Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 released

Microsoft has released its second Service Pack for Office 2007 today.

Service Pack 2 includes some significant changes, including built-in ability to save as ODF & PDF formats, improvements to Outlook’s performance and calendar reliability and significant bug fixes for charts in core Office applications. It is also a rollup of all fixes that have previously been released for Office 2007 products.

The company has published a support article detailing the various fixes and improvements contained in the SP2 update. According to the document there are improvements in the following areas, to name but a few:

• Outlook responsiveness
• More reliable Outlook calendar updates
• Search reliability
• RSS improvements in Outlook
• Better .pdf/.xps output fidelity
• Improves the charting mechanism in Excel 2007
• Provides faster file resaves in PowerPoint 2007

Microsoft has also published a full changes list which details all the updates and fixes for SP2.

The download is available here

Zotac GeForce GTX295

We take a look at the Zotac GTX295 graphics card, a dual GTX200 GPU solution running in SLI slapped into a single PCI-E card delivering maximum performance to its’ users as a single solution to get into extreme gaming.

 

Specifications
Graphics Processing Unit
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295 @ 576 MHz engine clock
- 480 Processor Cores @ 1242 MHz
- Dual 400 MHz RamDAC
- Max. Resolution @ 2560 x 1600

Memory
- 1792 MB GDDR3
- 1998 MHz memory clock
- 896-bit memory bus (448×2)
Bus Support
- PCI Express 2.0 (compatible with 1.1)
3D Acceleration
- Microsoft® DirectX®10 support
- Unified Shader Model 4.0
- OpenGL 2.1

Package

Zotac has the GTX295 tightly packed with a see-through window on the front, along with the usual bland and uninspired CG art and technical logos that has become so common in computer hardware packaging today.

 

Inside the box we found the usual collection of manuals, a drivers CD, DVI adapter, HDMI Cable, two 4-pin-to-6-pin PCI-E power connector adapters, two 6-pin PCI-E-to-8-pin PCI-E power connector adapters and an audio cable. The included software bundle is pretty decent too – a copy of Codemaster’s “GRiD” and Futuremark’s 3DMARK Vantage provide gamers with some eye candy from the get go.

Vantec NexStar 3i Power Management External Hard Disk Enclosure

We take a look at an external SATA hard disk enclosure from Vantec that they claim offers energy efficiency, performance and silence. According to Vantec, “the NexStar 3i Power Management Enclosure can reduce energy consumption and cooling costs, reduce noise, and prolong the life of hard drive. Less electricity consumption with three intelligent power management modes: Idle, Suspend, and Power Down.”

 

Features

 

•  Power Management: Saves Power and Extends Hard drive Lifetime

•  Power Management Software Included     

•  Built-In Automatic Power Management Processor

•  Three Intelligent Power Management Modes: Idle/Stand By/Power Down

•  Supports 3.5” SATA Hard Drive Up To 1.5TB

•  Transfer Rates Up To 480Mpbs w/ USB 2.0

•  Attractive LED Indicates Power / HDD Activity

•  Aluminum Casing Cools Down Your Hard Drive

•  Hot Swappable: Plug & Play

 

 

Specifications

• Model: NST-360S2I-WH
• Device Support: SATA I/II  Hard Drive 
• Device Size: 3.5”
• Internal Interface: Serial ATA
• External Interface: USB 2.0
• HD Capacity: Up to 1.5TB
• Power Supply: AC Adapter
• Material: Aluminum
• Dimension: 198 x 125 x 33 mm
• Power Management Mode (Default): Idle (3 Seconds)/Stand By (3 Minutes)/Power Down (5 Minutes)

 

 

The Package

 

Vantec packed the NexStar 3i enclosure into a simple box with the usual details such as specifications and contents printed on the reverse.

 

Inside the package we found the 3.5” NexStar 3i Power Management Enclosure (as Vantec likes to call it), Power Management software, a user manual, USB cable, vertical stand, power adapter and installation screws.

Asus Axe Square

 

We take a look at a premium heatsink from Asus , the Axe Square. It comes complete with luxury packaging, a gold-aureate finish and a silent 120mm fan that Asus claims to produce only 16 dBA of noise. We’re going to stress the Axe Square out by mounting it onto the socket 1366.

Features

• Ultimate Cooling with 5500cm2 Heat Dissipation Area 

• Ultra Silent at 16 dBA and Power Savings

• Amazing Gold-Aureate Design with Luxury Packing

• Extremely luxurious packing box with a limited identification card

• Exquisite accessory with golden-plated 

• High density Aluminium fins and 5 pure copper heatpipes with elegant black nickel-plated

• Copper base and shiny aureate-gold LED shows dedicate quality.

 

Specifications  

• CPU Support:
  • Intel® Core™2 Extreme/ Core™2 Quad (Quad-Core)
  • Intel® Core™2 Duo/ Pentium® Dual Core/ Pentium® D (Dual-Core)
  • Intel® Core™2 Duo/ Pentium® Dual Core (Dual-Core)
  • Intel® Pentium® 4 HT/Celeron® D
  • AMD Athlon™ 64 FX
  • AMD Athlon™ 64 X2
  • AMD Athlon™ 64
  • AMD Phenom™ FX/X3/X4
  • AMD Sempron™ 
• CPU Socket:
  • Intel LGA 775
  • AMD 754/939/940
  • AMD AM2/AM2+/socket F(1207)/1207+ 
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 139 (L) x 138 (W) x 130 (H) mm 
• Net Weight (g): 680 g 
• Heatsink Material: (All with nickel-plating) Copper base + Aluminum fins + 5 x 6mm Copper Heat Pipes 
• Fan
  • Dimension (mm): 120 x 120 x 25 
  • Bearing Type: EBR (Enter bearing) 
  • Connector: 4 Pin with PWM Control 
  • Speed: 1400 rpm ± 10% 

USB Drives

Its quite amazing how popular USB flash drives have become. They have pretty much replaced all forms of portable storage devices and there are many reasons why that happened. First and foremost, a USB port is available on almost any recent Mac and PC. Secondly, these drives are quite portable and sometimes even fashionable. Lastly, they keep expanding in storage without sacrificing their sizes by much. We take a look at four such drives today.

The group picture includes what we think is a standard sized USB drive of 2GB capacity on the left with our four contestants on the right. As you can see, all the drives we tested are slightly bigger than your average USB drive but they are very pocketable. Lets see what special about each of these four drives.

OCZ ATV 8GB
Our first USB drive comes from OCZ in the form of their highly rugged ATV USB drive. The shock proof drive is enclosed in a rubber tread housing which is 100% weatherproof and waterproof- perfect for the Dubai climate. If you’re one of the outdoor types, this drive will keep your data safe and sound.

Corsair Survivor 32GB
You might have read our review of the 8GB version of this drive which is now upgraded to 32GB. The aircraft-grade aluminum shell of this drive was boiled, drowned, thrown from the roof and put under a sledge hammer and yet it managed to retain all its data. Needless to say, you can easily go paint-balling with this monster in your pocket. Who knows, it might save your family jewels as well.

SanDisk Cruzer Contour 32GB
Although extremely popular with storage devices, this is the first SanDisk product that has ever been sent for us. Designed for speed, this 32GB drive has an interesting retractable USB port so you don’t really need any cover to prevent it from damage or a can of soda. SanDisk bundles their U3 utility with the Cruzer that allows you to download and install applications such as Firefox on this drive and use it from any PC- more on this in an upcoming article.

Patriot Magnum 64GB
I still find the 64GB of storage this drive offers a bit unbelievable. Not too long ago, my entire hard drive was 80GB. With such massive amounts of storage, its very easy to not just carry your applications like the SanDisk Cruzer, but your entire operating system as well.

We tested these four drives on a Shuttle XPC equipped with an Intel X48 chipset and USB 2.0 ports. The following are results reported by SanSoft Sandra’s USB Drive Benchmark.

Taking the Corsair Survivor as a base, we can see the OCZ ATV and SanDisk performing considerably better with the Magnum proving to be a slow drive. So, between these drives, it boils down to what you’re looking for- if you want a huge capacity and dont mind the slow speed then Magnum is your obvious choice. If you want something rugged and for ourdoor use, the OCZ is faster with lower capacity while the Corsair is slower but with higher capacity.  The SanDisk offers a good balance between speed and capacity and that would be my choice between the four.

Asus Triton 81

Yep, we’re looking at yet another heatsink from Asus. They seem to be knocking them right out of the ballpark! The Triton 81 will cool the LGA 1366 socket with dual 92mm fans and quad heat pipes. Let’s put it through our tests and see how it copes!

 

Specifications

Asus packed the heatsink into their usual square box with requisite specifications printed on the sides and the ever-convenient carry handle on the top.

 

Inside we found an instruction manual and a small box containing the LGA 1336, LGA 775 and AMD brackets, four small screws and a tube of thermal paste.

Asus Travelite HS-1000W

Not content enough with producing top notch motherboards and sound cards, as well as creating a completely new product in the form of the infamous Eee netbooks, Asus tries their hand at producing a headset. This being Asus, there has to be something unique about this pair and lo and behold, there is!

Asus brought to us their new Travelite HS-1000W headset. Its’ unique selling point is that in addition to being wireless (operating on the 2.4GHz frequency band, like almost every other wireless product in the market today), it also features a noise cancelling microphone and a USB dongle that allows you to recharge the Lithium-Polymer battery built in to the headphones. That’s right; this is a wireless headset that’s also rechargeable, saving you the headache of inserting a fresh set of batteries every couple of hours.

Features

• Embrace the Power of Wireless

o Spoil your ears to a full 20-20Khz frequency range, and deep bass sounds even up to 100 feet (30m) away

o Cancel out background noise for clear voice communications

o Enjoy < 0.08% distortion for professional audio performance

 

• Ease of Use

o No more annoying wires get in the way between you and computer

o No more troublesome non-stop clicking to install driver

 

• Perfect Folding Solution, Ultra Mobility

o Intelligent foldable design best for modern travelers and business people

o Elegant carrying case included for your tote and handbags; fits just fine

 

• Easy Charging

o Li-Polymer battery gives your full 8 hours of non-stop enjoyment

o Charging while listening

o Universal mini USB charging

 

The Package

 

In traditional Asus style, the box is simple and isn’t shy to show off the Travelite HS-1000W’s specifications. It’s also eager to inform potential buyers of the “wireless enjoyments” that they will get with music, gaming and VOIP!

 

Inside the box we found an instruction manual for the headset, a USB dongle, a USB cable and the wireless headset itself.

 

Also included in the package is a small hard case that can store the headset and its’ accessories, allowing for easy transport without the risk of damage, handy for LAN parties.

Asus Triton 85

We review the Asus Triton 85 heatsink, an upgraded version of the Triton 75. The most obvious difference between the Triton 85 and its’ predecessor is that the 85 now features a fan mounted on top of the heatsink.

Features

• Excellent 35% Enhanced Cooling with 120mm Top Flow Cooler

• Quietest Cooling with PWM Function

• Stylish Silver Coating for Aesthetic Appeal

 

Specifications

• CPU Support:
  • Intel® Core™2 Extreme/ Core™2 Quad (Quad-Core)
  • Intel® Core™2 Duo/ Pentium® Dual Core/ Pentium® D (Dual-Core)
  • Intel® Pentium® 4 HT/Celeron® D
  • AMD Athlon™ 64 FX
  • AMD Athlon™ 64 X2
  • AMD Athlon™ 64
  • AMD Phenom™ FX/X3/X4
  • AMD Sempron™ 
  • CPU Socket
  • Intel LGA 775
  • AMD 754/939/940
  • AMD AM2/AM2+/socket F(1207)/1207+
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 137 (L) x 120 (W) x 123 (H) mm 
• Net Weight (g): 520 g 
• Heatsink Material: Copper base + Aluminum fins + 4 x 6mm Copper Heat Pipes 

 

• Fan
  • Dimension (mm): 120 x 120 x 25 
  • Bearing Type: Long Life Sleeve 
  • Connector: 4 Pin with PWM Control 
  • Speed: 1,400 rpm ± 10% 
  • Max. Airflow: 49.039 CFM

 

Package

Asus packed the Triton 85 into a box with a convenient handle on the top. Features and specifications are printed on each side of the box.

 

Inside the box, LGA 775 and AMD mounting brackets are provided, along with 4x screws, thermal paste and an instruction manual.

Seagate delivers hard drives for digital video surveillance systems

Seagate today introduced its Seagate SV35.5 Series hard drives, designed for optimal performance in digital video surveillance systems. The Seagate SV35.5 hard drive is built for rigorous 24×7 use and combines best-in-class reliability, performance, capacity, acoustics and power consumption along with features that make SDVR integration easy, making it the ideal solution for the demands of the growing video surveillance market.   

The Seagate SV35.5 hard drive provides a number of key advantages for video surveillance environments over standard hard drives including: performance-tuned 140 MB/s sustained sequential data rates and ATA-7 streaming commands for high-speed transfers, enhanced caching capabilities and built-in error recovery for non-stop streaming, thermal monitoring and reporting, unique user-selectable partitioning, low spin-up power, and best-in-class acoustics for extremely quiet operation.

With disk capacities from 250GB to 1TB, the Seagate SV35.5 hard drive offers flexible DVR design capabilities as a video surveillance DVR, network DVR, or for direct and network-attached JBOD video surveillance storage.

“The hardware requirements for the surveillance market are especially critical and dictate the use of HDDs that are made specifically for the needs of video system manufacturers and integrators,” said Carla Kennedy, senior vice president of Seagate’s Enterprise Product Line Management group. “With its optimized performance and capacity that can store over one full month of high-resolution video, the Seagate SV35.5 Series™ hard drive is a prime example of Seagate delivering a feature-rich solution that customers have requested.”

Seagate SV35.5 Hard Drive for Surveillance OEMs and System Builders
The Seagate SV35.5 hard drive answers the ever-increasing need for more storage capacity at best-in-class power consumption and acoustics for digital video recording OEMs and system builders. Utilizing perpendicular recording technology, it offers capacities up to 1TB while providing optimum performance while drawing minimal power from system resources. With its powerful surveillance features and backed by the Seagate 5 year limited warranty, the Seagate SV35.5 drives enable OEM and system builders to set themselves apart from the competition by delivering lower operational costs with best-in-class reliability.

“While we continue to use the Barracuda® ES series for our enterprise class RAID solutions, the Seagate SV35 series is a perfect solution for our very successful series of non-RAID DVRs,” said Pelco Product Marketing Manager Yvonne Schwemmer. “The fact that Seagate has engineered these drives for the video surveillance market gives us increased confidence in the products we deliver to a demanding marketplace.”

Specifications
•    Capacities: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB
•    Spin speeds: 7200-RPM
•    Interfaces: 3Gbps SATA
•    Video Streaming: 47 Simultaneous FULL D1 (704X576) Video Streams Support
•    Performance: 140 MB/s sustained sequential data rates
•    Acoustics: Typical Idle (bels) 2.3 for 250GB/2.5 for 500GB/2.5 for 1TB
•    Shock, Operating: 70 (2ms Gs), Non-operating: 350 for 250GB/300 for 500GB/ 300 for 1TB (2m Gs)
•    Cache: SATA: 8MB for 250GB/16MB for 500GB/32MB for 1TB
•    Power Usage: Performance Idle: 5 Watts for 250GB/7 Watts for 500GB/7 Watts for 1TB
•    Warranty: Limited 5 year

My Top Ten Applications for the iPhone

With the iPhone 3G recently officially launched in the UAE, I thought I’d make a list of ten applications that make my iPhone experience great. Read more

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