NVIDIA Refreshes Quadro with Kepler

Subject: General Tech, Graphics Cards | March 6, 2013 - 08:02 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: quadro, nvidia

Be polite, be efficient, have a plan to Kepler every card that you meet.

The professional graphics market is not designed for gamers although that should have been fairly clear. These GPUs are designed to effectively handle complex video, 3D, and high resolution display environments found in certain specialized workspaces.

This is the class of cards which allow a 3D animator to edit their creations with stereoscopic 3D glasses, for instance.

NVIDIA's branding will remain consistent with the scheme developed for the prior generation. Previously, if you were in the market for a Fermi-based Quadro solution, you would have the choice between: the Quadro 600, the 2000, the 4000, the 5000, and the 6000. Now that the world revolves around Kepler... heh heh heh... each entry has been prefixed with a K with the exception of the highest-end 6000 card. These entries are therefore:

• Quadro K600, 192 CUDA Cores, 1GB, $199 MSRP
• Quadro K2000, 384 CUDA Cores, 2GB, $599 MSRP
• Quadro K4000, 768 CUDA Cores, 3GB, $1,269 MSRP
• Quadro K5000, 1536 CUDA Cores, 4GB + ECC, $2,249 MSRP

This product line is demonstrated graphically by the NVIDIA slide below.

Clicking the image while viewing the article will enlargen it.

It should be noted that each of the above products have been developed on the series of GK10X architectures and not the more computationally-intensive GK110 products. As the above slide alludes: while these Quadro cards are designed to handle the graphically-intensive applications, they are designed to be paired with GK110-based Tesla K20 cards to offload the GPGPU muscle.

Should you need the extra GPGPU performance, particularly when it comes to double precision mathematics, those cards can be found online for somewhere in the ballpark of $3,300 and $3,500.

The new Quadro products were available starting yesterday, March 5th, from “leading OEM and Channel Partners.”

From the depths of space an ancient vessel drifts slowly towards the Imperium of Mankind

Subject: General Tech | March 6, 2013 - 02:07 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gaming, space hulk, kick ass

This is a good year for a certain subset of gamers who bear a love-hate relationship with Games Workshop.  Not only have we heard tell of Blood Bowl 2 and a free to play Blood Bowl: Star Coach which will resemble a blood soaked Football Manager but finally Space Hulk will be arriving thanks to Full Control.  A classic turn based game pitting Space Marine Terminators against unlimited amounts of Genestealers that is almost impossible to win.  Players often brag about their most memorable losses than their occasional victories but either can be guaranteed to be full of guts, Flamers and Power Fists.  Keep your eyes on Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN for more details as they may be the only ones more excited about this than I.

"SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK SPACE HULK"

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• Aliens: Colonial Marines Performance and IQ @ [H]ard|OCP
• Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag @ The Inquirer
• Crysis 3 Performance Test: Graphics & CPU @ Techspot
• Gears of War: Judgement @ The Inquirer
• Need for Speed Most Wanted PC @ eTeknix
• Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Review – Too Automated to be Simulated? @ Techgage
• Wot I Think: Tomb Raider @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Torment 2: What Can Source The Nature Of A Crowd? @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Infinite Excitements: Eye-Spy Thief IV Screenshots @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Garry’s Mod Earns $22m, Gives Most Of It To The Taxman @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Latest Xbox 720 rumours suggest absence of Blu-ray drive @ Hexus

An Open Source and encrypted Skype alternative called Jitsi

Subject: General Tech | March 6, 2013 - 01:03 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: zrtp, sip, xmpp, voip, skype, open source, Jitsi, encryption

Jitsi seems to be a lot of things, from an IM Client agglomerator such as Pidgin or Digsby, a combined XMPP and SIP VoIP client to a videoconferencing hub with all traffic encrypted using ZRTP.  This Open Source software also claims integration with Microsoft Outlook and Apple Address Book, putting it in competition with Skype on more than one front.  Unfortunately it will not connect to all online SIP or XMPP provider but Jitsi does offer an open XMPP bridge to host video calls and as it is open source there is no reason you could not construct your own.  With the release of version 2.0 a host of new features and improvements have been added which you can read about by following the links at Slashdot.  They have also partnered with the FMJ Project to allow recording of sessions as well as other possible customization thanks to the developers Wiki.

"Among the most prominent new features people will find quality multi-party video conferences for XMPP, audio device hot-plugging, support for Outlook presence and calls, an overhauled user interface and support for the Opus and VP8 audio/video codec. Jitsi has lately shaped into one of the more viable open Skype Alternatives with features such as end-to-end ZRTP encryption for audio and video calls. The 2.0 version has been in the works for almost a year now, so this is an important step for the project."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Seagate ships 'affordable' desktop hybrid drive @ The Register
• Intel Dishes On What Makes H.265 Worth Waiting For @ Techgage
• Samsung takes a three percent stake in Sharp for $105m @ The Inquirer
• Testing Batteries for Sulfation @ MAKE:Blog
• TP-LINK TL-WA850RE 300Mbps Universal Wireless N Range Extender Review @ Madshrimps
• P-LINK TL-WDR3500 Wireless N600 Router @ Legit Reviews
• Leave Six Strikes Alone! @ Techgage
• Win Phanteks and NZXT hardware @ Kitguru
• Giveaway - GIGABYTE X79S-UP5-WIFI @ Tweaktown

Gigabyte trims the fat off of the GA-Z77N-WiFi Mini-ITX

Subject: General Tech | March 5, 2013 - 07:10 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gigabyte, GA-Z77N-WiFi

It seems hard to figure out how Gigabyte can sell the GA-Z77N-WiFi for about $20 less than other Z77 boards; it bears a full PCIe 16x slot along with 4 SATA ports, two of them 6Gbs ports, a pair of USB 3.0 ports and Bluetooth, WiFi and dual ethernet for connectivity.  They also included a DVI port and a pair of HDMI ports plus WiDi support, giving it incredible video output flexibility.  The Tech Report tested the motherboard to see if there was anywhere that Gigabyte might have reduced functionality and apart from some issues with the BIOS they were happy to find this board a solid and steady component perfect for HTPC duties.

"Gigabyte's GA-Z77N-WiFi is the most affordable Mini-ITX board based on Intel's Z77 Express platform. We take a closer look to see what this potential bargain has to offer."

Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:

Motherboards

• Gigabyte GA-Z77-HD4 Motherboard Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Asus P8Z77-V LK @ Kitguru
• Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 Review: OC Oriented Orange Overkill @ AnandTech
• BIOSTAR Hi-Fi Z77X @ Tweaktown
• GIGABYTE Z77X-UD4H @ Tweaktown
• GUGABYTE X79S-UP5-WiFi @ Tweaktown
• ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP @ Tweaktown
• BIOS Option Of The Week - No-Execute Memory Protect @ TechARP
• ASRock FM2A85X-ITX Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets
• ECS A85F2-A Golden for AMD Socket FM2 APUs @ techPowerUp
• Gigabyte F2A85XM-D3H @ Kitguru

Deals for March 5th - HP ENVY TouchSmart 4t-1200 14" Core i3 Ultrabook for $599

Subject: General Tech | March 5, 2013 - 03:24 PM | PCPer Staff
Tagged: deals

Top deal

HP ENVY TouchSmart 4t-1200 14" Core i3 Ultrabook for $599.99 with Free Shipping (normally $750 - use coupon code: NB3313).

Tastes great, less filling. Virtualization Light by Shadow Defender

Subject: General Tech | March 5, 2013 - 01:02 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: virtualization, shadow defender, light virtualization

Light Virtualization is essentially a sandbox tool for those who do not have the equipment available to set up a full virtual machine server.  It allows you to create a virtualization buffer or partition on your system drive which will not save any changes made to the system unless specified, perfect for testing software or patches as well as for ensuring almost any malware infections will not survive a reboot.  Shadow Defender is light virtualization software which has been around for a while but has not been updated for about two years, until very recently when a major update arrived.  This update encompasses many of the recent changes to hardware such as TRIM support for SSDs and even support for Win8.  While it won't stop an infection from hitting your PC, as long as you do not save any of the changes made to the virtualized portion of your drive any rootkit or other such malware will not survive a reboot.  Take a look at how to use the software and how effective it is over at Tweaktown.

"Shadow Defender (or SD for short as it is known among its dedicated fans) has been enjoying a great reputation among Light Virtualization fans during the last few years. There has been a barren period of two and a half years where development was interrupted, leaving v1.1.0.325 (which was released back in February 2010) as the last known good version."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Need an army of killer zombies? Yours for just $25 per 1,000 PCs @ The Register
• NetApp could use Microsoft to beat off VMware's virtual tool @ The Register
• ASRock introduces Haswell Z87/H87/B85 motherboards @ Hardware.info
• USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0 Flash Drives On Linux @ Phoronix
• TP-Link TL-WDR4900 review: TP-Link's best router yet @ Hardware.info

Java Releases Patch Addressing Vulnerability Used By McRat Trojan

Subject: General Tech | March 5, 2013 - 06:26 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: security, patch, mcrat trojan, Java, exploit

Java developer Oracle recently released a patch to its Java Platform Standard Edition client to address two exploits used by attackers to install the McRAT trojan onto users machines. Specifically, Oracle is issuing the patch for vulnerabilities CVE-2013-1493 and CVE-2013-0809.

The vulnerabilities were related to Java running in a web browser. When users visit a malicious web site with vulnerable versions of Java installed, attackers are able to remote execute the McRAT trojan. That trojan was subsequently used to download additional malware to further compromise the machines in question. According to Oracle, the vulnerability was first discovered on February 1st, 2013 but did not make it in time to be rolled into that month’s scheduled update. As a result, Oracle slated it for inclusion in the Java platform update on April 16, 2013, but reconsidered after seeing exploits using these vulnerabilities in the wild. While servers and standalone Java installations are not affected, consumers will need to apply the patch via Java SE’s automatic updater or by manually installing the patch from this page. Currently, all Java SE versions prior to this patch are affected, including JDK and JRE 7 Update 15, 6 Update 41, and 5.0 Update 40 (or earlier).

Oracle states that the patch is a critically important update, and users should update as soon as possible. If you have not already applied the update (or given up on Java and uninstalled it completely--heh), start up Java and check for updates to grab the patch.

Qualcomm & MSI Announce Killer Z77 Motherboard.

Subject: General Tech, Networking, Motherboards | March 5, 2013 - 03:01 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: qualcomm, msi, killer nic, Intel Z77

MSI says “JUST GAME!”... but... I must write up their announcement first...

The computer components company would like us to “JUST GAME!” on their gaming motherboards, of course. This press release is for the MSI Killer Z77 gaming motherboard. The board supports the DDR3-3000, Creative Sound Blaster Cinema with Crystalizer, OC Genie II, and Military Class III initiatives.

But to call yourself Killer, you got some big shoes to fill.

Yes MSI, we get it. Challenge accepted.

What makes it a “Killer” announcement is the addition of a Killer E2200 LAN chip from Qualcomm's Bigfoot Networks. We have a fair amount of experience with the gamer networking hardware company; Ryan wrote a review all the way back in 2006. Since then, the company found themselves scooped up by Qualcomm where they found their technology integrated into motherboards from various manufacturers. They have also dabbled into wireless technology.

MSI proclaims with the E2200 LAN chip, their motherboard will have to use less space to house the chip when compared to the earlier Killer E2100. Also, for users running Windows 8, the E2200 was designed to support that operating system. Linux gamers? You too, but not until the second half of 2013.

If you want to see what the PR people have to say, check out Qualcomm's blog post.

Android Version of Chrome May Get SPDY Proxy Speed Boost

Subject: General Tech | March 5, 2013 - 02:17 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: web browser, mobile, chrome, Android

Chrome for Android will allegedly be getting a speed boost thanks to a new SPDY-assisted proxy service. If a recent patch is any indication, future versions of Chrome may adopt a proxy service similar to Opera Turbo, Amazon Silk, or BlackBerry Proxy. Google would take advantage of its SPDY protocol to compress and multiplex web sites. We requests would be sent through Google, where Google would take the HTTP/HTTPS pages, compress and otherwise optimize them, and send them to your Android smartphone.

While on Wi-Fi or a wired connection, the performance merits of such proxy services are minimal at best (and at worst can actually slow down page loads). With that said, over a mobile network--especially if you are living in an area with (at best) 3G speeds, the new SPDY proxy service could make a huge difference in page load times. If my experiences using Opera and its Turbo proxy service over a 3G connection for the past month is any indication of the potential benefits of such a setup, some pages will load much faster, a few sites will actually load slower than browsing without the proxy, and the majority of websites will fall somewhere in between those two extremes, providing a slightly faster web browsing experience. Google may be taking things a step further by introducing its SPDY protocol to speed up the HTTP requests, which is an interesting tactic beyond the basic compression and/or caching that the existing alternatives employ.

Details on the hinted-at Google-run SPDY proxy service are scarce, but I hope that it holds true. There are some privacy considerations, but if you are just reading articles and have resigned yourself to the fact that Chrome/Google tracks you anyway (heh) it is a nice optional feature to have!

Audyssey tries to bring quality sound to desktop speakers

Subject: General Tech | March 4, 2013 - 05:26 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: audio, Audyssey, Lower East Side, speakers

Audyssey updated the look of desktop speakers with their new Lower East Side satellites, not only the look is more modern they have also included optical input as well as a 3.5mm mini jack input.  They do lack the versatility of larger speakers, having only a volume control, leaving balance and equalization to the computer they are hooked up to.  Nikktech felt that the audio quality was superior to many other desktop speakers, perhaps not a big challenge but commendable none the less.  They peg the street price at about $200, so you might want to consider a high end headset instead if you don't need to share your audio, on the other hand for business usage in presentations these speakers could well be perfect.

"I remember a time when we all went out occasionally to see all the latest complete stereo systems launched from all the leading manufacturers like SONY, Philips, Pioneer, Panasonic, AIWA, Technics and Yamaha only to find out in the end that we couldn't really afford to get the highest end models featuring 10 CD disc changers (or more), mini discs and plenty of bells and whistles which of course were not available on the cheapest models. Times have changed however and so nowadays most people prefer to use their computer systems, media stations and smartphones to listen to their favorite music while at the comfort of their home and so the only real issue is finding a quality speaker set capable of fulfilling that task with ease. Well the latest Wireless Speakers by our friends over at Audyssey just might be the right ones for the job."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Audio Corner

• Ineo Alienvibes W401 Speaker Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Steelseries Flux Luxury Headset @ XSReviews
• Auvio Bluetooth Portable Speaker Review @ TechwareLabs
• Wavemaster MX3+ 2.1 Speaker System @ eTeknix
• Cooler Master Storm Sirus Headset Review @ XtremeComputing
• Asus ROG Vulcan ANC Pro @ eTeknix
• Cooler Master CM Storm Ceres-400 Gaming Headset Review @ Neoseeker
• Jaybird BlueBuds X Bluetooth Headphones Review @ Custom PC Review

Double your drive density with HGST's special new offer

Subject: General Tech | March 4, 2013 - 12:40 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: hgst, hard drives, western digital

HGST, the recently purchased research division at Western Digital is promising to double the density of platter drives over the next few years, enhancing the longevity of a storage media that many already consider obsolete.  However, like tape and optical media there continue to be many scenarios where inexpensive high density storage is more useful than the speed offered by an SSD.  Using a combination of self-assembling molecules and nanoimprinting they are hitting a density of 1.2 trillion bits per square inch, not quite the density of the salted drives we heard about in 2011 but perhaps much closer to market.  Each of those dots is 10nm in size and because of the self assembling nature of the pattern HGST told The Register that they expect to be able to shrink the size of those dots even more as their process matures.

"HGST, the Western Digital subsidiary formerly known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, says it has developed a method of manufacturing hard-disk platters using nanotechnology that could double the density of today's hard drives."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Yet another Java zero-day vuln is being exploited @ The Register
• Apple 'insider' explains why vid adapter hides ARM computer @ The Register
• NikKTech And Cooler Master Joint Giveaway
• Win an ASUS GTX Titan GPU & Seasonic Platinum 1000W PSU! @ Kitguru

Dell Releases Wireless 802.11ad Dock With USB 3.0, Mutli-Display Support

Subject: General Tech | March 4, 2013 - 07:00 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: wireless dock, wigig, dock, dell, computing, 802.11ad

Dell has launched a new docking station for its laptops. In an interesting twist, the dock connects to the computer over an 802.11ad “WiGig” link to provide up to 7Gbps bandwidth between the dock and laptop. The Dell Wireless D5000 docking station supports multi-display, USB 3.0, and audio output. According to Dell, it is the worlds first commercially available wireless dock.

The Wireless D5000 dock pairs with Dell's 1601 WiGig card, which is currently only available with Dell's Latitude 6430u laptop. Pairing is a simple matter of hitting the pairing button and hitting connect in Dell's Connection Manager software. A single USB 3.0 port and headphone jack are also available on the front of the device.

Rear IO on the Dell Wireless D5000 dock includes DC power jack, Ethernet jack, two USB 3.0 ports, a single HDMI port, and one DisplayPort output. Additionally, the D5000 uses a WiGig radio to provide the connectivitiy over a wireless link. WiGig, or 802.11ad, uses the 60GHz wireless spectrum to provide high bandwidth at short distances. The chip Dell is using in the dock is capable of falling back to 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands–you can expect significantly slower speeds in that situation though. You will be able to take your computer with you, set it on the desk and have two desktop monitors, a wired network connection, and USB 3.0 ports. Not bad, though Justin Kerr over at Maximum PC notes that wireless power for charging your laptop would have really ratcheted-up the dock's usefulness.

In terms of connectivity, there is nothing especially new here that Thunderbolt docks are not already providing (aside from the wireless nature, of course). I say this because the Dell D5000 dock's pricing is in line with many of the Thunderbolt options. If you can stand a wired connection to the dock and your laptop/ultrabook has a Thunderbolt port, you could grab a dock with similar port options, higher theoretical bandwith, and a Thunderbolt passthrough. The Dell D5000 is available for $270 at Dell's online store, but it is reportedly cheaper if purchased with the Dell Latitude 6430U laptop. In that scenario, the wireless dock is only $190 (which is, admittedly, pretty good even against Thunderbolt docks).

LG Has Sold 10 Million LTE Smartphones Worldwide, Expects to Double Market Penetration in 2013

Subject: General Tech | March 3, 2013 - 05:37 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: smartphones, LTE, LG, Android

LG recently announced that it has sold 10 million smartphones equipped with LTE (Long Term Evolution) radios. That number is merely a small slice of the total 90.9 million LTE phones shipped in 2012 by all manufacturers, but it is an impressive number for the South Korean company.

LG attributes its record sales to is flagship Optimus G and other LTE smartphones being launched in the United States, Japan, Germany, and South Korea. LG smartphones are still somewhat rare in the US, with Samsung and HTC dominating the Android options here. Still, it is nice to see additional competition, and hopefully LG will make itself more widely known in North America.

Through 2013, LG expects to double its market penetration with new LTE smartphones in additional emerging markets. Surprisingly, research firm Strategy Analytics estimates that global LTE smartphone shipments will grow Year over Year 202.5% to 275 million units. That is quite the jump from 2012’s 90.9 million LTE smartphones! According to LG, part of the company’s plan to contribute to that estimated shipment number is to introduce two new smartphones in the Optimus F series, and to roll-out the existing Optimus G to 50 additional countries.

The two new Optimus F smartphones feature LTE radios, IPS displays, large displays, and beefy batteries. The Optimus F7 has a 4.7” (312 PPI) IPS display, 1.5GHz dual core SoC, 2540 mAh battery, and 2GB of RAM. The Optimus F5, on the other hand, has a 4.3” (256 PPI) IPS display, 1.2GHz dual core SoC, 2150 mAh battery, and 1GB of RAM.

It remains to be seen whether or not LG can reach its goal, but I am hopeful that the company will at least be able to give the other Android smartphone makers a run for their money with new phone designs.

You can find the full press release over at Engadget.

Seagate Will Cease Production of 7200 RPM Notebook Hard Drives Later This Year

Subject: General Tech | March 3, 2013 - 04:49 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: Seagate, mobile, laptop, hard drives, 7200 rpm

Seagate Technology, the world’s second largest hard drive manufacturer (by market share), recently announced that it will be ceasing production on notebook hard drives featuring 7200 RPM spindle speeds. According to X-Bit Labs, Seagate Director of Marketing and Product Management David Burks stated that “We are going [to] stop building our notebook 7200rpm hard disk drives at the end of 2013.”

Stopping production of high-end notebook hard drives is a curious move for a company that is still dependent on hard drives to survive--with just a toe in the Solid State space with its hybrid hard drives. On the other hand, the market for such high-end notebook drives is likely feeling pressure from Solid State drives for pure performance at any price, cheap hard drives paired with a small mSATA caching SSD, and high-capacity 5400 RPM drives at extremely cheap prices. Users that would have traditionally favored 7200 RPM drives for an extra price during laptop configuration are now faced with more choices on the performance at modest price increases front with caching options. Further, with the advent of interfaces like Thunderbolt and USB 3.0, it is now more acceptable to go with a low capacity, cheaper, Solid State Drive for the operating system and applications while using external hard drives for your storage needs without incurring a transfer speed bottleneck that USB 2.0 exhibited.

Reportedly, Seagate will stop production of its Momentus 7200.4, Momentus 7200.2, and Momentus Thin notebook drive lineups. Further, the storage company will put more focus into further fleshing out its Momentus XT drives. The XT series features a spindle hard drive and small bit of SLC NAND flash for caching frequently accessed files. Hopefully the renewed focus on its hybrid hard drive series will result in drives with larger caches. That may necessitate the move to MLC flash to keep costs down, but I think a HHD with 32GB+ of MLC or TLC flash would be an acceptable compromise.

What do you think of the move? Customers will likely be able to get their hands on 7200 RPM mobile drives well into 2014 thanks to stock on hand at the various OEMs and retailers (and alternative options from other HDD manufacturers), so the fallout is likely to be minimal. Still, is it the right move for Seagate?

Internet Explorer Still Most Popular Web Browser in 2013

Subject: General Tech | March 2, 2013 - 11:58 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: web browser, market share, internet explorer, chrome

Net Market Share has released statistics on the state of browser market share as of last month (February 2013). The numbers indicate that Internet Explorer is still the dominant browser on the desktop, with Firefox and Chrome coming in second and third place respecitvely. Interesting, the situation is reversed on the mobile front, with Internet Explorer being greatly surpased by Apple’s Safari in the top spot.

On the desktop browser front, Internet Explorer experienced year over year growth to 55.52% in February 2013. Firefox market share remained fairly stable YoY, ending up with 20.12%. Further, Chrome saw a slight YoY decline to 16.27%. Additionally, Safari and Opera sustained 5.42% and 1.82% market share in February 2013. Both browsers’ slice of the market remained fairly stable throughout the year. It will be interesting to see if Opera’s switch to WebKit will net the browser additional market share (RIP Presto).

Ars Technica further compiled charts on the specific browser versions used. While the majority of IE users are running version 8 and 9 (with IE 6 sadly being the thrid most popular version), Chrome and Firefox users are spread out fairly evenly between the different versions. That may have more to do with Chrome and Firefox’s accelerated versioning/updating though.

For mobile, Apple’s Safari browser leads the pack with 55.41% as of February 2013, which is surprisingly a YoY decline. Meanwhile, the stock Android web browser gained ground throughout the year, ending up with a market share of 22.85%. Opera Mini came in third place with 12.72% market share. Other interesting numbers include Chrome with 1.96%, Internet Explorer (mobile) with 1.58%, and BlackBerry with 0.96%. Further, Symbian has 1.37% market share, which puts it above BlackBerry and just under Internet Explorer. Not bad for a dying mobile OS!

I was fairly surprised by the Internet Explorer numbers, but when taking into account work machines and Windows’ dominance (and users that generally use the default browser--power users excluded of course) I suppose it makes sense. I do wish that the IE6 numbers would fall a bit more though, even it if it just users moving to a newer version of IE.

You can find the full Net Market Share report here. What browser(s) do you use on a daily basis?

Move over mineral oil, Novec has Iceotope

Subject: General Tech | March 1, 2013 - 02:57 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: 3M, Novec, Iceotope, liquid cooling, mineral oil

The demonstration video for Novec's Iceotope features a full submerged and functioning iPhone, as well as a less expensive phone, neither of which suffered at all from being dunked in the non-conductive liquid; you should probably wipe them off before using them though.  This project from Leeds University claims an 80-97% improvement in cooling efficiency over air cooling though they do not compare it to mineral oil or other exotic cooling solutions.  Head over to The Register for a look at the demonstration video.

"We've seen quite a few innovative engineers who have tried to bring down data centre cooling costs, including this mad crowd who dunked theirs in a deep fryer... Now boffins at Leeds University and British start-up Icetope have invented a super cooling liquid that could create a new generation of "wet servers". They say it could cut the cooling costs of the world's server farms by 97 per cent."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• USB 3.0 problems for Intel's Haswell @ Hardware.info
• Soluble support structure can be used with any extruder-based 3D printer @ Hack a Day
• Blackberry updates Blackberry 10 OS @ The Inquirer
• Dremel 8200 12V MAX Lithium Ion Cordless Rotary Tool Review @ ModSynergy
• Philips Hue: Automated Home Lighting Gets Colorful @ AnandTech
• Moscow's speed cameras 'knackered' by MYSTERY malware @ The Register
• INVICTA 12845 Specialty Black Dial Watch Review @ NikKTec

Deals for March 1st - Dell XPS 10 32GB Dual-core Windows RT Tablet for $399

Subject: General Tech | March 1, 2013 - 01:47 PM | PCPer Staff
Tagged: deals

Top deal

Dell XPS 10 32GB Dual-core Windows RT Tablet for $399.99 with Free Shipping (normally $500).

Laptops

Toshiba Satellite L850D-BT3N22 15.6" AMD Laptop w/Win 8 (customizable) for $429.99(normally $680).

ASUS VivoBook X202E-DH31T 11.6" Touchscreen Core i3 Laptop w/Windows 8 for $419.95 with Free Shipping(normally $500).

Computer Components

Crucial M4 2.5" 512GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD (CT512M4SSD2) for $369.99 with Free Shipping(normally $500).

Web Hosting

Full Year of Web Hosting - Only $10(normally $83.40).

Mobile Phones

Nokia Lumia 920 LTE WP8 Smartphone [AT&T] + Wireless Charging Plate for $99.99 with Free Shipping

Nokia Lumia 920 LTE WP8 Smartphone [AT&T] + Wireless Charging Plate for $99.99 with Free Shipping

Gaming

Forza Horizon (Xbox 360) for $39.99 with Free Shipping(normally $60)

Pre-order Tomb Raider: The Final Hours Edition (Xbox 360 or PS3) + $5 Gift Card + Extras for $59.99 with free shipping

Gadgets

Sony Alpha DSLR NEX-7 24MP Camera w/ 18-55mm Lens for $1,148.00 with Free Shipping (normally $1,350).

Sony Bloggie Live MHS-TS55 HD Camcorder for $99.99 with Free Shipping (normally $250).

Clearsounds Shakeup Bed Shaker Alarm Clock for $89.95 with Free Shipping (normally $230).

Podcast #240 - GTX TITAN Benchmarks, Frame Rating, Tegra 4 Details and more!

Subject: General Tech | February 28, 2013 - 03:45 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: video, titan, sli, R5000, podcast, nvidia, H90, H110, gtx titan, frame rating, firepro, crossfire, amd

PC Perspective Podcast #240 - 02/28/2013

Join us this week as we discuss GTX TITAN Benchmarks, Frame Rating, Tegra 4 Details and more!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

• iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
• RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
• MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Jeremy Hellstrom, Josh Walrath and Allyn Malventano

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!

Program length: 1:24:28

Podcast topics of discussion:

1. 0:01:18 PCPer Podcast BINGO!
2. Week in Reviews:
   1. 0:03:00 GeForce GTX TITAN Performance Review
   2. 0:21:55 Frame Rating Part 3: First Results from the New GPU Performance Tools
   3. 0:38:00 Corsair Hydro Series H90 and H110 140mm Liquid Cooler Review
3. 0:40:30 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!
4. News items of interest:
   1. 0:41:45 New Offices coming for NVIDIA
   2. 0:45:00 Chromebook Pixel brings high-res to high-price
   3. 0:48:00 GPU graphics market updates from JPR
   4. 0:55:45 Tegra 4 graphics details from Mobile World Congress
   5. 1:01:00 Unreal Engine 4 on PS4 has reduced quality
   6. 1:04:10 Micron SAS SSDs
   7. 1:08:25 AMD FirePro R5000 PCoIP Card
5. Closing:
   1. 1:13:35 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
      1. Ryan: NOT this 3 port HDMI switch
      2. Jeremy: Taxidermy + PICAXE, why didn't we think of this before?
      3. Josh: Still among my favorite headphones
      4. Allyn: Cyto

1. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
2. http://pcper.com/podcast
3. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
4. Closing/outro

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