Dell Unveiled New Latitude Series

Inspired by close collaboration with nearly 4,000 IT professionals and endusers, Dell today announced a completely new line of Latitude and Dell Precisionlaptops, ranging from the lightest ultra-portable in the company’s history tothe most powerful mobile workstation. More details are available atwww.dell.com/latitudepresskit.

The new Latitude systems provide breakthrough battery life, brilliant newdesign and style -- including a choice of five colors.

“Since 1995, we’ve shipped more business laptops worldwide than anyone,” saidMichael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell. “This and our 5 million plusconversations a day with customers give us real insight into the needs of thedigital nomad. Today we’re translating that insight into breakthroughproductivity, portability and design. The new Latitudes are breathtaking.”

Dell’s re-engineered Latitude lineup answers a wide range of user profiles:

• Ultra-Portable - Dell Latitude E4200 is a 12.1-inch laptop that startsat 1 kg making it the lightest commercial notebook in the company’s history.The 13.3-inch Latitude E4300 has a starting weight of 1.54 kg.1 Designed forroad warriors and executives who demand maximum performance and lightweight, the systems will be available in the coming weeks.
• Mainstream – The Dell Latitude E6400 and E6500, available today, are 14.1-and 15.4-inch laptops that start at SGD1, 967 and SGD 2,095, respectively.The systems are ideal desktop replacements for high-performance users.
• Essential – The Latitude E5400, a 14.1-inch notebook, starts at SGD 1,724,and the E5500, a 15.4-inch notebook starts at SGD 1,751. Available today,the systems include everyday features at a cost-effective price.
• Semi-Rugged – The Latitude E6400 ATG is a 14.1-inch semi-rugged laptopwill be available next week. It is built and tested to meet Military 810Fstandards for dust, vibration and humidity.
• Desk-Based -- From new port replicators to full docking solutions that fitany usage scenario with smaller footprints and streamlined cabling, userscan “hot undock”.

Personalize Your Latitude
Dell will offer colors for the first time on Latitude laptops. In addition toMica-Brushed Metal, the Latitude E4200, E4300, E6400 and E6500 will be availablein Regatta Blue, Regal Red and Quartz Pink (E4200 only) in the coming weeks. TheE5400 and E500 are available in Matte Black.
“The new Latitude laptops and Dell Precision mobile workstations represent thelargest client product development effort in the history of Dell,” said Tan TengCheong, General Manager, Dell, Singapore and Brunei. “We’ve invested more than 1million engineering hours and the result is a family of head-turning productsthat are as solid on the inside as on the outside, with features that enablebetter security, manageability and productivity.”
Incorporating a wide range of new technology, Dell’s new Latitudes feature:

• All-day computing on the E6400 with breakthrough battery life of up to19 hours;
• Full-frame magnesium alloy construction and all-metal hinges;
• Sophisticated keyboard design;
• Ease of use with Dell ControlPoint, centralizing control of user settingsfor power management, connectivity configurations and security management ina single application;
• First business-class laptop with an intelligent backlit keyboard thatautomatically adjusts to ambient light levels;
• Exclusive ControlVault solution – intelligent security sub-processors withembedded non-volatile storage that centralizes and helps protect usercredentials and security keys in a single hardened security “vault” awayfrom the systems main drive;
• The E6500 is the only laptop with both a contact-less Smart Card readerand a fingerprint readers that complies with Federal Information ProcessingStandards; and,
• Simplified IT with compatible peripherals, adapters, docking and robustmanageability features across the entire portfolio.

Access Email Instantly, Without Booting the OS
The company also previewed Dell Latitude ON, a new technology that will enablenear-instant access to e-mail, calendar, attachments, contacts and the Webwithout booting into the system’s main operating system (OS). Expected in thecoming months on the Latitude E4200 and E4300, Dell Latitude ON uses a dedicatedlow-voltage sub-processor and OS that can enable multi-day battery life.

Revolutionizing Mobile Workstation Performance
Dell, the world’s No. 1 workstation supplier, also unveiled a new line ofISV-certified Dell Precision mobile workstations targeted atperformance-oriented customers in the engineering, media, entertainment andbiosciences industries. Available today, the details include:
• Dell Precision M4400 – Starting at SGD 2,420, the 15.4-inch mobile workstationfeatures leading-edge graphics and supports up to 8 GB of RAM.
• Dell Precision M2400 – Weighing 2.17 kg, the company’s lightest mobileworkstation is a 14.1-inch system that starts at SGD 2,310.1

The company also introduced a 17-inch mobile workstation concept thatrevolutionizes mobile performance. Housed in an orange anodized aluminumchassis, it supports up to 16 GB of RAM, a 1 GB graphics card, upcomingquad-core processors and up to a terabyte of storage on two drives. This doublesthe amount of memory and processor cores, and triples the storage available onLenovo and HP mobile workstations today. More details can be found atwww.dell.com/nocompromise.

Green on the Go
The new Latitude mainstream and ultra-portable laptops, as well as DellPrecision mobile workstations, are available with Energy Star 4.0 compliantconfigurations and meet EPEAT “Gold” rated configurations. The Latitude E4200 isDell’s first notebook that offers a motherboard containing halogen-freelaminates, as well as halogen-free chassis plastics and fan housings. Theultra-portable laptop also ships in packaging that is up to 99-percentrecyclable by weight.

Mobility Services
All of the new products are also available with Dell’s ProSupport MobilityServices, a suite of modular services that help companies protect assets anddata. To protect confidential company information, Dell can also automate dataencryption on all laptops and centrally manage company-defined security policiesin a way that is transparent to the end-user. Dell’s Desktop Manager serviceallows IT to track dispersed systems, distribute software, manage patches andenforce IT policies. For more information, visitwww.dell.com/services.

New Community for Digital Nomads
Coinciding with the introduction of Dell’s new laptops, the company launched anew community site called Digital Nomads. It is designed for individuals who arenot defined by the four walls in their office or home, but by a desire to alwaysbe connected for work and play no matter their location. Community members cancome together to read about other digital nomads and share ideas, tips, tricksand best practices. Twitter users will be able to follow live updates fromDell’s press conference and ask questions by following @Digital_Nomads (www.twitter.com/Digital_Nomads).

Diablo III player makes $10,000 from real-money auction house

A gamer has made over $10,000 on Diablo IIIs real-money auction house, showing that with a lot of work there is real potential to make a living off the game.

A Reddit user by the name of WishboneTheDog revealed the shocking figures, with screenshots of PayPal transactions and auction house sales to prove the impressive claim.The pictures show payments ranging from $18.02 to a whopping $211.65, not far off the $250 cap set by Blizzard for a sale, and likely this figure was higher before Blizzard and PayPal took their cut, which is as much as 15 percent each.“I have never botted, scammed, used any of the number of exploits, or cheated in any way whatsoever,” the gamer said. “Before this game, I never made any money off of what I did because it was against the rules. Investing and trading in the item markets is part of how I have my fun, it wouldnt make sense for me to cheat.”He would not reveal the items that are going for these insane prices, nor his techniques and trade secrets, some of which he acquired through an overall interest in economics, past experience with game item trading (such as in Neopets ten years ago), stock market experience, and a current business education at a top university.However, he did talk about the play time required to make such profits. “During the first 2 months of the games release I would say I averaged 8 hours a day, although there were days I was on for as much as 14 hours,” he revealed. “My playtime now has dropped off because of the slowing economy and lots of [in real life] responsibilities. Some days in the past week I have only logged to repost auctions and do a quick 20 minute scan. Im back to playing other games now, too.”Casual players are unlikely to come close to these kind of profits, given that players need to first invest in their own characters and play through to the highest difficulty to get a chance at the best loot. It is also somewhat random which loot drops, though some gear affects the quality and chance of rare drops. 8 hours is a traditional working day, while 14 hours a day would have an employer arrested for breaking work laws. Then there is time spent purely on the auction house, trying to shift the warehouse of acquired in-game stock.The auction house pictures also show that for every item sold there are dozens that did not sell, so users would need to not only invest extensive game time, they would have to endure a constant regime of re-listing failed sales. The chances of making successful sales are also likely slimmer for the average user without the same kind of economics background.A final consideration is tax. Technically this money is an income and is subject to tax. “I plan on reporting this and paying the tax on it, partly because of my relationship with taxes so far in my life,” the user said. “I also trade in the stock market and I once didnt make a trade that I knew I should have because I wouldnt have to pay taxes on it if I waited two weeks later. I missed out on thousands of dollars because of it... Also, my grandpa always told me to pay my taxes.”So there you have it. There is definitely money to be made, but it isnt easy, and chances are that what makes a game fun will become as much of a chore as a standard 9 to 5 job when trying to make a decent wage from it. In an age with high unemployment rates, however, this may be just the opportunity some people are looking for.

E3 2010 Playstation Move's Price and Availability Announced

Sony have announced their price bundle for Playstation Move in E3 2010, the demonstrator showed some upcoming games such as Sorcery where you are a sorcerer and shoots spells using the Navigation controller using 1:1 move tracking.

Move will retail for US$49.99, Navigation controller will beUS$19.99. Availability begins in Europe September 15, North AmericaSeptember 19th.

Various games such as Resident Evil, Heavy Rain will get software updates to support Move.

Source: Live Streaming via Gamespot

Delta Expanding WiFi Offering to International Flights

Delta has announced that they will begin offering their in-flight internet service on their fleet of international aircraft, encompassing roughly 150 aircraft including models such as the Boeing 777, 767, transoceanic 757, 747, and the Airbus 330. The satellite-provided service will begin operations on the planes in early 2013, complementing existing air-to-ground service already in place for domestic flights.

Delta Airlines, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is among the largest WiFi-enabled aircraft providers in the world, with over 3,000 daily flights connected to the web. These flights include the entirety of its domestic fleet, some 550 mainline aircraft, and more than 250 additional aircraft, including all of their Delta Connection regional jets.

Delta’s WiFi portal, called “Delta Connect,” provides free access to real-time travel information, news from The Wall Street Journal, People magazine, and other services, including Amazon.com (from March). The new international service will use high-bandwidth Ku-band satellites for internet coverage. Scheduled for 2015,when the rollout is complete, Delta plans to be operating roughly 1,000 WiFi-capable aircraft in its fleet.

ASUS A8V Deluxe 939 Athlon 64 Board

ASUS unveils WAVI Xtion motion-sensing PC experience at CeBIT 2011

Heres something similar to Microsofts Kinect. Meet the ASUS WAVI Xtion (pronounced way-vee action), the worlds first motion-sensing experience package for the PC! The WAVI Xtion comprises of two components - the WAVI wireless media streaming device and the Xtion motion sensor. It streams high definition media wirelessly from a PC located in one room to a TV in another, while infrared gesture-based multimedia playback, games and applications introduce the first ever officially-supported motion-sensing PC interface.

Motion-sensing PC entertainment on big screen TV

WAVI Xtion integrates motion-sensing technology from PrimeSense® with the exclusive ASUS Xtion Portal user interface to bring consumers closer to technology through intuitive interaction with applications. Connections to both PCs and TVs via wireless HDMI (WHDI technology) deliver smooth transfers of high definition content such as movies, games and photos in 5GHz with a range of up to 25 meters.

Software products available on launch include MayaFit Cardio Lite, a motion-sensing fitness training game and BeatBooster™, a multiplayer racing adventure game where users maneuver jet aircraft with their body movements. Enjoying PC games on the living room big screen TV is possible; the proprietary Xtion engine supports the remapping of keyboard controls into motion gestures for a variety of popular third party games.

Speaking on cooperation with ASUS when developing WAVI Xtion motion-sensing technology, PrimeSense CEO Inon Beracha said, "our collaboration with ASUS in providing a 3D sensing solution for WAVI Xtion proves to the industry that natural interaction technology is the ideal fit for living rooms, and that intuitive, gesture-based control will be the go-to route for operating all devices. We believe that PrimeSensesolutions like the user interface used on ASUS’ WAVI Xtion represent the future of the way people interact with consumer electronics, and help break down barriersof use to allow people to sync with the electronic world around them."

Online store offers diverse choice

WAVI Xtion enables a wide selection of multimedia content and entertainment applications, working seamlessly with the ASUS @vibe online store* to deliver music, games and apps, all through the cloud.

Xtion Pro developer kit

Developers interested in creating gesture-based PC entertainment content can make use of the ASUS Xtion PRO developer pack, the world’s first professional PC motion-sensing toolset. It opens up new opportunities for cost and time-efficient development of various applications, including games of every genre. ASUS plans to launch the Xtion Pro Developer Challenge in March, with attractive prizes and publishing deals for winning developers. Selected apps will be placed on the ASUS @vibe online store*.

*ASUS @vibe integration expected early Q3 2011.