Fujitsu Siemens' ultra green LCD monitors

With the call to leave a lesser carbon footprint on this fragile earth of ours, it's great news to hear that Fujitsu Siemens (not a brand we'd typically associate with LCD monitors) has developed a prototype 22-inch LCD monitor. What's different is this incorporates solar panels which work with a capacitor and special relay to cut power usage when on standby.

In fact, it can reportedly operate in in zero consumption mode for five days on standby, and when active, like a miserly Scrooge, sips just 0.6-0.9W of electricity. It's exciting enough to keep a watch out for, and certainly doesn't hurt the pocket when one gets the utilities bill in the mail.

Word is the company's also looking to implement its green tech into TVs, with the PC monitors slated to be first out by Q2 of 2008.

Via Personal Computer World | Image not the actual prototype

Intel 45nm processors start with Core 2 Extreme

To a scientist just half a century ago, the modern processor would have seemed magical. After all, a piece of silicon the size of a postage stamp is able to calculate faster than a skyscraper full of mathematicians. The secret behind the chip is a series of transistor gates that speak the binary language.

The more transistor gates one can put on a chip, the faster it will perform. Machines capable of etching gates 65nm small were used to make the current crop of Intel processors The new generation will be based on 45nm technology. The first units to reach consumer hands (excluding server offerings) will come in the form of the Core 2 Extreme QX9650 officially launched today. Though it will take some time before it's filtered to retail stores, we suspect only cash-rich gamers and enthusiasts will be rubbing their hands in anticipation. After all, the Core 2 Extreme processor is expected to cost US$999 (S$1,445.50). At this price, one can get a second PC or notebook.

But those with smaller pockets need not fear being excluded from 45nm technology as Intel plans to roll out cheaper chips in early 2008.

Lexar's UDMA CF/SD reader

Lexar is about to start shipping a new reader to complement its line of 300X Professional UDMA CompactFlash cards. First announced back in February, the reader features two slots: One UDMA-compatible CompactFlash slot and one SDHC-compatible SD card slot.

The reader's slick design includes an integrated cover for the card slots. If you press buttons on the sides of the reader, the middle portion pops up and the slots become accessible. When you're done, just push the middle part down and the slots are covered, so you don't have to worry about dirt or dust getting inside the slots while you're toting the reader from one shoot to the next in your bag. A mini USB jack on the back lets you connect it to your computer with the included mini-to-full-size USB cable.
Read more »

ASUS Eee concept possibly coming to desktops

The US$399 ASUS Eee PC, the surprising popular Linux-based ultraportable laptop, will have a desktop cousin next year, according to a report in DigiTimes. The 7-inch laptop, which sports a 4GB solid-state hard drive and weighs only 0.92kg, scored high marks with us for its simple user interface, low price, and decent performance.

Reviewers and the mainstream press both lavished the recently released laptop with coverage, and ASUS claims worldwide shipments have already reached 100,000 units.

No price or spec details on the proposed desktop are available, but the "Eee" in the system's name stands for "Easy to learn, easy to play, easy to work," so you can expect the same tab-based desktop layout, with preloaded software, such as Firefox and Open Office, taking the place of their Microsoft counterparts.

Via Crave CNET

Lenovo enters workstation market

Lenovo is making some changes. In the space of less than a week, the Chinese PC maker has announced it is dropping the IBM logo from its Think-branded products, and now it is entering a new, if not exactly exciting, segment of the PC market: Workstations.

The newest member of the family will be called the ThinkStation, and Lenovo says its debut marks the first new Think-branded product since it bought IBM's PC business two years ago.

The first two models, the ThinkStation S10 and D10, are aimed at creative professionals and engineers, Lenovo says. The D10 will have the upcoming quad-core Xeon processor 5400 series from Intel, and the S10 will have the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX9650. Both come equipped with Gigabit Ethernet and are Energy Star 4.0-compliant. Lenovo also says an advanced cooling system will make sure the noise level of the ThinkStation isn't any louder than the average Lenovo desktop.

Available beginning in January in the US, the S10 will start at US$1,199 and the D10 at US$1,739. There is no news if these workstations will be making their way to Asia for now.

Via CNET Crave

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