Apple CEO Steve Jobs Takes Medical Leave Again

Steve Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, announced thathe would take an extended medical leave yet again. Unlike in 2009, he did not mention when he expects to return.
During Jobs’ absence, Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook willtake responsibility for the company’s day-to-day operations. Cook, whois predicted to be the logical successor to Jobs, ran the company for two months in2004 and again in 2009 when Jobs took time off to fight cancer.

No further details were provided, though here’s his email to employees expressing his love for the company and his wish to return as soon as he can:
Team,
At my request, the board ofdirectors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on myhealth. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions forthe company.
I have asked Tim Cook to beresponsible for all of Apple's day to day operations. I have great confidencethat Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific jobexecuting the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.
I love Apple so much and hopeto be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeplyappreciate respect for our privacy.
Privacy, indeed.
Source:Yahoo! News

Apple announces hard disk replacement program for iMacs

Apple users, especially iMac owners who have bought their machines recently this year might want to take note of Apples latest announcement. Apparently, the Cupertino giant has discovered thatsome of the1TB Seagate hard disks that are currently being used in its 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs are currently affected by an issue which could cause it to "fail under certain conditions".

Apple has not disclosed any details about the alleged issue which could cause the aforementioned hard disk to fail prematurely, although it did mention that the issue is currently isolated to only "a very small number" of hard disks, and only on iMacs which were sold between May and July this year. To resolve this issue, the company has announced the commencement of a "Hard Drive Replacement Program" for the aforementioned iMacs, and that it has already sent out emails to consumers who are currently in the possession of an affected machine to inform them about the program. In addition, users can also visit Apples support page here to check if their machines are eligible for the free hard disk replacement program,although they will need to supply their iMacs serial number if they wish to perform the manual verification.

Lastly, Apple has announced on its support page that the hard disk replacement program will run until July 23 next year, so there is more than enough time to back up your work before making an appointment with Apple to have the faulty hard disk replaced.

Source: Macworld

Arctic Cooling announces the Accelero Mono PLUS, a new VGA cooler

Arctic cooling designed the Accelero Mono Plus with a unique mounting plate design, meaning that the cooler is designed for maximum compatibility over a wide range of graphic cards. The 120mm PWM controlled fan combined with the 5 heatpipes give an ample cooling capacity of up to 200W. The design of the cooler also improves the cooling of the RAM and VR modules, while the company claims that this cooler is virtually silent.

Source : AC

ASUS unveils X-series laptop in Singapore

The ASUS X-series notebooksare designed to provide no-frills mobile computing experience. It features the innovative Palm Proof Technology which can intelligently differentiate betweencontact surfaces of the palm and fingertips to prevent unintentional onscreen cursor movements. The ASUS X42Jrhas an ergonomic, streamlined design that housesvarious user-friendly features including a chiclet keyboard, a touchpad with Palm Proof Technology, and Power4Gear power management system.

Incorporating Intel's latest processor, theASUS laptopclaims to deliver thesuperb performance, be it for multimedia or productivity. With discrete ATI Mobility Radeon HD5470 graphics with 1GB DDR3 VRAM, it offer usersan immersive multimedia experience throughits 14-inch 16:9 high definition LED-backlit panels and Altec Lansing speakers with SRS Premium Sound.

The ASUS X42Jralso comes with ASUS Power4Gear - a power management system that helps prolong battery life by adjusting the power settings to suit the computing task at hand.

Priced from S$1,798 (depending on configurations), the ASUS X42Jr is available since October, and will be selling at the SITEX Show next week at the Singapore Expo - 24 to 28 November.

ASUS PhysX Card Ready

ASUS PhysX Card

AGEIA PhysX Reference Card

Heres a pic on how the PhysX card using AGEIA PhysX processor from ASUS will look like. In comparison with the reference card, there are some differences in the PCB and components layout. Now the PhysX card looks more like a graphics card with 128MB onboard GDDR3 memories, a heatsink fan to cool the PPU and also a 12V Molex connector for additional power source. The PPU is made on 0.13 micron technology and contains 125M transistors. Upcoming game titles like Unreal Tournament 2007 featuring Unreal Engine 3.0, Bet on Soldier: Blood Sport, Dogtag, Sacred™ sequel will be able to support AGEIA physics technology. BFG will be making the PhysX cards too and is slated for this Christmas release.

2012-12-21-368

AC Ryan announces firmware updates for Playon! HD2 and Playon! Mini 2 in Singapore

AC Ryan has recentlyannounced new firmware upgrades for the Playon! HD2 and Playon! Mini 2 media players. Some of the new improvements include scan storage function that can update without rebooting; displaying of titles in the ID3 tag of audio files during playback, fixed problem of continuous loading when entering Shoutcast Radio. On top of that, Muzee Internet Radio and TV services have been added in Internet Media.

AC Ryan Playon! HD2- http://www.acryan.com/web/support/ACR-PV73700/

AC Ryan Playon! Mini 2 - http://www.acryan.com/web/support/ACR-PV73800/

There are two flashing procedures, Safe Mode and NormalMode.

For Safe Mode:-

1. Copy install.img to the root directory of a USB flash drive and connect it to any USB host port of the unit.
2. Switch off the main power to the unit.
3. Press and hold on to the power button on the front panel of the unit.
4. Switch on the main power.
5. Release the power button when the firmware update starts flashing on your display in a moment and will automatically reboot when update is completed.
**Do not power off the unit during the flashing process!**

For Normal Mode:-

1. Copy install.img to the root directory of a USB flash drive and connect it to any USB host port of the unit.
2. Enter the Setup menu, System, USB Upgrade and Enter to confirm.
3. The firmware update will start flashing on your display in a moment and will automatically reboot when update is completed

2012-12-21-354

ABIT Introduces Silent OTES

ABIT Engineering has done it again; but unlike the high performance coolerslike OTES™, OTES AeroFlow™ and Dual OTES™ before it, this one won't be making asound.

Today ABIT is proud to announce its latest innovation, the Silent OTES™ (SilentOutside Thermal Exhaust System), a device specifically designed to silently coolthe motherboard's North Bridge chipset.

Silent OTES uses ABIT-designed heatpipe technology to transfer unwanted heatfrom the North Bridge to the fins of the Collection Module. From there, heat isexhausted outside of the case by air flowing from the CPU fan. The result, atotally silent platform offering excellent cooling efficiency while utilizingthe existing CPU fan, ultimately providing enhanced performance, stability and aquieter experience for the end user.

The cooling system is derived from the finest materials to ensure excellentcooling performance. The North Bridge comes in contact with a high-gradealuminum heatsink with an all-copper base, which is fastened securely withscrews to ensure maximum contact for heat transfer. Pure red copper fins on theCollection Module are angled for optimum air flow, and utilizing existingairflow from the CPU fan, deliver excellent cooling with minimal noise thanks totheir large surface area.

"Silent OTES will be a great boon for performance users who need optimal coolinga quiet environment," notes ABIT Product Marketing Manager Michael Chen. "Eightmonths in development, Silent OTES follows in ABIT's tradition of bringinginnovative solutions to users world wide."

The first motherboards to feature ABIT's patent pending Q-OTES technology willbe announced in May.