, smartphones, digital cameras, wireless LAN, and personal media players. The company focuses its design and marketing efforts on the application-specific power management needs of consumer, communications, and computing applications in these rapidly evolving devices. AnalogicTech also develops and licenses device, process, package, and application-related technology. AnalogicTech is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and Macau, S.A.R., with offices in China (Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen), Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, France and United Kingdom, as well as a worldwide network of sales representatives and distributors. The company is listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol AATI. For more information, please visit the AnalogicTech website: http://www.analogictech.com. (AnalogicTech - G)
AnalogicTech and the AnalogicTech logo are trademarks of Advanced Analogic Technologies Incorporated. All other brand and product names appearing in this document are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. End.
Source
Price and Availability
Qualified across the -40 degrees C to +85 degrees C temperature range, the AAT1185 is available in a low cost, Pb-free, 14-pin TSOPJW package. The IC sells for $0.79. in 1K quantities.
About AnalogicTech
Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc. (AnalogicTech) is a supplier of Total Power Management(TM) semiconductor solutions for mobile consumer electronic devices, such as wireless handsets, notebook and tablet computers, smartphones, digital cameras, wireless LAN, and personal media players. The company focuses its design and marketing efforts on the application-specific power management needs of consumer, communications, and computing applications in these rapidly evolving devices. AnalogicTech also develops and licenses device, process, package, and application-related technology. AnalogicTech is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and Macau, S.A.R., with offices in China (Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen), Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, France and United Kingdom, as well as a worldwide network of sales representatives and distributors. The company is listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol AATI. For more information, please visit the AnalogicTech website: http://www.analogictech.com. (AnalogicTech - G)
AnalogicTech and the AnalogicTech logo are trademarks of Advanced Analogic Technologies Incorporated. All other brand and product names appearing in this document are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. End.
Source
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
AnalogicTech's High Voltage Step-down Controller Maximizes 12V Adapter Design Flexibility Use of External MOSFETs Supports Both Synchronous and Non-Sy
Continued...
Up to 10A Output
Up to 10A Output
The AAT1185 single output step-down controller supports a wide 6V to 24V input range. Output voltage is adjustable from 0.8 to 5.5V. Output current ranges from < 1A up to 10A. The controller provides high and low-side pins to drive external N-Channel power MOSFETs. Both drive pins are compatible with a wide range of external MOSFETs allowing designers to use the AAT1185 to develop control solutions for both low power and high power configurations.
The AAT1185's constant frequency voltage mode control allows designers to optimize performance across the entire output voltage and load range. A high 490 kHz switching frequency helps designers keep external component size small and efficiency high by supporting the use of a wide range of L/C filtering components. External compensation allows the designer to optimize transient response. Shutdown current is < style="font-style: italic;">Continued...
Monday, November 24, 2008
AnalogicTech's High Voltage Step-down Controller Maximizes 12V Adapter Design Flexibility Use of External MOSFETs Supports Both Synchronous and Non-Sy
Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc. (AnalogicTech(TM)) (AATI 2.77, -0.14, -4.8%) , a developer of power management integrated circuits, announced today the AAT1185, a single output, step-down controller capable of providing high efficiency power conversion for lower cost 12V adapters. Fabricated in AnalogicTech's innovative Modular BCD process, the new controller maximizes design versatility by offering both high and low-side pins to drive a wide variety of external N-Channel MOSFETs. Moreover, by supporting both fully synchronous and non-synchronous operation, the new device allows designers to develop solutions for such disparate applications as wireless LANs, DSL and cable modems, notebook computers and set-top boxes with a broad range of performance and power efficiency levels.
"Given the diversity of 12V adapter applications today, designers need a high degree of flexibility to optimize the solution for their particular system," says CJ Zhang, product line vice president at AnalogicTech. "By providing low and high side pins to drive external MOSFETs instead of embedding the MOSFETs directly into the IC, the AAT1185 controller gives designers the option of building lower-cost, non-synchronous solutions using a Schottky diode on the load side switch or building high efficiency synchronous solutions using any of a wide array of power MOSFETs."Continued...
"Given the diversity of 12V adapter applications today, designers need a high degree of flexibility to optimize the solution for their particular system," says CJ Zhang, product line vice president at AnalogicTech. "By providing low and high side pins to drive external MOSFETs instead of embedding the MOSFETs directly into the IC, the AAT1185 controller gives designers the option of building lower-cost, non-synchronous solutions using a Schottky diode on the load side switch or building high efficiency synchronous solutions using any of a wide array of power MOSFETs."Continued...
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Raja Petra trial: Prosecution wants to re-analyse PC
Continued...
“ASP Wa’ie however has testified to have spotted several folders on both computers but he did not open and read those as he wanted to follow the investigating officer’s order,” argued DPP Ishak on the seventh day of the sedition trial.
He asked the court to allow ASP Wa’ie to re-analyse both computers and extract several folders found in them.
“The folders are important for the court to reach a just decision. It could give evidence for the prosecution or defence,” he said.
In stressing his points, DPP Ishak said he depended on a case law where a trial judge of a drugs case had allowed the drugs to be sent for re-examination for justice.
DPP Roslan Mat Nor argued that it was important for the court to evaluate the overall evidence in the trial.
In asking the court to dismiss the application, lead counsel J.Chandra said Secton 425 is not applicable as the seventh witness was still in the midst of giving his evidence.
“We have a report (on the examination on both computers) and the witness who prepared it is also here, in the witness box. It is also (a question of) justice for the accused,” he said.
Chandra argued that ASP Wa’ie had not been authorised to look into folders as his terms of reference were very specific on the request for his analysis.
“Besides, there is no evidence that these folders are relevant to the subject matter of the charge,” he said.
Chandra said the findings over the computers by ASP Wa’ie were very clear in the report.
Judge Rozina Ayob set Wednesday to deliver her decision on whether to allow the prosecution to re-analyse the computer and CPU.End.
“ASP Wa’ie however has testified to have spotted several folders on both computers but he did not open and read those as he wanted to follow the investigating officer’s order,” argued DPP Ishak on the seventh day of the sedition trial.
He asked the court to allow ASP Wa’ie to re-analyse both computers and extract several folders found in them.
“The folders are important for the court to reach a just decision. It could give evidence for the prosecution or defence,” he said.
In stressing his points, DPP Ishak said he depended on a case law where a trial judge of a drugs case had allowed the drugs to be sent for re-examination for justice.
DPP Roslan Mat Nor argued that it was important for the court to evaluate the overall evidence in the trial.
In asking the court to dismiss the application, lead counsel J.Chandra said Secton 425 is not applicable as the seventh witness was still in the midst of giving his evidence.
“We have a report (on the examination on both computers) and the witness who prepared it is also here, in the witness box. It is also (a question of) justice for the accused,” he said.
Chandra argued that ASP Wa’ie had not been authorised to look into folders as his terms of reference were very specific on the request for his analysis.
“Besides, there is no evidence that these folders are relevant to the subject matter of the charge,” he said.
Chandra said the findings over the computers by ASP Wa’ie were very clear in the report.
Judge Rozina Ayob set Wednesday to deliver her decision on whether to allow the prosecution to re-analyse the computer and CPU.End.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Raja Petra trial: Prosecution wants to re-analyse PC
By M. MAGESWARI
A computer forensics investigator told the Sessions Court here that data on a notebook computer seized from Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin had been deleted.
ASP Wa’ie Isqal Kria Abdullah, 38, said this was why there were no records of the computer accessing the Malaysia Today website between April 11 and April 26 this year.
Questioned by DPP Farhan Read on Tuesday, the seventh witness said he was of the opinion that the computer user had used the CleanIt programme to delete all temporary files.
“I found that the www.malaysia-today.net (Malaysia Today) website was accessed several times for the year of 2008 and it was done by the administrator user,” testified the officer who is attached to the Computer Forensics Investigation division.
Asked regarding the meaning of “administrator user”, he said the user has “full access to edit, delete and add”.
He said he had stated in his report that the user name of Raja Petra belonged to the administrator user.
The blogger had on May 6 claimed trial to publishing a seditious article on the Malaysia Today website on April 25.
In the afternoon proceedings, in an unexpected move, the prosecution applied to the court to allow ASP Wa’ie to re-analyse a CPU and the notebook seized from the blogger.
Lead prosecutor DPP Ishak Mohd Yusof said he was applying under Section 425 of the Criminal Procedure Code which stated that the court has the power to summon and examine any person at any stage of the trial if his evidence appears to it essential to the just decision of the case.
He said ASP Wa’ie had testified to have analysed both computers based on an application by investigating officer DSP Mahfuz Abdul Majid.
“The investigating officer just ordered him to find out about a seditious article entitled “Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell” and accessibility to the Malaysia Today website. Continued...
A computer forensics investigator told the Sessions Court here that data on a notebook computer seized from Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin had been deleted.
ASP Wa’ie Isqal Kria Abdullah, 38, said this was why there were no records of the computer accessing the Malaysia Today website between April 11 and April 26 this year.
Questioned by DPP Farhan Read on Tuesday, the seventh witness said he was of the opinion that the computer user had used the CleanIt programme to delete all temporary files.
“I found that the www.malaysia-today.net (Malaysia Today) website was accessed several times for the year of 2008 and it was done by the administrator user,” testified the officer who is attached to the Computer Forensics Investigation division.
Asked regarding the meaning of “administrator user”, he said the user has “full access to edit, delete and add”.
He said he had stated in his report that the user name of Raja Petra belonged to the administrator user.
The blogger had on May 6 claimed trial to publishing a seditious article on the Malaysia Today website on April 25.
In the afternoon proceedings, in an unexpected move, the prosecution applied to the court to allow ASP Wa’ie to re-analyse a CPU and the notebook seized from the blogger.
Lead prosecutor DPP Ishak Mohd Yusof said he was applying under Section 425 of the Criminal Procedure Code which stated that the court has the power to summon and examine any person at any stage of the trial if his evidence appears to it essential to the just decision of the case.
He said ASP Wa’ie had testified to have analysed both computers based on an application by investigating officer DSP Mahfuz Abdul Majid.
“The investigating officer just ordered him to find out about a seditious article entitled “Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell” and accessibility to the Malaysia Today website. Continued...
Friday, November 21, 2008
LAUSD Uses Secret Weapon in Laptop Theft Recovery
Continued...
The Absolute approach isn't failsafe. "In some cases we've been very successful and been able to get all of [the computers]," said LAUSD's Oliver. "In some cases we haven't been able to."
But he has noticed a pattern. "It's kind of like stroke victims. The quicker they get to the hospital, the better the chances of their survival." Thus, he advised, "In terms of being to recover computers, the shorter the period between the police being able to get the report and the system being activated, the better."End.
The Absolute approach isn't failsafe. "In some cases we've been very successful and been able to get all of [the computers]," said LAUSD's Oliver. "In some cases we haven't been able to."
But he has noticed a pattern. "It's kind of like stroke victims. The quicker they get to the hospital, the better the chances of their survival." Thus, he advised, "In terms of being to recover computers, the shorter the period between the police being able to get the report and the system being activated, the better."End.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
LAUSD Uses Secret Weapon in Laptop Theft Recovery
Continued...
In the case of the October theft at LAUSD, the investigation led to the residence of a woman who was found in possession of one of the stolen computers. She confessed to police that her boyfriend had given it to her. That resulted in a sting operation, in which the Los Angeles Police Department recovered an additional 12 laptops. Upon making bail, the boyfriend led police to an additional 11 computers, as well as a school projector, microscope, and entomology kit. Three suspects were arrested, and the investigation continues.
When a computer theft is solved, frequently, so are other cases. As Hawks pointed out, "Usually, the bad guy is doing a lot of other crimes besides just stealing a laptop."
By virtue of the technology being embedded in the BIOS of the computer, local persistence remains, explained Hawks. A thief can "reimage the machine; they can rip out the hard drive. But the agent can heal itself on any hard drive that's put in there." If the hard drive from the stolen computer is placed into a different notebook, "then we have two computers calling into the center," he said.
Eventually, Hawks predicted, computers will include some form of GPS technology that will aide in equipment recovery. Absolute's software already encompasses the capability of working with computers that provide GPS capabilities, such as those that include the Qualcomm Gobi chipset. "With these 3G chips being embedded on the motherboard, it allows us to wake up the PC and track that machine using GPS triangulation," he said. But first, he added, "It has to become pervasive, like WiFi is now."
Embedded into the BIOS, Embedded into the Deal
LAUSD has been using Computrace since 2002. Just a year earlier the district had received a sizable federal grant to put laptops into a large number of classrooms. "At that point we were dealing with 88 classrooms, 20 laptops per classroom, about 1,600 to 1,700 laptops," said Oliver. "We knew that laptops were--for better or worse--going to be targeted by a number of people who didn't necessarily have the best of intentions. We also knew there were a few pieces of technology that would help us to track and make better use of our technology dollars in getting some type of asset tracking."
The district wrote the use of tracking technology into the request for proposal that vendors had to include as part of their package to win the bid. The Absolute solution was suggested by the vendors. "There was nothing tricky about deploying [Computrace]," said Oliver. "The laptops arrived with the software embedded."
Now, he said, when a school or other entity purchases a computer, it comes with the software loaded.
The same agent can be used not only for theft recovery, but also for asset tracking and remote deletion. Absolute's Hawks said that some districts have misplaced computers and used the technology to track them down. If a computer can't be recovered quickly, the remote deletion function allows for all selected data on the machine to be deleted the next time contact is made with the data center. IT administrators can access those profiles from a browser to view assets and generate reports. Continued...
In the case of the October theft at LAUSD, the investigation led to the residence of a woman who was found in possession of one of the stolen computers. She confessed to police that her boyfriend had given it to her. That resulted in a sting operation, in which the Los Angeles Police Department recovered an additional 12 laptops. Upon making bail, the boyfriend led police to an additional 11 computers, as well as a school projector, microscope, and entomology kit. Three suspects were arrested, and the investigation continues.
When a computer theft is solved, frequently, so are other cases. As Hawks pointed out, "Usually, the bad guy is doing a lot of other crimes besides just stealing a laptop."
By virtue of the technology being embedded in the BIOS of the computer, local persistence remains, explained Hawks. A thief can "reimage the machine; they can rip out the hard drive. But the agent can heal itself on any hard drive that's put in there." If the hard drive from the stolen computer is placed into a different notebook, "then we have two computers calling into the center," he said.
Eventually, Hawks predicted, computers will include some form of GPS technology that will aide in equipment recovery. Absolute's software already encompasses the capability of working with computers that provide GPS capabilities, such as those that include the Qualcomm Gobi chipset. "With these 3G chips being embedded on the motherboard, it allows us to wake up the PC and track that machine using GPS triangulation," he said. But first, he added, "It has to become pervasive, like WiFi is now."
Embedded into the BIOS, Embedded into the Deal
LAUSD has been using Computrace since 2002. Just a year earlier the district had received a sizable federal grant to put laptops into a large number of classrooms. "At that point we were dealing with 88 classrooms, 20 laptops per classroom, about 1,600 to 1,700 laptops," said Oliver. "We knew that laptops were--for better or worse--going to be targeted by a number of people who didn't necessarily have the best of intentions. We also knew there were a few pieces of technology that would help us to track and make better use of our technology dollars in getting some type of asset tracking."
The district wrote the use of tracking technology into the request for proposal that vendors had to include as part of their package to win the bid. The Absolute solution was suggested by the vendors. "There was nothing tricky about deploying [Computrace]," said Oliver. "The laptops arrived with the software embedded."
Now, he said, when a school or other entity purchases a computer, it comes with the software loaded.
The same agent can be used not only for theft recovery, but also for asset tracking and remote deletion. Absolute's Hawks said that some districts have misplaced computers and used the technology to track them down. If a computer can't be recovered quickly, the remote deletion function allows for all selected data on the machine to be deleted the next time contact is made with the data center. IT administrators can access those profiles from a browser to view assets and generate reports. Continued...
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
LAUSD Uses Secret Weapon in Laptop Theft Recovery
by Dian Schaffhauser
Laptop theft in schools is rampant. The Racine Unified School District in Wisconsin reported dozens of computers stolen from its schools this fall. In Northern California, three custodians were arrested in connection with a series of thefts at the Oakland Unified School District, involving computers and other electronics. A library aid for the Del Olmo Elementary School in Los Angeles was arrested in September for the theft of five computers at her school.
So when staff at a middle school in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) discovered the disappearance of 32 notebook computers in early October, it didn't generate much attention. That wasn't because the school doesn't care about the loss. It was simply because the district has an efficient process in place to follow for reporting the missing equipment, including the use of a secret weapon to help in its recovery.
A Secret Weapon in Laptop Recovery
According to Joe Oliver, director of instructional technology for LAUSD, when a computer is stolen in the district, the school files a report with instructional support services, as well as with the district's own police department. That department acts as a liaison with the city police department to file a report; plus, it puts into action its secret weapon: Absolute Software's Computrace.
When a school or district purchases a license for Computrace, it actives a hibernating agent already embedded into the computer's BIOS. According to David Hawks, business development manager for the education industry division of Absolute, about 70 million notebook computers have the agent in the BIOS, including laptops from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Toshiba, and several other manufacturers.
The agent contacts the Absolute data center to say it's activated, and it creates a small application on the machine's hard drive, explained Hawks. From that point forward, every 24.5 hours, the application sends a small update to the data center, to maintain a current profile of hardware, software, and licensing for the computer, including the IP address that's being used to send the update from. When a theft of a particular computer is reported, he said, a flag goes up in the system that the computer has been stolen. The next time contact is made with the data center through the Internet, the computer is told, "instead of every 24.5 hours, we want you to report back every 15 minutes."
The data center uses a set of forensic tools to begin recording historical data, including IP address information and keystroke logging. Unless the user is sophisticated enough to use an IP address anonymizer, that IP address can be used to track the computer to a specific Internet service provider. Absolute's recovery services team, made up of retired and former police officers, works with local law enforcement agents to accumulate the facts necessary to obtain a subpoena. That, in turn, can be used to find out from an ISP what customer is using a particular IP address and where that Internet access is originating from.Continued...
Laptop theft in schools is rampant. The Racine Unified School District in Wisconsin reported dozens of computers stolen from its schools this fall. In Northern California, three custodians were arrested in connection with a series of thefts at the Oakland Unified School District, involving computers and other electronics. A library aid for the Del Olmo Elementary School in Los Angeles was arrested in September for the theft of five computers at her school.
So when staff at a middle school in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) discovered the disappearance of 32 notebook computers in early October, it didn't generate much attention. That wasn't because the school doesn't care about the loss. It was simply because the district has an efficient process in place to follow for reporting the missing equipment, including the use of a secret weapon to help in its recovery.
A Secret Weapon in Laptop Recovery
According to Joe Oliver, director of instructional technology for LAUSD, when a computer is stolen in the district, the school files a report with instructional support services, as well as with the district's own police department. That department acts as a liaison with the city police department to file a report; plus, it puts into action its secret weapon: Absolute Software's Computrace.
When a school or district purchases a license for Computrace, it actives a hibernating agent already embedded into the computer's BIOS. According to David Hawks, business development manager for the education industry division of Absolute, about 70 million notebook computers have the agent in the BIOS, including laptops from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Toshiba, and several other manufacturers.
The agent contacts the Absolute data center to say it's activated, and it creates a small application on the machine's hard drive, explained Hawks. From that point forward, every 24.5 hours, the application sends a small update to the data center, to maintain a current profile of hardware, software, and licensing for the computer, including the IP address that's being used to send the update from. When a theft of a particular computer is reported, he said, a flag goes up in the system that the computer has been stolen. The next time contact is made with the data center through the Internet, the computer is told, "instead of every 24.5 hours, we want you to report back every 15 minutes."
The data center uses a set of forensic tools to begin recording historical data, including IP address information and keystroke logging. Unless the user is sophisticated enough to use an IP address anonymizer, that IP address can be used to track the computer to a specific Internet service provider. Absolute's recovery services team, made up of retired and former police officers, works with local law enforcement agents to accumulate the facts necessary to obtain a subpoena. That, in turn, can be used to find out from an ISP what customer is using a particular IP address and where that Internet access is originating from.Continued...
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Apple trimming notebook orders; plans fixes for new models
Continued...
Software patch coming for display issues
Meanwhile, Apple is working on another software update for its unibody MacBooks to address external video glitches, according to one customer who spoke to the company's support teams.
Specifically, the customer was experiencing issues with his new MacBook Pro connected to an external display, where the display would sporadically lose signal for a second and flick back on.
"After not finding anything the technician put me on hold to talk to the engineers and then updated me that it is now a known issue that will be addressed in a software patch sometime in the future," he told AppleInsider.
The issue is said to be similar, but not identical to those experienced by other users attempting to use their new MacBooks with external displays. There's a thread on Apple's support forum from users who say their external video feed cuts in and out when attempting to playback QuickTime support media, and another where users say iTunes movies fail to display on external displays connected to the new notebooks over a Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter.
The new MacBook Pro's sleep functionality is also being cited as the source of two more widely reported issues. In one thread, users explain that their external displays connected via a DVI adapter routinely fail to come back on after a period of sleep unless they're physically unplugged from the notebooks and then reconnected.
Another thread is full of complaints from users who say sleep mode is malfunctioning, leaving users to find their notebook batteries drained and the systems running unusually hot when they should have been idle.End.
Software patch coming for display issues
Meanwhile, Apple is working on another software update for its unibody MacBooks to address external video glitches, according to one customer who spoke to the company's support teams.
Specifically, the customer was experiencing issues with his new MacBook Pro connected to an external display, where the display would sporadically lose signal for a second and flick back on.
"After not finding anything the technician put me on hold to talk to the engineers and then updated me that it is now a known issue that will be addressed in a software patch sometime in the future," he told AppleInsider.
The issue is said to be similar, but not identical to those experienced by other users attempting to use their new MacBooks with external displays. There's a thread on Apple's support forum from users who say their external video feed cuts in and out when attempting to playback QuickTime support media, and another where users say iTunes movies fail to display on external displays connected to the new notebooks over a Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter.
The new MacBook Pro's sleep functionality is also being cited as the source of two more widely reported issues. In one thread, users explain that their external displays connected via a DVI adapter routinely fail to come back on after a period of sleep unless they're physically unplugged from the notebooks and then reconnected.
Another thread is full of complaints from users who say sleep mode is malfunctioning, leaving users to find their notebook batteries drained and the systems running unusually hot when they should have been idle.End.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Apple trimming notebook orders; plans fixes for new models
By Sam Oliver
Apple has decided to cut back on its notebook production for the current holiday quarter, according to one report. Meanwhile, the company is said to be working on a software fix for at least one issue surrounding its latest offerings.
MacBook production cut
The Chinese-language Commercial Times said Monday that both Apple and Asustek have recently reduced orders for notebooks that will be manufactured this quarter by 20 to 30 percent.
Quanta, which shares MacBook assembly duties with Foxconn, will absorb the impact of the cuts, according to the paper, which did not provide figures on how many units the company had initially ordered.
Also unclear is whether Apple is seeing reduced demand across the board, or if the cuts pertain to a specific model. It was reported last month that Quanta and Foxconn were splitting orders for some 300,000-400,000 previous-genration white 13-inch MacBooks, which the Mac maker now sells for $999.
It's possible Apple may be seeing lower than expected demand for those older systems as users gravitate towards the more premium offerings of the new unibody models, which fetch $300 more.
The Cupertino-based company admitted to seeing a drop-off in notebook demand in the weeks leading up to last month's introductions but said sales took off once the new MacBook lines were introduced.
"As you know, there were rampant rumors and lots of press reports about a potential portable transition and we saw some slowing toward particularly the final weeks of September and the initial weeks of October," chief operating office Tim Cook said during a conference call. "However, once announcing last week, we saw a considerable rebound in sales and we’re very, very optimistic about those results." Continued...
Apple has decided to cut back on its notebook production for the current holiday quarter, according to one report. Meanwhile, the company is said to be working on a software fix for at least one issue surrounding its latest offerings.
MacBook production cut
The Chinese-language Commercial Times said Monday that both Apple and Asustek have recently reduced orders for notebooks that will be manufactured this quarter by 20 to 30 percent.
Quanta, which shares MacBook assembly duties with Foxconn, will absorb the impact of the cuts, according to the paper, which did not provide figures on how many units the company had initially ordered.
Also unclear is whether Apple is seeing reduced demand across the board, or if the cuts pertain to a specific model. It was reported last month that Quanta and Foxconn were splitting orders for some 300,000-400,000 previous-genration white 13-inch MacBooks, which the Mac maker now sells for $999.
It's possible Apple may be seeing lower than expected demand for those older systems as users gravitate towards the more premium offerings of the new unibody models, which fetch $300 more.
The Cupertino-based company admitted to seeing a drop-off in notebook demand in the weeks leading up to last month's introductions but said sales took off once the new MacBook lines were introduced.
"As you know, there were rampant rumors and lots of press reports about a potential portable transition and we saw some slowing toward particularly the final weeks of September and the initial weeks of October," chief operating office Tim Cook said during a conference call. "However, once announcing last week, we saw a considerable rebound in sales and we’re very, very optimistic about those results." Continued...
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Intel estimates trimmed on weakening PC demand
Continued...
Analyst Krishna Shankar of JMP Securities also cut his revenue growth estimate for Intel from flat to down 5%, citing "recent cautious data points regarding softening PC/server processor demand from notebook and motherboard companies." End.
Last month, Intel had said it expects sales of between $10.1 billion and $10.9 billion. The company will hold a mid-quarter update on Dec. 4 to give analysts a sense of how the company is doing in light of the market uncertainty.
Currently, analysts expect the company to report earnings of 37 cents a share on revenue of $10.4 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet Research. Analyst Auguste Richard of Piper Jaffray & Co. also trimmed his sales estimates for Intel to $10.2 billion, from $10.5 billion, saying, "We believe that Intel's channel business in emerging economies continues to be weak as the strong dollar has hurt both demand and the channel partners' ability to buy Intel products."
Richard also cited soft demand in the corporate technology market, adding, "In addition to the credit crisis, we think the upcoming product transition is slowing near-term server demand for the company."Analyst Krishna Shankar of JMP Securities also cut his revenue growth estimate for Intel from flat to down 5%, citing "recent cautious data points regarding softening PC/server processor demand from notebook and motherboard companies." End.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Intel estimates trimmed on weakening PC demand
By Benjamin Pimentel
A previous version misstated analyst Craig Berger's sales outlook for Intel.
A previous version misstated analyst Craig Berger's sales outlook for Intel.
Weakening demand for personal computers has prompted at least three analysts to trim their estimates for Intel Corp., highlighting growing concerns about the impact of the economic downturn on the tech giant and the industry as a whole.
INTC 13.32, -1.11, -7.7%) dropped 2.9% to close at $13.93 after some analysts pointed to a slowing market for desktop and notebook computers as a result of the global slowdown.
"Recent checks into fourth-quarter PC builds with the top five notebook ODMs [original design manufacturers] and top four desktop motherboard makers are significantly weaker than our month-ago checks, and as a result, we are cutting estimates on Intel," analyst Craig Berger of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. told clients in a research note.Berger said he now expects Intel to report a 4% sequential decline in sales to roughly $9.8 billion, compared to his previous projection of a 1.6% increase.Continued...
"The financial meltdown has greatly affected all countries in the world. Surplus of goods are increasing because people are allotting their money to buy for their basic needs and not computers or netbooks which are considered wants."
"The financial meltdown has greatly affected all countries in the world. Surplus of goods are increasing because people are allotting their money to buy for their basic needs and not computers or netbooks which are considered wants."
Friday, November 14, 2008
Ahead of the Bell: Intel, AMD
Analysts see weakening PC market weighing on Intel, AMD
Demand for notebook computers weakened significantly in recent weeks, likely weighing on Intel Corp. and its smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
The two chip makers are responsible for making the bulk of the world's microprocessors. Intel's processors are used in about 80 percent of the world's PCs and servers built with PCs. And research firm IDC earlier this month put AMD's processor market share at 18.5 percent.
Friedman, Billings, Ramsey analyst Craig Berger cut his 2009 earnings estimates for AMD and Intel because of weakening PC demand. The analyst, who rates both Intel and AMD "Market Perform," said after checking with key manufacturers it looks like fourth-quarter PC demand is significantly weaker than it was a month ago.
"Overall, we forecast 4Q PC shipments to decline around 5 percent sequentially, below our month-ago forecast of 3 percent growth," the analyst wrote in a note to investors.
Berger thinks Intel's fourth-quarter revenue guidance of a 1 percent decline to a 7 percent increase "is at risk" and the company will likely provide a lower revenue guidance on its planned Dec. 4 mid-quarter update. He does not think Intel's shares will trade materially lower on the news. The stock closed Monday at $14.35, not far from its 52-week low of $13.37.
AMD plans to host its annual analyst day on Thursday. Berger cut his estimates for AMD citing the weakening PC demand. He expects a 2009 loss of $1.05 per share, down from a loss of $1.02. He cut his target price to $4.50 from $5.
For Intel, he expects full-year 2009 earnings of $1.10 per share, down from $1.33. Berger also cut his target price to $19 from $22.
ThinkPanmure analyst Vijay Rakesh noted a "significant weakening" in November of corporate demand for notebook computers.
Demand for notebook computers weakened significantly in recent weeks, likely weighing on Intel Corp. and its smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
The two chip makers are responsible for making the bulk of the world's microprocessors. Intel's processors are used in about 80 percent of the world's PCs and servers built with PCs. And research firm IDC earlier this month put AMD's processor market share at 18.5 percent.
Friedman, Billings, Ramsey analyst Craig Berger cut his 2009 earnings estimates for AMD and Intel because of weakening PC demand. The analyst, who rates both Intel and AMD "Market Perform," said after checking with key manufacturers it looks like fourth-quarter PC demand is significantly weaker than it was a month ago.
"Overall, we forecast 4Q PC shipments to decline around 5 percent sequentially, below our month-ago forecast of 3 percent growth," the analyst wrote in a note to investors.
Berger thinks Intel's fourth-quarter revenue guidance of a 1 percent decline to a 7 percent increase "is at risk" and the company will likely provide a lower revenue guidance on its planned Dec. 4 mid-quarter update. He does not think Intel's shares will trade materially lower on the news. The stock closed Monday at $14.35, not far from its 52-week low of $13.37.
AMD plans to host its annual analyst day on Thursday. Berger cut his estimates for AMD citing the weakening PC demand. He expects a 2009 loss of $1.05 per share, down from a loss of $1.02. He cut his target price to $4.50 from $5.
For Intel, he expects full-year 2009 earnings of $1.10 per share, down from $1.33. Berger also cut his target price to $19 from $22.
ThinkPanmure analyst Vijay Rakesh noted a "significant weakening" in November of corporate demand for notebook computers.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Getting more battery power for your computer
Continued...
If you are interested in buying an internal battery, either to have as a spare when traveling or simply to replace a dying one, then check out "Cheap laptop batteries: Good deal or risky business?" by Brian Nadel of Computerworld. As Nadel explains it:
"There are two basic types of notebook batteries: the brand-name batteries that the manufacturer sells and the aftermarket batteries that are available from third-party resellers -- often for a significantly lower price ... We all want to save money, but not if it puts our notebooks at risk. Buying an aftermarket battery often goes against the advice of laptop manufacturers, and in some cases can even void the warranty. Is it worth it to save a few bucks?"
He tested three replacement batteries for a MacBook Pro and another three for a ThinkPad R50. His conclusion? "The aftermarket replacements proved to be just as good and reliable as the originals." That said, there is a big difference in aftermarket batteries; the article offers buying tips.
One issue with having two batteries is that only one can be charging at a time. But, every problem is a marketing opportunity, and a recent posting at Liliputing describes chargers you can buy for an Asus Eee PC that let you externally charge an internal battery.
In "External battery packs can power that notebook for hours", Kendrick discusses his experiences. In brief, external batteries offer a lot of power but at a price. As for power, he says they "can power most laptops for 8-10 hours." As for price, the two companies he mentions offer models priced at $200 and $300. Not cheap, but as Kendrick says, when you need them you really need them.
Source
If you are interested in buying an internal battery, either to have as a spare when traveling or simply to replace a dying one, then check out "Cheap laptop batteries: Good deal or risky business?" by Brian Nadel of Computerworld. As Nadel explains it:
"There are two basic types of notebook batteries: the brand-name batteries that the manufacturer sells and the aftermarket batteries that are available from third-party resellers -- often for a significantly lower price ... We all want to save money, but not if it puts our notebooks at risk. Buying an aftermarket battery often goes against the advice of laptop manufacturers, and in some cases can even void the warranty. Is it worth it to save a few bucks?"
He tested three replacement batteries for a MacBook Pro and another three for a ThinkPad R50. His conclusion? "The aftermarket replacements proved to be just as good and reliable as the originals." That said, there is a big difference in aftermarket batteries; the article offers buying tips.
One issue with having two batteries is that only one can be charging at a time. But, every problem is a marketing opportunity, and a recent posting at Liliputing describes chargers you can buy for an Asus Eee PC that let you externally charge an internal battery.
In "External battery packs can power that notebook for hours", Kendrick discusses his experiences. In brief, external batteries offer a lot of power but at a price. As for power, he says they "can power most laptops for 8-10 hours." As for price, the two companies he mentions offer models priced at $200 and $300. Not cheap, but as Kendrick says, when you need them you really need them.
Source
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Getting more battery power for your computer
I would like to share with you an article which can help you get more battery power for your computer.These are:
1. Buy a larger battery designed specifically for your computer. When buying many, if not most, laptop computers, you should have a choice of batteries. Higher-capacity batteries are physically bigger, cost more, and may very well protrude either vertically or horizontally.
2. If you find you need more power for a laptop computer you already own, you can buy a second battery. One downside to this approach is that the computer has to be powered off to switch batteries. Then too, there are safety concerns when carrying around an internal battery.
3. Yet another option involves an external battery pack that plugs into the same port on the laptop that the AC power cord does.Continued...
1. Buy a larger battery designed specifically for your computer. When buying many, if not most, laptop computers, you should have a choice of batteries. Higher-capacity batteries are physically bigger, cost more, and may very well protrude either vertically or horizontally.
2. If you find you need more power for a laptop computer you already own, you can buy a second battery. One downside to this approach is that the computer has to be powered off to switch batteries. Then too, there are safety concerns when carrying around an internal battery.
3. Yet another option involves an external battery pack that plugs into the same port on the laptop that the AC power cord does.Continued...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Witness: Computer data deleted
By M. MAGESWARI
Some data in the notebook computer seized from Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin had been deleted, a computer forensic investigator told the Sessions Court yesterday.
Asst Supt Wa’ie Isqal Kria Abdullah, 38, said the user of the notebook had accessed the Malaysia Today website, but information about the access between April 11 and 26 was not found in the notebook.
Questioned by Deputy Public Prosecutor Farhan Read, the seventh witness said he believed the notebook user had used a program called “CleanIt.exe” to delete all temporary files.
“In the notebook, I found several access to www.malaysia-today.net for the year 2008 done by the administrator user,” testified ASP Wa’ie, who is with the Computer Forensic Investigation division.
Asked about the meaning of “administrator user”, he replied that such a user had “full access to edit, delete and add.”
In his report, he had stated that the user account named “Raja Petra” was an administrator user.
The blogger Raja Petra had on May 6 claimed trial to publishing a seditious article on his website on April 25. In the afternoon, in an unexpected move, the prosecution applied for permission to allow ASP Wa’ie to reanalyse two computers seized from Raja Petra.
Lead prosecutor DPP Ishak Mohd Yusof applied under Section 425 of the Criminal Procedure Code which empowers the court to summon and examine any person if his evidence was essential for a just decision.
He said ASP Wa’ie had analysed both computers based on an application by investigating officer Deputy Supt Mahfuz Abdul Majid.
He said DSP Mahfuz just ordered ASP Wa’ie to find an alleged seditious article titled “Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell” and accessibility to the Malaysia Today website.
“ASP Wa’ie, however, has testified to have spotted several folders in both computers, but he did not open and read those files as he wanted to follow the investigating officer’s order,” argued DPP Ishak on the seventh day of the sedition trial yesterday.
DPP Ishak urged the court to allow ASP Wa’ie to reanalyse both computers and extract several folders found in them.
Lead counsel J. Chandra objected to the application, saying that Section 425 was not applicable because the seventh witness was giving evidence.
Chandra argued that ASP Wa’ie had not been authorised to look into folders as his terms of reference was very specific on the request for his analysis.
Judge Rozina Ayob set today to deliver her decision.
Source
Some data in the notebook computer seized from Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin had been deleted, a computer forensic investigator told the Sessions Court yesterday.
Asst Supt Wa’ie Isqal Kria Abdullah, 38, said the user of the notebook had accessed the Malaysia Today website, but information about the access between April 11 and 26 was not found in the notebook.
Questioned by Deputy Public Prosecutor Farhan Read, the seventh witness said he believed the notebook user had used a program called “CleanIt.exe” to delete all temporary files.
“In the notebook, I found several access to www.malaysia-today.net for the year 2008 done by the administrator user,” testified ASP Wa’ie, who is with the Computer Forensic Investigation division.
Asked about the meaning of “administrator user”, he replied that such a user had “full access to edit, delete and add.”
In his report, he had stated that the user account named “Raja Petra” was an administrator user.
The blogger Raja Petra had on May 6 claimed trial to publishing a seditious article on his website on April 25. In the afternoon, in an unexpected move, the prosecution applied for permission to allow ASP Wa’ie to reanalyse two computers seized from Raja Petra.
Lead prosecutor DPP Ishak Mohd Yusof applied under Section 425 of the Criminal Procedure Code which empowers the court to summon and examine any person if his evidence was essential for a just decision.
He said ASP Wa’ie had analysed both computers based on an application by investigating officer Deputy Supt Mahfuz Abdul Majid.
He said DSP Mahfuz just ordered ASP Wa’ie to find an alleged seditious article titled “Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell” and accessibility to the Malaysia Today website.
“ASP Wa’ie, however, has testified to have spotted several folders in both computers, but he did not open and read those files as he wanted to follow the investigating officer’s order,” argued DPP Ishak on the seventh day of the sedition trial yesterday.
DPP Ishak urged the court to allow ASP Wa’ie to reanalyse both computers and extract several folders found in them.
Lead counsel J. Chandra objected to the application, saying that Section 425 was not applicable because the seventh witness was giving evidence.
Chandra argued that ASP Wa’ie had not been authorised to look into folders as his terms of reference was very specific on the request for his analysis.
Judge Rozina Ayob set today to deliver her decision.
Source
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