Recently leaked slides suggest Korean computer outfit Zalman will soon jump into the ever-expanding graphics card market, initially partnering with AMD on its Radeon series. Known best for its quiet computing technologies, the company’s move to infuse GPUs with cooling solutions could enhance the performance of the cards, making overclocking a lesson in simplicity. The slides only show the AMD 6870, 6850, and 6770, but it’s feasible more models will appear when official news is released. Given AMD’s many board partners, differentiation is important to remain competitive and on their payroll — graphics cards and their overheating habits is Zalman’s cup of tea. Hopefully this brings more innovative products in the coming future, perhaps as early as CES. Check past the break to view the specifications breakdown for the aforementioned cards.

SOURCE via Anandtech

There’s no question that cloud computing has hit the mainstream. Now, Taiwanese hardware maker Acer, the world’s second largest PC manufacturer, has just joined the ranks of the sky-high elite, purchasing Silicon Valley-based iGware for $320 million.

Acer’s acquisition of the little-known cloud computing firm will reportedly allow it to launch a cloud product next year, and is seen as a long-term strategic move for the tech giant. Despite its limited name recognition, iGware provides services that support more than 100 million consumer devices, including Nintendo gaming systems — the two companies are reportedly in talks over potential cooperation after the acquisition is complete.

iGware may be a major player in the cloud computing space, but its single-page Microsoft Publisher-designed website doesn’t exactly scream nine-figure acquisition.

SOURCE via Reuters

If you watched Conan O’Brien in his final days on NBC, you may have seen the Bugatti Veyron Mouse. Now feast your eyes on the Asus Lamborghini mouse.

A product of the same collaboration that has already turned out a series of laptop computers and external hard drives, the Asus WX Lamborghini Wireless Mouse packs Sant’Agata’s famously edgy styling into a computer peripheral. It’s available in white, yellow or black, packs a little tire for a scroll wheel and, of course, Lamborghini’s often imitated (but never duplicated) logo perched prominently on top. It even sports a USB dongle that stows inside the mouse, has a range of 33 feet and is available for $80.

So why, you ask, would you need a Lamborghini mouse? Well aside from its trademark pinpoint precision and speedy maneuvering, if you’ve already got an Acer Ferrari laptop hooked up to a LaCie Porsche Design hard-drive on your Bugatti desk, you’re not about to control it all with just any old mouse now, are you? Of course not. But if you’re looking for a mouse to match, let me introduce you to a brand call Razer.

You know the rigmarole by now — product gets introduced, product takes forever to ship, and at long last, product hits the hands of a few lucky souls. And then, the fine folks over at iFixit rip said product limb from limb in the name of science. This goes ’round, they found twelve larger chips and a smorgasbord of other bantam components within Apple’s first Thunderbolt cable, and they didn’t hesitate to suggest that the $50 asking price was at least somewhat justified. A Grant’s worth of dissection photos awaits you in the source.

SOURCE via iFixit

Porsche is known for some of the sleekest driving machines on the market. LaCie, meanwhile, makes some of the slickest hard drives. Where they intersect is the latest range of external storage devices, penned by Porsche Design for LaCie.

Collaboration between the two companies date back to 2003, and the new LaCie Porsche Design mobile and desktop hard drives feature minimalist brushed aluminum cases that would instantly look at home next to your Acer Ferrari or Asus Lamborghini laptops for the ultimate in automotive-inspired computer hardware.

The devices are available in sizes ranging from 500 gigabytes all the way up 2 terabytes with prices starting at $104.99

Four months ago, Intel and Apple debut their awesomely fast Thunderbolt I/O with 10Gbps transfer speed, and boy, that four months sure pass by fast without any sound. The MacBook Pro and iMac lines have since been refreshed with the new inter-connect, but early adopters haven’t had much more than a fancy port to stare at.

Thankfully, Apple’s $49 T-bolt cable is finally available as your ticket to the 10Gbps superhighway. Apparently, it quietly hit Apple’s web store this morning along with some fresh Promise Pegasus RAID enclosures ($1k for 4TB up to $2K for 12TB) to support it.

All of the peripherals appear to be in stock and ready to ship; so if you’ve been eagerly waiting to make use of that extra port, now’s your chance.

SOURCE via Apple Insider

ASUS first made that handsome slab of magnesium alloy on the left available to the US back in December, and now the ultra-portable laptop will finally grace folks in the UK. If you’ll recall, the 13.3-inch U36′s stand out features include a svelte 19mm thickness, standard voltage i5 processor, NVIDIA Optimus graphics, and a USB 3.0 toggle (for an estimated 11.5 hour battery life). The hardware seems chunky now that we’ve played with the company’s UX21 ultrathin, but with a price of £699 (just over $1,200) it’s hard to complain much. If your palms are beginning to sweat in excitement, it’s available at Micro Anvika today in your choice of black or silver, and should be at Comet by the end of the month.

SOURCE via Asus

Yesterday Apple launched their new iMac with new Core i5 processors and some thunder actions, and today the new Mac is getting ripped apart already, all thanks to iFixit, as usual.

Things started with a heavy duty sucker to lift off that LG-manufactured IPS display, and then the Sony Optiarc optical drive, followed by the discovery of an Intel controller for the solitary Thunderbolt port on board (there are two on the larger model). Other notables include an AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics chip and a 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 CPU.

If you’re interested in how the organs of the new iMac 2011 looks like, then just head over to the source link below.

SOURCE via iFixit

Yes, we all know that computers can be more efficient and smarter than human, but only to the extent of the developers’ coding. It really depends on how you develop your AI. We’ve seen people playing with computers on chess, be it Chinese chess or English chess or Pizza chess, but now it’s the Japanese’s turn.

The Mainichi Daily News is reporting that for the first time ever, a computer has beaten a human Shogi champion, Ichiyo Shimizu, in Tokyo. The game lasted six hours, and the computer reportedly pursued Shimizu “aggressively” from the start. Must be much stressed to play like that for six hours. The governing association of pro Shogi players will now review the game to determine whether it will allow the computer to move onto challenge another player.

What? Winning is winning, be it a robot or a human. Let the robot show ‘em how it’s done.

SOURCE via Gizmodo

GM Chevrolet has launched a new toy for your living room. More like a case modding for CPU though. They’ve fitted a 20-inch long Camaro model car with some funky hardware, and turned it into a personal computer. A hood ornament serves as the power switch, working headlights and taillights indicate you’re up and running and 8X DVD-RW Optical Drive into the front bumper. Read more…