Sony Vaio: series E & S updates

Sony updates its series Vaio E (approximately 80% of its sales volume) and series S, a line-oriented to professionals.

After having presented at the beginning of months its Ultrabooks - squarely behind - Japanese Sony takes advantage of the spring (if, if, we have...) to renew its laptops Vaio E series and S. New references that have interest to please for help the mark up the slope, after the publication of the catastrophic results. It is also not a surprise that series E and S are the first to be subject to changes (before the usual updates of re-entry), since these series that sell best.

Thus, the series E of 14 "what two big brothers of 15.5" and 17.3 ", benefiting from a new global design. Smooth hull, rounded forms and sober colours are in the program, and definitions of 1600 x 900 pixels that can pass to 1920 x 1080 as an option. The touchpad is reworked. Great, it does appear left and right clicks. While the optical drive moves to the slot-in. Also, a new audio system is integrated under the banner "xLoud", and Sony indicates that the cooling system is entirely new. According to Sony, it is an opportunity to listen to feedback from users who complained of machines to the sound system too little performance and a hair too noisy.

Conclude by pointing out that the backlit keyboard is offered as an option. Prices start at €470 for the "15.5 and €520 for 17", configurations are customizable through online store Sony, ranging to the Core i7-3612QM, 8 GB DDR3, burner Blu - ray, Radeon HD 7650M 2 GB, 1TB of hard drive (no), larger battery... What pushed the Bill around the €1200 with these components on the model "17.3. End on the E series by specifying that the mark evaluates the possibility out a model of a diagonal of 11.6 "in this series. Step of Intel, but a Brazos APU instead, for less than €500 with a hard disk of 500 GB and 4 GB of RAM.

On the S series, Sony puts forward two new main models of 13.3 "and 15.5". The new chassis is thinner and does not exceed 20 mm. The optical drive is also in the slot-in, touchpad has the same adjustments and the keyboard can also be backlit. Good news, the slab is treated non-glare, but the definition is stuck at 1366 x 768 pixels on the 13.3 ", while the" 15.5 may mount up to Full HD. Side weight, the advantage is to the smallest with 1.7 Kg all included, while the "15.5 remains narrowly below 2 Kg. Two ports USB 3.0, exit HDMI, WiFi n, Bluetooth 4.0, Webcam 1.3 megapixels, connectivity is complete.

Note that in the Configurator, Series S "13.3 does not choose graphics (access to a GeForce GT 640 M the reserved to 15.5"), and must simply the iGPU integrated with Intel processors to the Core i5-3210M. Starting prices are approximately €900 13.3 "and about €1000 to 15.5".

> Configure a Vaio computer on the Sony shop

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Windows 8: Aero, c'est fini!

Microsoft changes the style Office and Windows for Windows 8, drawing a line on the look of Windows with Vista and reshaped with 7. He also announced a better management of the multimonitor, for approximately 15% of users.

From an aesthetic point of view, Windows 8 evolves significantly from its predecessor, what we could see in dissecting the Consumer Preview images. This is necessarily the case for the Metro interface, derived from that invented for Windows Phone, but it will also be the case for the Office. Indeed, Microsoft has a feature on the Aero style and its shadow and transparency, games that were emerged with the release of Windows Vista. The trend is to the square, and sobriety. Result, Windows want much more discrete Windows 8, and only the desktop task bar will benefit from special treatment, maintaining transparency properties. According to Microsoft, this is of course an important change, but the editor ensures that users will not be disturbed.

           

Windows 1, Windows 3 and Windows 95...

In addition, Microsoft indicates that the multimonitor will be better managed by the pane customization, and that for example it will be possible to select a different wallpaper on each screen, or to expand the display of the wallpaper on the available space, in landscape. But the most important is probably in the news presented on the ergonomics of the bone, disconcerting first. As such, Microsoft indicates that it will be possible to extend the taskbar of the bureau on all screens. Also, the user can choose to display only the relevant screen applications. Those who work in dual-screen can therefore, without having to install additional program, independently manage each screen with a bar of own tasks and shortcuts to the desired programs. Finally, relating to the Metro interface controls will be more available only on this interface, and the "active angles" will be available on all screens.

Windows 8, without interface Aero, with edges in right angles and
Windows without shadows and transparency...

Each can see the benefit of these changes and the quality of the new decoration on the availability of the Preview Release, latest version of Windows 8 that will be proposed to the public (no doubt early June) before the release of the final version of the operating system. For the latest news, the release of Windows 8 is scheduled for October.

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Two motherboards Thunderbolt in Asus

ASUS formalizes two motherboards rather top-of-range in the P8Z77-V series, with port Thunderbolt.

ASUS officially introduced two new motherboards (socket LGA 1155 - chipset Z77) to feature to propose a Thunderbolt connections. The first model is known, since it is a Pro P8Z77-V which is therefore version Thunderbolt.

The Panel back of inputs and outputs is slightly changed, with for main difference the disappearance of two USB 2.0 ports and the passage of the DisplayPort to mini-DisplayPort.

Asus has not indicated when and how many would out this version of the motherboard, and our colleagues from Hardware.fr questioned the possibility of an additional for the P8Z77 - V Pro Classic, card to appear in trade to offer optional the Thunderbolt. Follow.

The two maps Asus Thunderbolt side by side...

The other new motherboard of Asus in Thunderbolt have been presented is the P8Z77-V Premium. A map which has an additional PCI Express switch, allowing it to manage together up to four PCIe ports on the processor.

Note also the presence of two Ethernet ports, and that of a 20 + 4 + 2 phase power circuit. On the refinements of the "Premium" model, there is the presence of Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi n "dual" modules.

But it is not everything, to take advantage of the mSATA port, this motherboard will be delivered with a SSD of 32 GB. If you don't know the characteristics of the disk in the final version, the first samples of the card use MLC Toshiba chips and a Marvell 88SS9175 controller. Availability is announced for the coming weeks at the price of €429.

Thunderbolt devices to the string...

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The Kernel Linux 3.4 is available

Linus Torvalds announced the availability for download of the new version of the Linux kernel now happening in 3.4.

3.4 Kernel is output. In the menu, improved performance, better management of cases of errors to avoid the "Kernel Panic" and new analysis tools when it occurs. But it is not everything, since he is add support for graphics cards NVIDIA GeForce 600 Series under architecture Kepler, the latest AMD Radeon HD 7000 Series under architecture Tahiti, but also the last APU as Trinity and the CPU for smartphones, the famous Intel Medfield.

More security and bug fixes, this new version 3.4 improves the performance of GTK2, a system of automatic discovery of CPU used to load the appropriate driver, or a new module called "Yama" input to improve the kernel security by limiting access to the ptrace command.

Another novelty for this version 3.4 of the Linux kernel, the management of the pointers in 32-bit mode on a 64-bit environment. This management can reduce the memory consumption, because registers of 32-bit pointers consume much less than 64-bit, so with this new mode of operation hybrid, Programs Manager little memory space can use lighter pointers registers with the possibility to allocate more memory in 64-bit.

We also note the possibility of launching a kernel without module by adding the parameter "nomodule" or the hardware acceleration support for encryption of data in AES on NVIDIA Tegra chips. The famous KernelNewbies site lists all of the changes and they are many, to go even further, the Linus Torvalds Advertisement message itself is readable here.

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Test : Corsair Vengeance 2000

Corsair enhances its recent range of microphones to a newcomer in 7.1, which has the particularity to work wireless. The spatialisé its free?

Corsair Vengeance 2000

For:
Very comfortable
Good spatialization
Autonomy

Against:
Support a long hair
Only USB
Cost a little wireless

Its simplistic remote control and its connections limited to USB, the Corsair Vengeance 1500 we had strong impression. Comfortable, the Corsair headset is perfectly cut for long gaming sessions, providing rendering its spatialisé 7.1 of quality and of addition of practical pilots to use. Filled with qualities, it is with pleasure that is again allowed this model to the drafting, but wireless version. Dubbed Corsair Vengeance 2000, this new helmet has the same benefits as the wired version. This is the case for the audio part, on which we we will expand here, since we already said what we on the test of the 1500 revenge. To summarize, the spatialization is good, especially from sources 5.1, convincing use of ProLogix II.

In game, it is happiness, as in dynamic scenes of cinema. Rendering is fairly neutral base, which is a good point for listening to music, but it tends to take a ride on the equalizer to add a little power to the bottom of the spectrum, because strangely for a headset-oriented game, revenge 2000 - as revenge 1500 - is a bit stingy in low.  Note that the microphone is also the same. It ranks along the left and one-way, it has a reducer of ambient noise that it minimizes perfectly by offering a rendering of the clear voice and breath.

This point fast completed on audio, let us to the construction of this helmet and its main novelty: the wireless. The model itself does not progress. There are two transducers of 50 mm mounted in large closed circum-aural headphones, providing a correct, but not enough insulation in noisy environment. The technical characteristics are identical (20 Hz - 20 KHz, 32 ohm), and found the same level of very good finish, except that the coating way alu brushed fact branches somewhat cheap. The headband is still as comfortable, while the bearings of the ears retain their finish Microfiber above mosses to memory of forms.

Big changes are on the left earpiece, where is found a button on / off and a fairly well integrated sound adjustment wheel, and a mini-USB connector which is used to load the helmet. A load that may be long enough - until 2: 30, perhaps even a little more, on a standard USB - if it does the branch that one times the emitted signals (light recurrent beep and LED flashing red), indicating that it has started the last 10% of the battery. However, once the green flag and entirely responsible for battery announced 10 h autonomy is fully respected. Without using the microphone and still at a normal level of listening, we even regularly exceeded this time. Of course, if the energy, it is possible to continue to use the helmet, playing while he recharges (even extending load time), provided you have a USB cable range.

The scope of the 2.4 GHz signal, it is given for 12 metres, this without taking into account possible disturbances and other walls. In practice, either 5 or 6 metres in an environment filled with waves and fields as may be a high-tech writing, no problems to report. However, the passage of a bearing wall thick enough is now much less well tolerated.  Home, installed in the couch at 3 metres of the television the headset connected to the media center, no problem to report and the presence of a much thinner wall is also no particular difficulty. At the time, a few centimetres of the dongle USB to the PC, everything works perfectly. Still happy!

Note that in the box of the helmet is provided a USB cable to recharge, and an extension cable USB about 1.5 metre to deport the dongle USB of emission of the signal (to avoid any disturbance on the back of the motherboard, near card WiFi for example).

    

In the end, from the time the sound aspect is well managed, where the design of the helmet and the modifications imposed by the passage in wireless were made with care, and where everything goes well with the use, there is no particular issue reserves. The only small caveats relating to dependence to the USB port (and the incompatibilities that this implies, helmets revenge was primarily designed for use on PC), and the small lack of bass that is corrected without evil with the equalizer. Therefore remains to see how Corsair is pay the comfort of wireless.

Without necessarily going to the least expensive, for revenge, 2000 price is set at €139, while the 1500 revenge is around €85 or even less. Head, it is approximately €55 difference, which seems us a little much to the comfort of the wireless, even if we know that the wireless headset are generally quite expensive. Especially since even invest such an amount, it will be perhaps better to move into an all-terrain model, that can be easily used with a television or a console game. But the Corsair Vengeance 2000 is a very good product, that is that best after a small drop in prize.

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The Gmail search auto-complète

Google opens its AutoComplete system to its Gmail service search bar.

The famous Mountain View search engine tirelessly continues its development, as we have seen there a few days with its social network better integrated in its mail service. It is once again Gmail entitled an improvement with a more intelligent search bar.

Previously, research from Gmail web portal required to fill the keywords by hand and then to consult the results to find an important e-mail. Now, Gmail has been auto-compléter the key word based on the contents of the email. The development team provides an example by searching the keyword "lax" for Los Angeles Airport, surely to find a ticket in many emails that the box contains. As the service Google mail index the entire contents of this box, the search bar offers key words approaching letters first entered by the user. Thus, find email becomes more simple.

For the moment, only the key words in English are recognized with a gradual opening for accounts in English on the coming days. Specific Google other languages will be taken in charge of here a few months then that business accounts Google Apps is also right, but without any date communicated to this day. Google therefore does more lies on our email indexing and proposed a system of effective research, hope that the Mountain View giant does not would like to further monetize its service.

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The basis of Graphene transistor becomes a reality

The Samsung Research Institute publishes new results - demonstration in support - manufacturing of functional Graphene-based transistors.

The Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, in the heart of the R & D of Korean, have developed a new basis of Graphene transistor. We talked about in a few months ago already suggested that this new material could one day allow the production of new transistors better than silicon.

Researchers in the foundries have two areas of research to continuously improve the performance of transistors that are in part the processors of our computers. The first axis is the reduction of the size of these transistors to reduce the distance that should browse the electrons between the source and the drain of a transistor. The second axis is simply the acceleration of the speed of the electron. To do so, should find a new material that replaces silicon and allow a more important than latter electron mobility. Researchers focused primarily on reducing the size even if others have also begun research into new materials, with the discovery of the Graphene in 2004.

Even if this discovery had excellent results with nearly 200 times the rate of mobility of electrons from Silicon, the manufacture of transistor was then still not possible. The reason is simple, the Graphene as a semi-metallic compound, the possibility to cut the flow of electrons was until now impossible. However, this possibility is essential to generate the bits necessary to the operation of our computers, the famous "0" and "1". Previous research had resulted in changes the Graphene to make semiconductor, but the mobility of electrons was much smaller than initially and was really an interest for the manufacture of transistors.

Graphite (base of the Graphene) to a wafer base of Graphene transistor Samsung

The Samsung Research Institute has published new results of research and announced that its researchers have developed a semiconductor Graphene-based without reducing its effectiveness. Called Barristor, Samsung indeed us demonstration by presenting a transistor made from Graphene with a door of Schottky mixing silicon and Graphene, which allows to control the passage of electrons between the collector and the transmitter at very low voltage. Researchers of the known have also exploited their new technique in manufacturer a few logic circuits to perform basic operations such as additions for example.

A new door is now open and researchers around the world can funnel into the breach to produce new yet more efficient transistors in the future. For when? We see products marketed with this type of transistors before a decade, unfortunately.

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