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Posts Tagged hardware

Microsoft unveils HD Widescreen Webcam for Consumers

Aug 21

Posted by Admin in New Technologies | No Comments


MSWEBCAMMicrosoft has released a web camera capable of widescreen capture. This is the first consumer webcam to offer widescreen video with a 720pixel capture. With increasing internet bandwidth and image and video sharing platforms like YouTube, this is perfect timing for release of such hardware. This will bring life like quality to social networking sites and for chatting with friends and family.

This is the only webcam that offers these features and caters to home consumer segment. Such features were only available to corporate for conducting remote meetings. This webcam also features an advanced Auto Focus feature that delivers sharp images up to 4 inches from the webcam. Microsoft has also launched ClearFrame Technology with this webcam. This offers faster image processing to deliver smooth video at any resolution and enhanced noise reduction capabilities. This webcam has a widest angle of coverage, a whooping 74 Degrees. This new cam also features integration with following Microsoft Live features to support editing and sharing of pictures and videos:

  1. Windows Live Movie Maker: This is a new version which now supports HD. Users can edit their pictures and videos with this tool and upload them to YouTube with a single click functionality.
  2. Windows Live Photo Gallery: This tool is also integrated with the cam utility software. However, there are no notable changes made to this tool. This is currently available as a standalone download for your existing cams also.

This revolutionary webcam will be priced at approximately USD 79.95 and will be available in September this year. This also carries a limited 3 Year hardware warranty.

Source: Microsoft Press Release

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Tags: hardware, HD, Microsoft, webcam, widescreen

Sony announces launch of “SLIM” Playstation3

Aug 20

Posted by Admin in Gaming | No Comments


Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) unveiled the new Playstation 3 on August 18, 2009. The new system features and extremely streamlined form factor with a 120 GB hard disk drive (HDD). This will be available in stores from September 1, 2009.

The internal architecture of the new system has been completely revamped to achieve a smaller and lighter body. Another improvement is in the power consumption area. New low power consuming devices have been used tosony_playstation_3reduce the power consumption by ? of its predecessor.

With this launch, the brand name for “PLAYSTATION 3” will be changed to “Playstation 3”, in line with its existing range of these high end gaming systems.

The new features of Playstation 3 are as below:

  1. The system software will be upgraded to version 3.0. It will provide a “What’s New” option where the users can browse available items at Playstation Store.
  2. The new system will come with an additional feature for Sony BRAVIA TV owners (BRAVIA Sync). It will allow users to use XMB on Playstation 3 directly upon connecting it with a Bravia TV using a HDMI cable, using the TV remote. It also has an “active standby” mode which will turn off the Playstation system once the TV is shut off.
  3. Users will now not be able to get the option to “Install other OS”. This is primarily targeted to reduce the count of issues that used to occur with this and to focus on delivery of gaming and entertainment content.

Product Outline

Product Name

PlayStation®3 Slim

Product Code

CECH-2000A (Charcoal Black)

CPU

Cell Broadband Engine™

GPU

RSX®

Audio Output

LPCM 7.1ch, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, AAC.

Memory

256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM

Hard Disk

2.5″ Serial ATA

120 GB*1

Inputs/Outputs *2

Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0)

2

Networking

Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) × 1

IEEE 802.11 b/g

Bluetooth® 2.0 (EDR)

Controller

Wireless Controller?Bluetooth®?

AV output

Resolution

1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i?(for PAL 576p, 576i)

HDMI OUT connector*3

1

AV MULTI OUT connector

1

Digital out (optical) connector

1

BD?DVD?CD
drive (read only)

Maximum read rate

BD × 2 (BD-ROM)
DVD × 8 (DVD-ROM)
CD × 24 (CD-ROM)

Power

AC 220 – 240, 50/60Hz*4

Power Consumption

Approx. 250W

External dimensions

(excluding maximum projecting part )

Approx. 290 × 65 × 290 mm (width × height × length)

Mass

Approx. 3.2kg

Included *5

PlayStation®3 system × 1

Wireless Controller (DUALSHOCK®3) × 1

AC power cord × 1

AV cable × 1

USB cable × 1

Source: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Press Release

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Tags: console, Gaming, hardware, new, playstation3, ps3, slim, Sony

Identify Hardware components from Windows mode

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Windows 7, Windows XP | No Comments


There are times when we format the hard drive, without realizing that it may be very difficult to install drivers for all the devices. Don’t worry, if you have done that, there is a way to identify the devices from within windows Operating System. Follow the steps below to identify the hardware:

On the Desktop screen, click on “Start” –> “Run“–> Type “devmgmt.msc” and click on “OK“. For Vista, on the quick search window type “devmgmt.msc” and click on it once vista shows the search results.
It will launch “Device Manager” window for you. Here you will see a list of devices with (+) sign next to them. For any device for which a driver is not installed will have a YELLOW exclamation or question next to them.
Locate the device that has the yellow mark and “Right Click on it“
On the pop-up menu, click on “Properties“
On the Properties window, click on the drop down box that says “Device description” and click on “Hardware IDs” on the drop down menu to select it.
You will see something like this when you select this option:
USB\VID_0A5C&PID_2110&REV_0100

USB\VID_0A5&PID_2110

Here, VID/VEN IDs denote Vendors. In this example, the VID is 0A5.

The device id is usually denoted through PID/DEV. Her the device ID is 2110.

7. Once you have these IDs with you, go to pcidatabase and search using Device ID. It will tell you which device is installed on your computer.

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Tags: device, drivers, hardware, howto, identify, Microsoft, Vista, XP

Are you ready for Windows 7?

Aug 12

Posted by Admin in Windows 7 | No Comments


It would be a simple question to answer if you are considering only Minimum system Requirements.

But you have ensure more comprehensive check of your system to ensure hassle free transition to Windows 7.

Following are few things you need to take care off before attempting upgrade/installation of Windows 7.

There are tools and scan utilities available which if you download and run on your machine will provide you with all the required information related to conflicting software, Drives etc.

Below are few tools which you can try:

1. Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor:

This tool generates a report which details out known compatibility issues. It will also give suggestions on how to take care of compatibility issues.

2. PC Pit Stop Utility:

This site will prompt for installation of an ActiveX control. Install this ActiveX and you will get a comprehensive scan result of your PC wrt Windows 7 readiness.

 

Cheers!!!

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Tags: check, compatibility, Compatibility check, compatibility issues, compatible, hardware, minimum, readiness, requirements, system, Upgrade, Window 7, Windows 7

Minimum System Requirements – Windows 7

Aug 12

Posted by Admin in Windows 7 | No Comments


Good News!!! If you are running Microsoft Windows Vista on your PC already, you do not have to pay heavily for a hardware upgrade if you intend to install Microsoft Windows 7.

Below is the comparision of Minimum system requirement for Windows Vista & Windows 7:

Windows 7:

  • 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
  • 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
  • DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Windows Vista – Home Premium / Business / Ultimate:

  • 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 1 GB of system memory
  • 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
  • Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
    • WDDM Driver
    • 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
    • Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
    • 32 bits per pixel

 

Additional requirements to use certain features:

For some Windows Media Center functionality a TV tuner and additional hardware may be required

Windows Touch and Tablet PCs require specific hardware

DVD/CD authoring requires a compatible optical drive

BitLocker requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2

BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive

Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM, an additional 15 GB of available hard disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on.

 

For more information, visit following links:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/system-requirements.aspx

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-System-Requirements-110635.shtml

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Tags: hardware, Microsoft, required, system, Upgrade, Windows 7