MeetTheGeeks.Org Official Forums http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/ en Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:53:21 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg MeetTheGeeks.Org Official Forums http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/ GRA embedded GPU http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12517&goto=newpost Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:18:22 GMT "The new GRA embedded GPU chip from VIA has been released on certain lower-end boards. Does it stand up when put to the test? You bet it does, and it just won't quit - not for hours. For those who may experience driver issues, this may be an answer.
While there is no chance of seeing an SLI/Crossfire option, the potential for STD's still exists, unless properly protected."










lol
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]]> Graphics Cards Wizard http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12517 Garfield...? http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12516&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:30:38 GMT
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]]> Wizard http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12516 Technology News- Apple iPad Available For Pre-Order http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12515&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:40:37 GMT The company is promising to deliver its "magical" device in early April.

By Thomas Claburn, InformationWeek
March 12, 2010
URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story...leID=223800063

Apple's iPad is now available for pre-order through the Apple Online Store. The company is also allowing customers to reserve iPads and pick them up at Apple Retail Stores.

Apple is promising free delivery to customers' doors on Saturday, April 3, or in-store availability between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. the same day. In areas where Saturday delivery is not available, the company says delivery will happen on April 5.

Reservations are limited to two per customer.

Pricing starts at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi-only model. A 3G radio raises the cost to $629 and also adds a delivery delay: The company is promising 3G-equipped iPads in late April. The 32GB model lists for $599 and the 64GB model sells for $699, both of which cost $130 more with 3G capabilities.

For the latest Apple tablet news, opinion and conversation, be sure to check out InformationWeek's Special Report: Tablet Wars -- Can Apple Three-peat?

A data plan is extra. AT&T, Apple's only carrier partner at the moment, is offering two data plans: $30 per month with no contract or $15 for 250MB of data per month.

The continued availability of unlimited data plans was called into question recently when AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said in an investor Webcast in early March that he expected the industry to move toward a metered pricing model, whereby heavy data users pay more than those who don't consume much data.

In an article in The Wall Street Journal earlier this week, Verizon CTO Anthony Melone echoed this sentiment.

Earlier this week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation slammed Apple for " acting as a jealous and arbitrary feudal lord" over its iPhone OS ecosystem and urged developers to demand better contractual terms from the company.

Analysts have yet to reach a consensus about the iPad's sales prospects in the first year, with numbers ranging from 1 million to 10 million units.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/...leID=223800063 ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12515 Daily News (Tech) Lucid Hydra technology accelerates Eyefinity with NVIDIA GPUs http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12514&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:38:12 GMT Written by Hanners
Friday, 12 March 2010 09:15

While the final launch of Lucid's Hydra technology via MSI's Big Bang Fuzion motherboard proved to be anything but a big bang in terms of performance when mixing AMD and NVIDIA GPUs, the technology nonetheless remains decidedly interesting, and the company utilised the current Game Developers Conference to show off another potentially useful facet to Hydra, which allows for the use of an ATI Eyefinity configuration while rendering via a mixture of AMD and NVIDIA graphics boards.
Regardless, tonight we saw something shown at GDC 2010 that was very interesting; using an NVIDIA GPU to scale a multi-monitor AMD-based Eyefinity gaming configuration. While we have been thinking that this combination would be possible with the HYDRA technology at its theoretical levels, this is the first time we have seen it in action.

The idea is pretty straight forward: because Windows 7 sees the multi-monitor setup as a single contiguous display from the AMD graphics card, the HYDRA driver can accelerate it regardless of the complexity of the driver and hardware on the AMD side. Even though this demo was using only a two monitor configuration, that was due to cabling confusion during setup and it will apparently have no problems accelerating 3 or even 6 display options.

PC Perspective has more on Hydra and Eyefinity working in harmony.

http://www.elitebastards.com/ ]]> News In Short (Tech) Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12514 <![CDATA[Daily News (Tech) Official Box Art for Palit's GeForce GTX 480, 470]]> http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12513&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:35:23 GMT Feast your eyes on the packaging for the upcoming Nvidia Fermi-based video cards!

While we don't yet have Nvidia's upcoming GF100-based video cards to show you just yet, we have received some of the first box art for retail GeForce GTX 470 and GTX 480 that you'll see in stores from Palit.

Here's the front of the box for the GeForce GTX 480 with confirmation of its 1536MB of GDDR5 configuration.



And here's the art for the GeForce GTX 470 with 1280MB of GDDR5.



http://www.tomshardware.com/news/pal...f100,9860.html ]]> News In Short (Tech) Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12513 Daily News (Tech) Nvidia, Epic Announce 3D Added to Unreal Engine http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12512&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:32:25 GMT Epic Games today announced at GDC that it has added 3D support to Unreal Engine 3. Yes, it's true that the Unreal Engine is already one that fully account for the third dimension, but the addition that we're talking about today is 3D display with Nvidia's 3D Vision technology.

Today’s announcement means that licensees of Unreal Engine 3 will be able to take full advantage of integrated 3D Vision technology support. Users of the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), a free version of Unreal Engine 3, will also benefit from the addition of 3D Vision support.

Mark Rein, vice president at Epic Games, appeared to be the most excited about this at the time of announcement. "The combination of Unreal Engine 3 and 3D Vision makes already amazing games even more jaw dropping," he said. "If you haven’t seen Unreal Engine 3 in 3D, you won’t believe how realistic it is! We’re excited to offer this technology for free to our licensees and can’t wait to see what people create with it."

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvi...sion,9861.html ]]> News In Short (Tech) Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12512 Technology News- Microsoft rebuffed in Word appeal http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12511&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:28:13 GMT Microsoft has lost an appeal against a court judgement that told it to pay $240m (£160m) in damages. In August 2009, a US court awarded the... Microsoft has lost an appeal against a court judgement that told it to pay $240m (£160m) in damages.

In August 2009, a US court awarded the damages to i4i which claimed Microsoft had infringed its patents.

The patents cover the use of XML, a mark-up language that preserves data formats across different programs.

The judgement also required Microsoft to remove the i4i technology from its Office software suite and stop selling the infringing programs.

The injunction on sales began in January 2010 and applied to any Microsoft Office software, specifically Word 2003 and 2007, containing the infringing patents.

Since it lost the first round of the legal battle, Microsoft has been stripping the disputed technology from its Office products.

Soon after losing the initial case, Microsoft filed an appeal asking the court to re-think its decision. In December 2009, a panel of judges upheld the initial ruling.

In this second appeal, the court again re-affirmed the original ruling and spelled out why that decision was made. In court documents spelling out their reasoning, the three appeal court judges said there was evidence that Microsoft knew i4i technology was patented before it turned up in Office programs.

The appeal is not the last that Microsoft can make. The court documents are now being sent to the other appeal court judges who will decide if Microsoft has grounds for a wider review of the case.

The decision on the whether to hold that review is due within the next six weeks. If that is refused then Microsoft can appeal again to the Supreme Court.

I4i's patents date from 1998 and outline a way of "manipulating the architecture and the content of a document separately from each other" that invokes XML as the means of doing this.

I4i founder Michel Vulpe said he was "pleased with the court's continued decision to uphold the injunction".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...gy/8563852.stm ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12511 Technology News- Net clash for web police projects http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12510&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:27:07 GMT Social media activists are up in arms over plans by the UK's police watchdog for a project with the same name as an existing web initiative.

MyPolice.org was set up in mid-2009 to funnel feedback from victims of crime and others to police forces.

But Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has unveiled plans for a project based around a site called Mypolice.org.uk.

The MyPolice.org founders say they may change their name to avoid confusion.

Force feedback

"This came completely out of the blue," said Lauren Currie, one of the founders of MyPolice.org.

Ms Currie said she and co-founder Sarah Drummond have been working on MyPolice.org since the summer of 2009 and were now getting close to launch.

The idea is to use the website as a central point through which to route messages to police forces about the job they are doing. It will also gather information about local issues and pass them on to UK forces.

"We are about giving feedback and we want that to result in change," said Ms Currie. "That's why it's called MyPolice. We are empowering people to make changes and make their voice heard."

"We have a lot of forces itching to be the pilot," she said adding that people were bound to be puzzled by a the HMIC launching a different service with the same name and very similar website.

Confusion was evident even before the HMIC site formally launched.

"It's causing a huge problem," said Ms Currie. Many supporters had got in touch in reaction to media reports about the launch of MyPolice, she said, only to find out that the reports were about the HMIC project.

One disgruntled supporter of MyPolice.org has set up a parody website called MyHMIC.org to collect comments about the clash. Many others have vented their feelings on micro-blogging service Twitter.

HMIC said its mypolice.org.uk website would be used by members of the public to find out information about how their local force is performing.

In a statement an HMIC spokesman said: "We spoke with the owners of www.mypolice.org, and it is clear that we offer very different online products. Both however aim to improve engagement between the public and their police; and this is to be applauded.

"We remain very happy to work with www.mypolice.org to offer the best possible service to the public."

A spokeswoman for HMIC declined a chance to expand on its statement.

Ms Currie said the two projects have discussed the domain name confusion. The HMIC said it has no plans to change the name of its project nor move it to another site.

Legal action by MyPolice.org has been ruled out, said Ms Currie. "We don't want to go down that route," she told the BBC.

A spokesman for Nominet, which oversees the .uk domain, said Mypolice.org may have a case under its dispute resolution system. Although MyPolice.org does not own the .uk version it may be able to take it over as HMIC's action could be rule as "unfair".

However, he warned, each case was judged on its merits and the dispute resolution might mean HMIC keeps its claim to the .uk domain.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...gy/8562308.stm ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12510 Technology News- Panasonic, Best Buy Partner On 3D TV http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12509&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:24:12 GMT Best Buy and Panasonic are working together to showcase 3D television technology.

The companies on Wednesday announced that Panasonic's 3D home theater system would be displayed and sold via Best Buy's Magnolia Home Theater, which is found in Best Buy stores.

In unveiling its latest 3D TV strategy, Panasonic joined rivals Samsung Electronics and Sony in laying out plans this week for the technology that's generating wide interest within the industry, if not yet among consumers. Best Buy, which also sells Samsung 3D sets, is one of a few national retailers offering 3D televisions. Others include Sears and Amazon.com.

Best Buy hopes having the Panasonic bundle in stores will help drive traffic and provide the retailer with the opportunity to display the new technology for potential buyers.

"The demand for 3D technology in the home is just beginning for consumers," Michael Vitelli, president of Americas for Best Buy, said in a statement. "And Best Buy is uniquely positioned to bring this experience to life for our customers."

The Panasonic bundle includes a 50-inch Viera VT20 Plasma 3D high-definition TV, one pair of viewing glasses, and a Blu-ray disc player. He package, initially be available only through Best Buy's Magnolia division, will cost $2,899.99.

The suggest retail price of each item is $2,499.95 for TV, $399.95 for the disc player and $149.95 for viewing glasses. With prices of traditional flat-panel TVs falling, manufacturers are hoping that 3D televisions and related equipment will bring relief from the deflation. It could take years, however, for 3D to gain momentum, because of a dearth of content. To fill the void, cable TV companies and broadcasters are developing 3D programming and Hollywood studios are releasing a steady stream of 3D movies.

The industry's push to 3D is expected to eventually drive TV sales. Global 3D TV shipments will rise to 78 million units by 2015, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 80% from 4.2 million units this year, according to iSuppli. Revenue will increase to $64.4 billion during the same timeframe, from $7.4 billion this year.

http://www.techweb.com/article/showA...ction=hardware ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12509 Daily News (Tech) Western Digital Intros Portable Video Drive http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12508&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:22:04 GMT My Passport AV plugs into the USB port of a game console, camcorder, TV, digital video recorder or Blu-ray player. Western Digital has introduced an... My Passport AV plugs into the USB port of a game console, camcorder, TV, digital video recorder or Blu-ray player.
Western Digital has introduced an external media drive for storing video and playing back the content on a high-definition television.

The My Passport AV, unveiled Wednesday, plugs into the USB port of a game console, camcorder, TV, digital video recorder or Blu-ray player to playback content on a TV. The device offers formatting that WD claims assures out-of-the-box compatibility with many consumer electronics devices.

My Passport AV supports, for example, Sony's Handycam video recorder, which includes a "direct copy" feature that enables users to offload and archive video directly to a My Passport AV. Content can then be played back on a TV, for example, through a Sony Blu-ray player or Western Digital's family of TV Media Player products.

Other supported devices include Windows and Mac computers, some models of JVC, Phillips and Samsung Electronics flat-panel TVS, Microsoft Xbox 360 game consoles with the USB playback feature, and the Sony PlayStation 3.

The My Passport AV, which includes 320 GB of storage, sells for a suggested retail price of $110. The device comes with a two-year limited warranty.

Western Digital also offers easy-to-use backup devices for home PCs and Macs. About a year ago, introduced a redesigned My Book World Edition storage drive.

The drive offers "plug-and-play" installation and automatic continuous backup. Once plugged into a network router, My Book can begin backing up files from all computers on a network after only a few clicks with the mouse, according to Western Digital. Changes to files on the connected computers are automatically and continuously backed up.

http://www.techweb.com/article/showA...ction=hardware ]]> News In Short (Tech) Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12508 Technology News- Android 2.1 upgrade coming for HTC Tattoo http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12507&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:19:42 GMT HTC has confirmed it is working on an upgrade to Android 2.1 for the HTC Tattoo. According to an oddly-translated statement from FrAndroid, the... HTC has confirmed it is working on an upgrade to Android 2.1 for the HTC Tattoo.

According to an oddly-translated statement from FrAndroid, the company says that coding the new 2.1 upgrade with is Sense UI is taking time.

While the same is already on the HTC Legend and HTC Desire, the HTC Tattoo is a cheaper phone, with a smaller, resistive screen, so work has to be undertaken to bring Android 2.1 to it.

"Kindly note we understand that now that a phone running Android OS 2.1 is available that you are excited to get an update for your Tattoo.

Coming to its Senses

"We are still working hard to building Sense for this new version but we expect to have the upgrade finished and ready to go soon.

"Please understand that it takes time to customize any Android version to ensure you have the intuitive experience Sense provides, and we hope you can be patient for just a little while longer."

So good news for Tattoo users - you could be getting all the spicy Android goodness currently enjoyed by the Legend and Desire in the near future.

Via Unwired View

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-...-tattoo-676547 ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12507 Technology News- iPhone 4.0 to finally offer multi-tasking http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12506&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:17:51 GMT Good news for those frustrated by the single track mind of the iPhone - it seems multi-tasking is finally on its way. According to Apple Insider,... Good news for those frustrated by the single track mind of the iPhone - it seems multi-tasking is finally on its way.

According to Apple Insider, "people with a proven track record in predicting Apple's technological advances" have managed to dig out this little nugget about the next iPhone 4.0 update.

The sources state that Apple has managed to tweak things to the point where it can manage battery life and memory resources, meaning no substantial loss in performance.

Not ready yet

However, the firmware update is not ready as yet, as it apparently has a 'long way to go' before it's ready to be shot out to all the iPhones.

The debate over why Apple is unable to put features in its phones that every other manufacturer has managed with aplomb for yonks is an old one - it seems likely that Jobs is just looking to keep things back to make new iPhones seem even swishier.

Going on the usual release dates, we'd imagine we'll see the new iPhone 4.0 firmware release date in the next couple of months - with the next iPhone (which probably won't be called the iPhone 4G, although that's the codename doing the rounds) announced in June.

Via AppleInsider

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-...tasking-676538 ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12506 <![CDATA[Technology News- Facebook 'not ruling out' Daily Mail legal action]]> http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12505&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:16:06 GMT Facebook has contacted TechRadar with regards to the Daily Mail's recent report accusing the site of lax security measures for younger users, explaining that it is "not ruling out legal action" over the article.

Earlier this week, the Daily Mail published an article titled 'I posed as a girl of 14 on Facebook. What followed will sicken you' which outlined how easy it was for underage members of the site to get chatting to complete strangers.

After the article was published both online and in the paper, the person who wrote the piece, Mark William-Thomas – a retired policeman and now criminologist – claimed that he never once said the site he outlined in the piece was Facebook, but another unnamed social network. The addition of the Facebook brand name was in fact inserted by the Daily Mail.

This is something that, for obvious reasons, Facebook isn't happy with.

Extremely concerned

"We are extremely concerned by the behaviour of the Daily Mail, who have since corrected the story somewhat and made some clarifying statements," a spokesperson for Facebook told TechRadar.

But it's not just the fact that Facebook were wrongly name-checked but the site who really does let underage users vulnerable to online abuse has not been outed.

"We should all be concerned that their refusal to name the network they did use for the experiment is not helping to expose the real places where people are vulnerable online," notes Facebook, also explaining "we are in discussions with them and have not ruled out legal action."

Push the button

Facebook is no stranger to controversy, with the site criticised last year for not adding a CEOP report button for young people to click if they get into problems online.

This is despite the company already offering myriad ways to report problems on its site.

The Daily Mail saga highlights a problem which brands like Hoover have had in the past. Facebook is so successful it is now synonymous with social networking.

Because of this it is in real danger of becoming a catch-all term and, in turn, demonised when social-networking anywhere on the web turns nasty.

http://www.techradar.com/news/intern...-action-676525 ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12505 <![CDATA[Technology News- 'Genuine' iPhone 4G pictures leak out]]> http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12504&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:13:40 GMT Image: http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/gadgets/phones/mobile-phones/iPhone/iPhone-4G-2_cred_spazio_cellulare-728-75.jpg New...

New 'photos' of the iPhone 4G have supposedly leaked out via an internet forum.

We say supposedly as we really can't believe that these are real - not least because the phone is called an iPhone 4G, which we really don't think will be Jobs' moniker of choice come April.

But the sheer graft gone into creating the range of images is magnificent - we're seeing docks, different colour chassis - heck, the 'spy shot grabbers' have even designed new internal packaging.

Spec-less

As you can imagine, there's no specs to go along with this very-likely-made-up photoshoot (which is authentically set up in some dodgy warehouse - realistic).



But hey, we love to see people trying - and it at least adds credence to the notion that the next iPhone will come in a range of colours.

And we're fully prepared to massively apologise to the Spazio Cellulare forum if it turns out this photoshoot was bang on the money - just don't hold your breath.

Via Pocket-Lint

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-...eak-out-676361 ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12504 <![CDATA[Technology News- Sony limits PlayStation Move's four-player support]]> http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12503&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:10:24 GMT PlayStations recently announced Move motion controller may have wowed audiences at this year's Games Developers' Conference, but already there seems to be limits to the peripheral.

It seems that only two fully fledged Move setups (which is the motion controller and sub-controller) will be able to be connected to the PS3 at any one time.

This means that you will be able to have four controllers, without nunchuck, connected which will limit the moves of the controller somewhat.

Move any mountain

PlayStation Move is Sony's big move into the family friendly gaming territory of the Wii and the news that four-player games won't harness the full potential of the Move control system will be a bugbear for some – especially as the tech is mean to be played in groups.

Unless you don't mind wielding a Move controller like a lightsaber in your home on your own.

The reason for the limitation is because the PS3's uses Bluetooth to connect peripherals and this is limited to seven controllers at any one time.

It doesn't explain why three fully fledged Move setups can't be used at once. Maybe the thought of a Move ménage à trois is too much for Sony to handle.

Via Gizmodo

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming...support-676352 ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12503 Technology News- Tories blow smoke over high-speed broadband http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12502&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:07:53 GMT Dave Bailey, Computing 12 Mar 2010

The Conservative's Technology Manifesto was launched yesterday with several laudable aims, however its ambitions seem confused.

One claim in the manifesto says: "We will be the first country in Europe to extend superfast 100Mbit/s broadband across most of the population...this is up to 50 times faster than Labour’s planned broadband network."

However, the Tories are not comparing like with like. Labour has made two promises, the first for the delivery of 2Mbit/s to be universally available to all the UK by 2012 - mostly delivered through copper-based networks. The second is for widespread rollout of next-generation optical fibre for the delivery of superfast 100Mbit/s broadband by 2017 and to 90 per cent of the population.

The Tories promise is identical to the government's second commitment, and yet they are comparing this promise with the first.

The one difference is that the Tories do not specify the percentage of the population that will have access to the next-generation optical fibre.

They also argue in the manifesto that this high speed broadband network will help to create 600,000 additional jobs.
Permalink: http://www.v3.co.uk/2259407 ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12502 Daily News (Tech) IDC: Print shipments on the up http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12501&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:06:29 GMT Caroline Donnelly, CRN 12 Mar 2010 Shipments of hardcopy peripheral (HCP) products in EMEA should be back to pre-recession levels by 2011,... Caroline Donnelly, CRN 12 Mar 2010

Shipments of hardcopy peripheral (HCP) products in EMEA should be back to pre-recession levels by 2011, predicts IDC.

HCP shipments fell 15.1 per cent last year because of the recession, said IDC, and it will take until 2011 for the market to return to its 2008 peak.

The market watcher added that it expects HCP shipment volumes in the EMEA region to enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 7.6 per cent between 2010 and 2014.

Julio Vial, research manager at IDC, said: "The exceptionally weak western European economic environment which persisted throughout 2009 drove down print spending in the region, though IDC does predict a gradual recovery through 2010 provided that key economies return to positive GDP growth."

The key growth area for the market, said Vial, would be the colour laser printer segment, which the IDC predicts will total 2.9 million shipments by 2014.
Permalink: http://www.v3.co.uk/2259418 ]]> News In Short (Tech) Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12501 Technology News- Channel in the dark over iPad http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12500&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:05:21 GMT Sam Trendall, CRN 12 Mar 2010 With the UK launch of Apple’s iPad little more than a month away, the vendor’s channel has seemingly been left in... Sam Trendall, CRN 12 Mar 2010

With the UK launch of Apple’s iPad little more than a month away, the vendor’s channel has seemingly been left in the dark as to when it can take stock of the product.

Last week Apple confirmed a US launch date of 5 April, with the product set to hit the UK before the end of next month. Details of which outlets it will be available through were not disclosed.

But sources have indicated to CRN that Apple stores and a select band of hand-picked Premium Resellers (APRs) will be the first to benefit. Distri*butors, Authorised and non-authorised resellers may not get their hands on the much-vaunted tablet PC until some time later.

Demo machines are set to be present in Apple stores by the end of this month. But Apple partners CRN spoke with confirmed they had not received any guidance on when they could take stock or start promoting the iPad.

One source told CRN this was “an example of Apple trying to control the channel”.
“Non-authorised resellers are loose cannons as far as Apple is concerned,” added the source.

Distributors Ingram Micro and Westcoast declined to comment, while Computers Unlimited and Computer 2000 were unavailable, as was Apple.

Earlier this month ChangeWave Research polled more than 3,000 consumers and found two in five of those planning to buy an e-reader would opt for an iPad.
Jeremy Davies, co-founder of research firm Context, predicted the iPad would “fly off the shelves”.

“There are people who are frustrated with their iPhones and others buying netbooks that do not want to get into the vagaries of operating systems,” he said. “I think this is a category of product that will do really well.”

Apple's channel relations suffered another blow last week when VAR Bear IT hit back at Apple after being stripped of its Authorised Reseller status. Managing director Mark Lambert claimed Apple had been uncommunicative since giving his firm the badge two years ago. He added that promised marketing funds had never materialised.

“It was all words and no action,” he said. “They left us to our own devices and all we received were emails saying that we had not hit our targets. People were not spending money and we were surviving on support sales. But Apple was meant to be helping us sell.”

Robert Peckham, Mac channel director for the Techno*logy Channels Association, sympathised with Bear IT.

“Apple’s primary focus is retail,” he said. “It is not that interested in Authorised resellers that are not specialising or selling into areas that Apple itself cannot service.”
Permalink: http://www.v3.co.uk/2259411 ]]> Techno News Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12500 Daily News (Tech) Computacenter profits up 22 per cent http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12499&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:03:52 GMT Dave Bailey, Computing 11 Mar 2010 Infrastructure services provider Computacenter saw its profits before tax increase by 22.4 per cent to £48.4m... Dave Bailey, Computing 11 Mar 2010

Infrastructure services provider Computacenter saw its profits before tax increase by 22.4 per cent to £48.4m for the year to 31 December 2009, up from £39.5m last year.

Revenues, however, were down by 2.2 per cent to £2.5bn from £2.56bn in 2008.

Computacenter chief executive Mike Norris said the increase in the group’s annual service contract base was clear evidence that customers are turning to Computacenter to help them reduce their operating costs.

"As a result we expect steady revenue growth in 2010, even though the economic climate across Europe is still fragile," added Norris.

Computacenter has undergone a restructuring exercise recently, with Computacenter Distribution, its trade distribution division, being sold last year to technology distributor Ingram Micro.
Permalink: http://www.v3.co.uk/2259350 ]]> News In Short (Tech) Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12499 Daily News (Tech) Tandberg Data gets ready for disk battle http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12498&goto=newpost Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:01:24 GMT Caroline Donnelly, CRN 11 Mar 2010 As the debate rages over the future of the tape storage industry, sector *stalwart Tandberg Data has been... Caroline Donnelly, CRN 11 Mar 2010

As the debate rages over the future of the tape storage industry, sector *stalwart Tandberg Data has been *re-inventing itself as a purveyor of a wider range of storage solutions.

The tape vendor cemented its change in industry focus earlier this month with the release of two disk-based storage solutions aimed at the SME market – the
DPS2000 NAS series and the firm’s new back-up and deduplication *
offering, AccuGuard.

The launch of both products is the culmination of a two-year consultation between the firm and its *channel partners, explained Marije Stijnen, vice president of marketing at Tandberg.

“Over the past 10 years there has been a decline in the tape market, and for our business to grow it made sense to branch out into other areas,” said Stijnen.

“These latest releases are a very significant part of our focus on becoming an end-to-end data *solutions provider.”

Stop the tape
In a recent IDC survey of 501 US-based IT managers, 59 per cent said they have reduced the amount of tape backup they use.

Additionally, 32.4 per cent of those questioned said they had been able to eliminate the technology completely from their storage infrastructure.

Phil Jones, chief technical officer at rival vendor Shoden Data Systems, said that in light of the downturn in popularity of tape-based solutions, Tandberg was wise to pursue other sources of revenue.

“It really is the end of the tape now,” said Jones. “In the past, people have clung on to the format because it was more cost-effective, but the net cost associated with storing data on disk has gone down and the argument is not nearly as compelling any more.”

Richard Shea, vice president of sales at storage vendor Green Bytes, said Tandberg would find itself pitted against some “major players” in the disk storage market, which could put paid to its growth plans.

He said: “They are a bit late to the market, so they’ll need to work hard and bring out unique solutions with distinct value-add opportunities.

“The deduplication technology [AccuGuard], for example, will need to be superior to what its rivals are already offering.”

Gareth Bray, solutions business manager at Tandberg distributor Micro Peripherals, is confident that the firm’s storage solutions will stand up against what its more
established rivals in the disk space have to offer.

“The AccuGuard deduplication functionality usually only exists at the high end and the company is bringing that value at a very competitive ticket value,” he said.

The fact the DPS2000 features NAS and optional iSCSI capability at an SME-friendly price tag should also work in Tandberg’s favour, claimed Bray.

Stijnen stated that SMEs’ pricing constraints had been a key consideration for his firm in developing its disk offerings.

“We know that most SMEs spend around $6,000 (£3,960) on data protection and for us the challenge was *producing an all-in-one solution
that would sit within that price range,” she explained.

Partner benefits
To help drive sales of the firm’s new product lines, Tandberg is also planning to recruit more VARs and overhaul its global partner programme.

“It is not going to be an aggressive recruitment campaign,” said Stijnen. “Our sales team in the UK are committed to recruiting VARs as part of the ongoing nature of their job and will, ideally, be looking for partners with experience of working with SME clients in a NAS and deduplication capacity.

"We have a lot to offer the right partners, though, including door-opening products that provide resellers with real opportunities to differentiate themselves in the market.”

Potential partners would be dealing with an “exceptionally channel-friendly” and 100 per cent partner-focused company, added Bray.

“Unlike other players in the tape space, they do not take deals direct once they go over a certain value, which is a big consideration for a lot of resellers who have had negative experiences elsewhere,” he said.

Ray Quattromini, managing director at Tandberg VAR Fortuna Data Systems, said resellers that sign up with the vendor would receive deal registration opportunities and access to marketing materials.

“The products have always been innovative and affordable, which is why most of our low-end storage offerings are based on Tandberg solutions,” he said. “The support and after-sales service the company offers is also second to none.”

However, Shea said it is the firm’s existing partners who could lose out as a result of Tandberg’s decision to diversify its product lines.

“There are a diminishing number of players in the tape space and lots of vendors selling disk-based products,” he said. “As a result, resellers could find their margins compressed because there are so many firms offering similar kinds of products.”
Permalink: http://www.v3.co.uk/2259357 ]]> News In Short (Tech) Guy00 http://forum.meetthegeeks.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12498