6 TB Helium-Filled HDDs Can Now Be Used in Network-Attached Storage from QNAP

Network-attached storage devices are a great way to add centralized storage space to a network, which anyone with a desktop, laptop or mobile device (tablet/phone) can access via LAN, Wi-Fi or even the Internet if you set it up that way. QNAP has just delivered the latest upgrade to its NAS units.

You see, most NAS devices, whether made by QNAP or others, can't handle anything larger than 4 TB. Even those that can usually have 5 TB as the upper HDD/SSD limit. Now, though, QNAP has announced that its Enterprise and Small-Medium-Business lines of Turbo NAS products can successfully accept and read HGST Ultrastar He6 helium-filled hard disk drives (HDD) with 6 TB capacity. It has been a long time coming, but HGST has finally started to persuade OEMs to use the things.

In 8-drive units, this means a total of 48 TB, though RAID setups will take around 10% of that in order to “fool” every network-connected system into thinking there is just one huge drive volume available, not several. RAID brings great benefits in performance and security. The exact range of supporting products for the helium-filled HDDs is this: QNAP Turbo NAS TS-x79U-SAS series and QNAP expansion enclosures REXP series.

HGST Ultrastar He6
Image credits to HGST

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Microsoft to Kill Asha, Series 40, and Nokia X in 18 Months

Today, Microsoft announced some major changes in its smartphone strategy moving forth, including a large number of layoffs from the former Nokia Devices and Services division, but it seems that the company did not reveal all on its plans for the future.

The company said that it would streamline production at some factories and that the engineering process would be restructured to only two of Nokia sites in Finland (though others would continue to operate as support), but it seems that there’s more to it. Within the next 18 months, we might see the Asha, Series 40, and Nokia X series of devices completely shut down, as the company is shifting focus on Windows Phone and Lumia devices. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, has already said that some Nokia X devices will be re-purposed to Lumia phones, and Stephen Elop has reiterated that, while also saying that current Android devices will continue to be available for purchase and will also receive support. However, an internal memo from Jo Harlow, head of Microsoft’s phone business, clears things up a bit more, revealing that Asha, Series 40, and Nokia X devices are being moved into "maintenance mode" effective immediately, The Verge reports.

Thus, they will no longer receive new features, although support for them will still be offered for the next 18 months. Past that, these handsets will be completely removed from Microsoft’s plans. "This means there will be no new features or updates to services on any Mobile Phones platform as a result of these plans," Jo Harlow reportedly says in the aforementioned internal memo. "Whereas successful hardware was the goal at Nokia; delighting our customers with Microsoft platforms, services and applications through our hardware is our goal at Microsoft,” she also notes. Thus, Microsoft will focus completely on Windows Phone and on increasing its market presence in the high-end and entry-level segments, it seems.

"To drive success in the short term, we plan to focus our high end go-to-market strategy on the Lumia 930, Lumia 1520, and other high-end products that we will be announcing very soon," Harlow says. As part of the restructuring plans, Microsoft will also kill MixRadio, it seems. This service too has been moved to maintenance mode, and the company is said to be looking into transforming it into a third-party service, and is also considering spinning it off. Said memo also reveals that the Redmond-based company will work on the building of new flagship products to be released alongside the next iteration of Windows Phone, which will arrive next year under the codename of Threshold.

Nokia X
Image credits to Nokia/Microsoft

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New Components for iPhone 6 Leaked: Bigger Battery and Sony Camera Sensor

New reports coming from Chinese and French sources give us a little more insight on the next generation iPhone. Apple future device may be greatly improved when it comes to taking photos and videos and the battery life may be considerably higher.

A report on a Chinese Sony related forum (http://www.digi-wo.com/thread-19938-1-1.html) explains that a component made by Sony will be included in the iPhone 6. The IMX220 camera sensor has a higher megapixel count than the current iPhone 5s camera: 13MP. It also sports a 1/2.3 inch sensor that records videos in 1080p (just like the previous iPhone model). Apple usually doesn't talk about camera specs, but it does compare it to previous models. For example, when the iPhone 5s came out, the device had a sensor that increases the are for pixels by 15 percent and the pixels themselves were larger. The aperture was increased with the iSight camera and light sensitivity was larger by 33 percent. The iPhone 5s also introduced a dual flash and auto image stabilization. The iPhone 5s camera has a sapphire crystal lens cover, backside illumination sensor, five-element lens and a Hybrid IR filter.

Another leak comes from the French blog Nowhereelse.fr and it is related to the battery of the next generation iPhone. According to the mentioned source, the iPhone 6 will incorporate a 1,810 mAh cell which is considerably larger than the 1,560 mAh one found in the iPhone 5s. Sure, the iPhone 6 may have a larger case and that can easily accommodate a larger battery, but it will supposedly have a larger display as well - 4,7 inch instead of a four inch one. The increase will kill the battery even faster so a larger capacity one is a must have. The source says the new capacity is still way behind the battery for Android-powered devices like Galaxy S5 and HTC One (M8). But then again, Apple is optimizing the internal components and software to have a lower power consumption. iOS 8 may also contribute at the way the battery is drained.

The tech giant from California is getting ready to release the new iPhone this fall. The new device might be announced on September 19th and launched a week later, on September 25th. The device will supposedly have a 4.7" diagonal display made from sapphire glass.

Sony sensor to be included in iPhone 6
Image credits to alibaba.com

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BBM for Windows Phone Beta to Start Arriving on Devices on July 17

Last week, Canadian mobile phone maker BlackBerry has officially announced the availability of its BBM application for Windows Phone users in a beta flavor, and it seems that it is finally ready to make it available for download.

The company has provided users with the possibility to register for the beta testing of the application, but did not provide users with info on when the application will actually arrive on their devices. A recent tweet coming from Jeff Gadway, the head of product and brand marketing for BBM, reveals that this will happen as soon as tomorrow, July 17. The beta testing program filled up pretty fast after BlackBerry’s official announcement, yet the company also offered users the possibility to sign up for a waiting list, which should provide them with the possibility to get a taste of the app before many others.

Those who did make it into the beta program, however, should sit tight and wait for the application to become available for download for them tomorrow. No specific info on when the rest of Windows Phone users out there will receive access to the app has been provided as of now, but BlackBerry did say that the app will enjoy general release in a matter of weeks, so they might not have that long to wait in the end.

BBM for Windows Phone

Image credits to BlackBerry

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Google Adds Bitcoin Price Conversion

All Bitcoin fans should rejoice as Google has finally introduced price conversion for the cryptocurrency directly into the search results page.

The ability to make the switch between various currencies in the world is one of Google’s coolest features on the search engine since it considerably cuts down on the time needed to find a proper conversion tool. Now, if you want, you can simply type “price of Bitcoin” or “5 bitcoin to Euro” and get the result straight on the page. The feature was recently rolled out by Google and it seems like it was the logical next step after the company introduce Bitcoin prices into the Finance section. Furthermore, the fact that Bing has already been offering such conversion options for a while must have annoyed Google quite a bit. Just like Bing, Google is providing the currency conversions from Coinbase after signing a partnership with the site.

This isn’t exactly a major update for Google, but it does indicate that the company has come to the conclusion that Bitcoins should be treated just like any other currency by including it in the list with all the rest. While integrating Bitcoin in the Google Wallet may still be some distance away, this is a good step for the company.

Google has added a cool new feature
Image credits to Google

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MSI WS60 2OJ is 19.9 mm and 1.9 Kg Ultrathin but Powerful Workstation

The term Ultrabook may only be used to describe entertainment-minded, super-thin mobile personal computers, but there are other types of laptops that are just as thin, or close enough that the difference is negligible. The WS60 2OJ from Micro-Star International is such an example.

In truth, the Origin EVO15-S gaming notebook is an example as well, but that one is still an entertainment-minded device, if on a level far higher than mere web surfing and film playback. MSI's newest laptop stands out even more because it is not made for consumer entertainment, although one could still use it to run films, games and pretty much anything else. Basically, the MSI WS60 2OJ is a mobile workstation, a professional laptop in other words, that even the most demanding video/virtual designers should find sufficient, if not excellent, for their needs. After all, between the Intel Core i7 quad-core central processing unit (Core i7-4710HQ, 2.5 GHz clock) and the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M graphics card (2GB GDDR5), CAD/CAM programs will run smoothly, much to the joy of M&E (Multimedia & Entertainment) designers, as well as engineers. The diagonal of the MSI WS60 2OJ is 15.6 inches, which is another point scored in the “ultrabook” trait list.

It's actually surprising that MSI didn't use a discrete graphics card with more VRAM, but we suppose space still set some limits as to how many heat-generating parts could fit before the cooling stopped keeping up. After all, while MSI did implement the Cooler Boost 2 technology, the dual-fan thermal cooling can only do so much before even its efficiency proves not enough to offset the heat waves. Moving on, storage is provided by an HDD of 1 TB and two solid state drives of varying capacity. The top transfer speed, for reading and writing files, is of 1,000 MB/s because of the SuperRAID technology that “merges” the two SSDs into a single whole, as far as the operating system is concerned.

Furthermore, the newcomer uses Thunderbolt 2 technology with bi-directional 10 Gbps speed, plus USB 3.0, which, while 4 times slower, is still essential and much more widespread. Combined, the interfaces let you transfer 10 HD videos in 3 minutes to and from an external storage device (though it depends on the flash drive, HDD, SSD or whatever else). Finally, the 15.6-inch LCD is a 2880 x 1620 IPS panel and can be extended to two other monitors if you have them. This is good for multi-tasking (one window per screen). All in all, the MSI WS60 2OJ notebook weighs 1.9 kg / 4.18 pounds and is 19.9 mm thin / 0.78 inches.

MSI WS60 2OJ
Images credits to MSI

MSI WS60 2OJ
Image credits to TechPowerUp

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BBM for Windows Phone Beta Receives Its First Update

Last week, Canadian mobile phone maker BlackBerry showed the first signs that its Messenger was finally ready to arrive on Windows Phone devices, and released the BBM for Windows Phone mobile client in a beta flavor.

Initially available only to users included in a private beta testing program, the app was then pushed out to more users as part of a public testing initiative, but has yet to arrive on all devices out there. However, it appears that the first update for the application has already been released, and that the mobile software is available for download as version 1.0.0.2 at the moment. Unfortunately, we have no info on what the updated release brings along. While this means that the application is moving closer to its general availability on Microsoft’s mobile OS, no specific info on when that will actually happen has been provided as of now.

Last week, BlackBerry announced that the application would be released for all Windows Phone users out there in a matter of weeks, and this is the only release timeframe that we have for it at the moment. Hopefully, additional info on the matter will emerge in the not-too-distant future, so keep an eye on this space for more info on the matter. Those who have already enrolled in the BBM for Windows Phone beta testing program should update the app to get a taste of what’s new in it.

BBM for Windows Phone
Image credits to BlackBerry

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ASUS H97 Pro Gamer ATX Motherboard Boasts 10 Gbps SATA Express M.2 SSD Support

When you see a motherboard colored in a mixture of black and red, and boasting sleek-looking heatsinks, you know you're looking at one of the better ones out there. As it happens, the new ASUS H97 Pro Gamer is more than a few steps higher than “above average.”

The easiest way to confirm that is to look at the storage loadout. And we don't just mean the standard STA 6.0 Gbps available for SSD and HDD installation. No, what sticks out is the fact that the ASUS H97 Pro Gamer is one of the very rare mainboards and features SATA Express support and, more than that, wires the M.2 slots through the PCI Express root complex rather than SATA. You see, M.2 is a new form factor of solid state drives, as large as two of your fingers, or just one, but with the potential of working at 1.8 GB/s or more. However, that performance is only possible if the M.2 ports are wired through PCI Express technology instead of SATA 6.0 Gbps, which, as we said, is a rare occurrence still. ASUS H97 Pro Gamer does, indeed, use PCI Express lanes for the M.2 slot, a pair of PCI Express 2.0 ones to be precise, enabling 10 Gbps bandwidth.

You will have to make sure that the M.2 SSDs you buy are designed with PCI Express-based M.2 support though. The controller determines the compatibility just as much as the motherboard in this case does. Moving on, the H97 Pro Gamer motherboard also has SATA Express support, whereby SATA ports can achieve 10 Gbps. In theory, SATA Express should go all the way up to 12 Gbps, thanks to a combination of SATA III (6.0 Gbps) and PCI Express, but ASUS settled for 10 here. In addition to high-speed storage, the ASYS H97 Pro Gamer mainboard supports Gigabit Ethernet technology with GameFirst II, which reduces lag by prioritizing game data.

High-end audio is another thing, enabled by SupremeFX technology with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 115 dB and built-in amplifier. In layman terms, it means that audio quality isn't lost when you hit “play.” It helps that an electromagnetic interference (EMI) protective shield surrounds the audio chipset. Finally, ASUS' new motherboard has the kind of durability that all high-end motherboards are known for, thanks to resettable fuses (DRAM and connector ports protected by overcurrent and short-circuit damage) and other such components. Finally, ASUS included the efficiency and reliability-boosting DIGI+ voltage-regulator module (VRM) and a stainless-steel back input/output (I/O) panel plated with chromium (it resists corrosion and lasts three times longer than normal panels). Find the dry specs of the newcomer on the H97-Pro Gamer product page.

ASUS H97 Pro Gamer
Image credits to ASUS

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan II Maxwell Super Graphics Card Spotted

NVIDIA's Maxwell graphics processing unit generation was supposed to be designed on the 20nm manufacturing process, but with TSMC having big problems with the node, this won't happen. Thus, even the top chip, the one that will be used on the GeForce GTX Titan II, will be built on the 28nm technology instead.

Admittedly, we aren't totally sure that NVIDIA's next-generation top-end graphics card will be called Titan again, but since we've already had a Titan, Titan Black and Titan-Z (dual-GPU), it is highly likely. The Santa Clara, California-based IT player hasn't actually released any information about the card, or really gone into detail about the Maxwell GPU range as a whole. However, it wasn't able to completely conceal all evidence that a Maxwell-based successor to the GeForce GTX Titan Black was in the works. A shipping manifest has been discovered, one that mentioned a video card powered by the GM200 A1 graphics processing unit. Previously, we’ve heard reports that NVIDIA will start the next-generation video board series with the GM204 Maxwell, which will power the GeForce GTX 880 Ti, GTX 880, GTX 870, and GTX 860.

The fact that the new manifest mentions the GM200, which is supposed to be held in reserve for a good while, implies that a Titan board is what we should be looking forward to here. The discovery of the manifest, along with the knowledge that the GM200 will be built on the 28nm process, does, however, debunk the other half of the rumor surrounding the Maxwell line (the one that said NVIDIA would jump to 16nm). Anyway, the GM200 will probably measure around 620 square millimeters, which is quite large even among high-end GPUs. Inside, there will be 4,000 shader processors (probably) and a 512-bit memory interface.

Below you can see a picture of a PCB that was leaked earlier this week, but whose identity was unknown at the time. There seem to be two 6-pin PCI Express power connectors and one 8-pin port available, suggesting a truly high power consumption, not that it's a surprise, although it does make one wonder how much energy a dual-GPU Maxwell card will need. This is even more perplexing considering that energy needs are supposed to go down the more technology advances, instead of up. It is possible that the “Titan II” and the aforementioned GeForce GTX 880 are one and the same unit. However, the 700 series does have a GTX 780 Ti, yet the Titan Black is better than it, so it can actually go either way.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan II PCB (possibly)
Image credits to Guru3D

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BBM for Windows Phone Now Ready for Open Beta

A few days ago, the long-expected BBM for Windows Phone application arrived in the Windows Phone Store, only to be tagged as a private beta, but good news has emerged for enthusiasts today.

While getting ready for the full release of the application, BlackBerry has decided to make it available in an open beta, and has already started to accept applications from users interested in testing it out. In a recent post on BlackBerry’s official blog, Jeff Gadway, head of product and brand marketing for BBM, has revealed that users can already head over to the Beta Zone to register for the application. “The BBM team here at BlackBerry has been busy getting BBM for Windows Phone ready to go. We’re preparing for an external beta ahead of our launch and are ready to start accepting applications to participate,” he notes. “Now remember, this is a beta and our expectation is that participants will help us make BBM for Windows Phone great by actively participating. If you’re not ready to report bugs, respond to surveys and provide feedback – better to wait just a bit longer for the full release.”

The stable version of BBM for Windows Phone is expected to become available in the next few weeks with all of the sharing features and capabilities that the service can offer to users on other mobile platforms out there as well. The application will arrive on Microsoft’s operating system with BBM Chats, enabling users to engage into conversations with one or more contacts, while also allowing them to easily share content, including photos, voice notes, contacts and location. BBM Groups will also be available in Windows Phone, so that users could connect and share with up to 50 contacts at the same time.

Moreover, it comes with a private group chat and the option to share a photo album so that group members could chat about pics. Shared calendars and lists will also be included in the application, along with broadcast messages. “We’ll be working to quickly add more features to BBM for Windows Phone such as stickers, BBM Voice, BBM Channels and location sharing powered by Glympse in the months ahead,” Gadway says. BBM for Windows Phone will also arrive with a simplified look and feel, featuring a native user interface, in line with the clean, modern design of the Windows Phone UI.

The app will focus on three major areas, namely Contacts, Chats and Feeds, which can be easily accessible by swiping left and right. A series of common actions can be found at the bottom of the page in the footer, while clicking on the three dots will bring up a menu with additional controls. Overall, BBM for Windows Phone appears set to deliver a highly appealing experience to all users, so head over to the BlackBerry Beta Zone to sign up for the application, if you would like to test it before it rolls out to everyone.

BBM for Windows Phone
Image credits to BlackBerry

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