Apple achieves milestone 25 billion App Store downloads

Apple has reached a landmark figure of 25 billion downloads in its App Store and is offering a prize of a $10,000 iTunes gift card to one lucky user to celebrate.

The Cupertino, California-based company began its countdown last week, achieving the major milestone over the weekend when Chunli Fu of Qingdao, China downloaded the free trial version of Disneys game app Wheres My Water?Fu will now receive the huge iTunes gift card as thanks from Apple for helping it reach its record goal. $10,000 will be more than enough to encourage her to buy the full version of the game, and dozens more, as well as thousands of songs, films and other media.“We’d like to thank our customers and developers for helping us achieve this historic milestone of 25 billion apps downloaded,” said Eddy Cue, SVP of Internet Software and Services at Apple. “When we launched the App Store less than four years ago, we never imagined that mobile apps would become the phenomenon they have, or that developers would create such an incredible selection of apps for iOS users.”The record was achieved by users of the over 315 million iOS devices across the world, with over 550,000 apps on offer. The App Store launched in 2008 and broke the one billion download barrier within a year. Only four years later it has grown that figure by more than 25 times.

Apple to make official iPhone 5 announcement on September 12

An anonymous source has reported that Apple may unveil the latest iPhone on September 12. The iPhone 5 will be Apple’s next flagship smartphone, which is rumored to have a larger screen, thinner dimension, and better overall processing power.

A supposed leak of a fully assembled iPhone was found earlier, but it was unconfirmed whether the smuggled device was the real deal.

The iPhone 5’s official announcement is perhaps Silicon Valley’s most anticipated news of the year, and its almost a no brainer that Apple will take advantage of the increase holidays spending to boost sales of their cash cow device.

The anonymous source also said that the September 12 date might change; so don’t get excited just yet.

We’ll know in about a month and a half whether or not Apple decides to lift the lid on their next-gen smartphone. We have our calendar circled and will keep you posted.

Source: iMore

ASUS Releases New VENTO TA-U Series Cases

ASUS today released the new VENTO TA-U Series chassis that comes with a unique frame welding technique to provide lightweight yet strong reinforcement for the whole frame. The case supports four 12cm LED fans: a front intake fan, a rear exhaust fan, and two side fans.It features pre-drilled liquid cooling pipe holes that allow users to prepare for future liquid cooling options.

Press Release :

Taipei, Taiwan, February 2, 2009 – ASUS, leading producer of PC chassis, today released the new ASUS VENTO TA-U Series chassis. Targeting users who require a chassis that provides excellent functionality as well as trendy aesthetics, the VENTO TA-U Series utilizes an exquisitely handcrafted aluminum body and features exceptional ventilation for both performance and stability. It also allows users to enjoy hassle-free installation and optimized scalability—making it the best choice for gamers and power users alike.

Exquisitely Handcrafted Quality Design
The VENTO TA-U Series utilizes a unique frame welding technique to provide lightweight yet mechanically strong reinforcement for the whole frame. The sturdy design incorporates an aluminum body with brushed aluminum finishing on the faceplate as well as the top panel; while the optical drive bay is exquisitely framed with a diamond-cut technique. The faceplate is also overlaid with an anode treated bezel and the delicate VENTO logo name plate that exudes a premium and luxurious feel. The side panel also supports two transparent 12cm LED fans to radiate a cool blue lighting during operation—further enhancing the overall look and feel.

Maximized Thermal Efficiency for Continuous Operation
The VENTO TA-U Series provides support for four 12cm LED fans: a front intake fan, a rear exhaust fan, and two side fans—allowing fresh, cool air to be drawn into the casing for exceptional cooling capabilities (VENTO TA-U2 cooling fin edition supports an additional three LED fans on the top of the chassis). Heat generated from the system is expelled immediately via the rear fan, while side venting holes deliver even more cool air to circulate into the chassis—lowering CPU and video card temperatures. The VENTO TA-U Series even features pre-drilled liquid cooling pipe holes that allow users to prepare for future liquid cooling options. This maximized thermal efficiency enables long and continuous operations for the most powerful processing platforms and increases overall system performance and stability.

User-centric Design for Easy, Hassle-free Installation
Incorporating several convenient design features, the VENTO TA-U Series is user-friendly and easy to assemble. These features include trimmed and folded metal edges that protect fingers from scrapes and cuts. The ASUS screwless design allows users to easily and quickly install the ODD, HDD and PCI cards tool-free, without requiring screws or extra tools. The added space in the chassis also accommodates either a single graphics card of up to 315mm or SLI / Crossfire cards of up to 300mm. One of the four 5.25” racks can even be converted into 3.5” via a supplied bracket for more flexibility in the users’ setup. Furthermore, rubber shock absorbers in the side cover and foot stands eliminate vibrations that cause excessive noise for quiet and comfortable operation.

ATi R420 Benchmarks

The gaming and enthusiasts community are going crazy over the leaked RadeonX800 Pro and XT benchmarks. It seems like the ATi cards are fairly pretty wellagainst the GeForce 6800 Ultra but Radeon X800 XT seems a little poor inprice-performance aspect at this point of time. Interestingly, there is a switchprovided by ATi to enable Temporal Anti-Aliasing. Ironically, Far Cry seems tofare better with the R420 than the NV40. Check out more info here :

Beyond3D
3DCenter
ComputerBase
Meristation

ATi R580 In Final Sampling Stage

ATI is currently in the final stage of testing its R580 GPUs with customers and is expected to launch the flagship chip in early 2006. The new chip, which entered the tape-out stage in the middle of the third quarter, is now in volume shipments for sampling. ATI will also be enhancing its entry-level GPU product line on the 80nm production node, with new RV560, RV535, and RV505 chips.

Apple's new iPad already torn down, contains some news

Trust iFixit to send a member of their team to Australia just so they could be the first to tear down Apples new iPad. Although much is already known about the new hardware, iFixits teardown did reveal some interesting design changes that give us some interesting revelations of potential future products from Apple.

As it goes, most mobile devices that use ARM processors – with the exception of some of the Tegra 3 based tablets – use an SoC with support for a PoP package for the DRAM and this was also the case with past iPads from Apple. However, the new A5X SoC has reverted from this and gone back to a more traditional approach with the DRAM mounted on the same PCB as the rest of the components. Although its not entirely clear as to what kind of packaging Apple is using for the A5X, its clear that were looking at a larger chip and its obviously running a fair bit hotter than the A5, judging by the heat spreader on the chip.

The new iPad appears to use a standard dual-channel memory configuration with a pair of 512MB Elpida LP-DDR2 DRAM chips. The network chip has of course been upgraded to the same BCM4330 as the iPhone 4S and beyond dual-band Wi-Fi support it also offers Bluetooth 4.0 + HS connectivity and an FM transceiver. The 3G/4G modem is Qualcomms MDM9600 which is pretty much par for the course when it comes to 3G/LTE modem solutions at the moment.

The change to a new package for the A5X SoC suggests that Apple might be trying out some new hardware designs inside the new iPad and considering the rumours that Apple are working on an ARM powered MacBook Air, this isnt too farfetched. The simple reason for this is that a larger device wouldnt need to use such a highly integrated PCB as a phone and moving away from a PoP package has some other advantages, such as the ability to improve the cooling of the SoC. Well see how things evolve, but as far as what Apple is planning for the future, no-one knows but Apple itself.

Source: iFixit

Apple working on iPad game controller

Apple is working on a game controller for the iPad, which could see a further rise in the popularity of mobile gaming and a bigger threat to consoles.

AnandTech reports that Apple is secretly developing a project to bring a physical controller to the market, but qualifies this by saying that its in the early stages and thus may not make it into reality.The plans appear to be a response to Googles introduction of controller support for Android last year, which gave it an edge for those who like to play mobile games but arent keen on touchscreen controls.Project Fiona - PC Gaming Tablet Concept by RazerGaming on the iPhone and iPad have become extremely popular over recent months and will likely only grow with the addition of full high-definition displays to the latest iOS devices. Games are also moving away from the purely casual approach of the likes of Angry Birds to full immersive games like the enhanced edition of BioWares classic RPG Baldurs Gate, which is set to release on the iPad and other platforms this Summer.Of course, part of the success of mobile gaming is its portability, which is somewhat negated by the need to lug around a controller. Apple might also be inclined to develop a proprietary controller rather than allowing a wide range of existing controllers to work with its devices. The controller might even be reserved as a feature for the next iPad rather than simply adding the functionality into existing tablets.Source: CVG

ASUS Unveiled P5Q Series w EPU-Six Engine

Catering to users who require a motherboard that provides exceptionalperformance and ultimate power savings, ASUS, worldwide leader in motherboardproduction, has announced the new ASUS P5Q series of motherboards; which featurethe new ASUS EPU-Six Engine. This new version of the EPU is able to detectcurrent PC loadings in real time and automatically moderate the power supply forcomplete system level power savings. With automatic power management forcomponents, the EPU-Six Engine provides the most appropriate power usage viaintelligent acceleration and overclocking – helping users achieve the ultimatein energy savings.

Save More with New EPU-Six Engine
75% of the time, the PC is utilized in everyday computing tasks that don’trequire the maximum amount of power. However, the components will continueconsuming power unconsciously – resulting in power loss. This power loss willoccur in day to day operations and is invisible – adding up quickly in the longrun. It is thus vital for users to be aware of this “hidden” power loss. TheASUS EPU-Six Engine guards against this power loss through intelligent andautomatic monitoring and moderation of the power supply – lowering heat andproviding a exceptional 96% power efficiency (the higher the power efficiency,the more energy that is saved)! With the EPU-Six Engine, savings of up to almosta household’s monthly electrical bill can be attained! It is able to achievethis by focusing on six major components: namely the CPU, VGA card, memory,chipset, Hard drives and CPU cooler/system fan.

CPU, Memory and Chipset Power Savings
Equipped with a database containing all of the Intel CPU profiles, the EPU-SixEngine intelligently identifies and selects the correct CPU profile, andcalibrates the best possible settings – ensuring the best possible powermanagement. In terms of the Chipset and Memory, the EPU-Six Engine provides upto 96% enhanced power efficiency – thereby improving thermal capabilities, whichleads to better component quality and lifespans. This in turn provides userswith a more stable system and higher O.C capabilities.

Reduced VGA, Hard disk and Fan Power Consumption
VGA graphics cards normally utilize more power than they should. A good examplewould be when the user is surfing on the Internet. The VGA card would beutilizing its full power unconsciously without the EPU-Six Engine. Supportingthe most popular and latest graphics cards*, the EPU-Six Engine is able toautomatically detect system loading, and adjust the VGA card’s voltage andfrequency – saving up to 37% VGA power during everyday computing. The EPU-SixEngine also cleverly monitors the Harddisk and Fans – reducing power wastagespent when there is no data access during idle modes. This helps to reduce thehard drive and fan noises for quieter acoustics too!

*Energy Saving performance might vary with different graphics solutions.

With power savings from all six major components while the PC during everydaycomputing, the ASUS EPU-Six Engine is the ultimate method in providing totalsystem level power savings.

The P5Q energy conserving series of motherboards consists of the P5Q Deluxe,P5Q-E, P5QC, P5Q PRO and the P5Q, and will be available in the second quarter ofthis year. Watch out for even more energy saving motherboard solutions from ASUSin time to come.

Apple iPad 3 to launch in March with new features

Apples iPad 3 is expected to hit shops in March, touting a new high-definition display and a faster processor, and offering 4G capability.

Three sources close to the Cupertino, California-based company said that Apples manufacturing partners in Asia are increasing production of the device this month and will reach full volumes by February, according to Bloomberg.Two of the anonymous sources said that the next-generation tablet will come with a quad-core processor, which will greatly speed up applications. This will be a big improvement over the 1GHz dual-core processor employed in the iPad 2.The iPad 3 should come with a better display that is capable of higher resolutions than the current model.Another potential selling point is the devices ability to use Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, which even the latest iPhone cant do. The iPad 2 offers a WiFi or WiFi and 3G model, so we can probably expect the 4G functionality to be on a more expensive version of the iPad 3.Foxconn is manufacturing the device for Apple and is believed to be operating factories 24 hours a day to meet the numbers Apple wants. The device, like previous models, will likely sell like hotcakes.Source: Bloomberg

ASUS Extreme AX800XL amp; Extreme AX800

ASUS today introduced the Extreme AX800XL and Extreme AX800 graphics cards.Powered by the native 16-lane PCI Express VPU, the RADEON® 800, and incorporatedunique features exclusively from ASUS only. The Extreme AX800 series providesthe best visual experience compared with other competing graphics cards. The newgraphics card series incorporated innovative features available from ASUS only,including:

GameFace Live – Talk to and see your teammates
GameFace Live is the world’s first multi-player, video/audio communicationsolutions for DirectX PC gaming. It enables simultaneous connection of up toeight players, allowing gamers to talk to and see their teammates or the enemyduring PC gaming.

On Screen Display (OSD) – Fast setting adjustment
This feature allows users to adjust general settings such as brightness andcontrast levels, VR settings and extra light settings while watching movies orplaying 3D games without having to pause or even stop.

Video Security Online– Set up a home security system
Simply aim the webcam to a specific area and this unique feature will monitorthat location, take snap shots of any unauthorized visitors and send out warningmessages to preprogrammed recipients via e-mail or phone call.

ASUS SmartDoctor – Intelligent System monitoring
l SmartCooling Technology
l Overheat Protection
l Fan RPM (rotation per minute) Monitoring
l AGP Power level Monitoring

HyperDrive – Boost GPU power when you need the most
HyperDrive provides three ways to dynamically boost graphics card power.
l 3D Mode: HyperDrive detects the running of 3D programs and automaticallyspeeds up VPU clock to provide the best video effects.
l CPU Mode: HyperDrive raises VPU running speed to share computing load when CPUresource is pushed to the limit.
l Temperature Mode: HyperDrive overclocks depending on system temperature tostrike a balance between performance and hardware protection.

halloween horrors 2011 “the last house on the left”

You didn’t think I was going to forget, did you? Of course not! October is horror movie month around these parts, and while last year we did the “Halloween 12-Pack” thing, and the year before we did a top-10 countdown that wasn’t really a countdown, this year I’ve abandoned all that (admittedly desperately thin) pretense and I’m just reviewing nothing but horror flicks from here on out until Halloween. So far I’ve got 18 movies picked out to take a look at, from undisputed classics to largely-forgotten cult oddities to homemade backyard ultra-cheapies to underappreciated recent gems to to stuff currently playing in theaters, so without any further ado, let’s jump right in, shall we?

I’m reliably informed that David Hess passed away last week, and that’s a shame because he was one of the most effective complete and total psychos to ever stain the silver screen. For all I know Hess may have been a prince of a man in real life, but I’m sort of hoping he wasn’t, because he oozed such coolly-controlled-yet-definitely-unhinged-menace, and did it so fucking naturally, to find out that he was a devoted family man who loved long walks in nature would just somehow feel wrong. At his best, Hess never really felt like he was acting, he was Hessing, and it’s an altogether different art form if you ask me.

And of course, our guy Dave was never better than in his starring (and I use that term loosely here) turn as the vicious Krug in Wes Craven’s 1972 classic The Last House On The Left.

For those of you who don’t know the story (anyone? Bueller? Bueller?), Craven’s debut feature is a loose re-working of the Bergman classic The Virgin Spring, here Americanized as the story of? a beautiful (and, yes, virginal) youth named Mari Collingwood (Sandra Peabody, billed here as Sandra Cassel) who’s as pure as her name and the apple of not only her mom and dad’s eye (okay, okay, eyes) but apparently exudes an air of unsullied wholesomeness that permeates throughout (or infects, depending on how you look at things)? the whole small upstate New York township she resides in. One night when Mari and her less-than-wholesome friend Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) go into town? to see one of those dastardly rock concerts that parents warn their kids about, they decide it would be a kick to score some pot before the show. Unfortunately, the hapless loser they decide to try and make a purchase off is the son of a vicious escaped convict (that Krug fella we’ve been talking about) who has plans for the girls other than hooking them up with some of the devil weed.

What follows is a less-than-leisurely drive out to the country with Krug, his girlfriend, and his grown (but decidedly psychologically infantile) son that culminates in a series of events so unspeakably brutal and frankly still so hard to watch even to this day (as proof of this look no further than the fact that the 2009 remake was actually considerably toned down in comparison to the original — and they say movies are more permissive than ever today? Don’t think so!) that I’ll spare you the full details (as if you don’t know them anyway), and? just say for the sake of synopsis-completeness that it involves an awful lot of rape, an awful lot of cutting, and an awful lot of? torture. And the fact that all this gut-wrenching brutality is interspersed with comic-relief cut-aways to the inept local sheriff and his even more inept deputy doing their best Keystone Kops impersonation (complete with dopey music) in their ultimately fruitless search for Krug, his kid, and his girlfriend before they can finish their grim idea of a good time only makes the whole thing more genuinely unsettling. Craven was a master manipulator of audience emotions form the get-go, no doubt about that.

Anyway, after their unwholesome deeds are done, Krug and company (and yes, I’m aware that Krug And Company was an alternate title this film played under, particularly on the European circuit) suffer some transportation trouble and, improbably enough, end up at the home of the Collingwood family, who even more improbably discover what’s become of their daughter and just who the hell is responsible for it while the miscreants (and that’s putting it mildly) are right under their own roof!

And that’s when we get to the real morality play at the heart of the film — just how far will ordinary people go to avenge an injustice against a person they love, specifically their only child? And at what point do they become no better than the monsters they are seeking to destroy (and believe me, the Collingwoods are every bit as sadistically diabolical in pursuing vengeance as Krug and his cohorts were in pursuing their twisted kicks)? Can two wrongs ever make a right? And are we in any position to say what they ultimately end up doing is even wrong, considering the extreme suffering they’re no doubt going through?

While all these academic questions make for interesting debate (indeed, this movie is still a hot topic of conversation to this day), it’s really Hess who sells this film and makes us believe that Krug is both capable of anything and fully, and richly, deserving of whatever fate happens to befall him as a result of his inhuman actions. If he gave a performance that was in any way what could loosely be called sympathetic, or even that a person could relate to on any level whatsoever, the whole thing wouldn’t work. But given that he’s such a thoroughly convincing bastard with absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever, it makes all those uncomfortable moral questions I just posed seem all the more real and all the more relevant. Hess moves the themes this movie is exploring out of the realm of the abstract into the concrete, the immediate, the here, the now, just on the strength of his performance alone. After all, it’s pretty easy to condemn somebody for seeing vengeance on somebody who’s done them wrong, but when that somebody is David fucking Hess, the whole issue becomes quite a bit thornier. It’s Hess who turned a $90,000 ultra-low-budgeter into a worldwide box office phenomenon that earned $10 million on its first run in the domestic market alone, and it’s to his credit every bit as much as Craven’s that this little just-above-student-level-film became one of the, in Craven’s own words, “heritage pieces of modern horror.”

Of course, a big part of the Last House story is what happened after it was made, and all the ratings and censorship struggles Craven and co. endured, both at home and abroad, but it’s worth mentioning that the film has been available complete and uncut on DVD for several years now, with the best release being MGM’s 2009 “special edition” that features the same remastered print as the previous uncensored version, as well as a remastered mono soundtrack, but goes the extra mile by including a brand-new 40-minute documentary called “Celluloid Crime Of The Century” that features on-camera interviews with Craven, Hess, and many others, and an insightful commentary track from Craven and producer Sean Cunningham. It’s a very worthwhile purchase, and if you’re not willing to go that far, it’s a downright essential rental.

Some movies just plain don’t live up to the hype, but The Last House On The Left isn’t one of them. It’s every bit as thoroughly unpleasant and impossible to forget as you’ve heard. It catapulted Craven into superstar-genre-director status and immediately cemented Hess’s standing as the Michael Jordan of exploitation-flick psychos — admittedly a celluloid ghetto from which he never really escaped, but we’ll get to that in our next review. For now it’s enough to say that based on? this one performance alone, the name David Hess would be remembered by horror fans (as well as prudish censors) worldwide forever.