The Consumerist is reporting Sears employees actually tried to sell a customer a service plan which featured of all things a "plasma TV recharge."
According to the post a Sears representative contacted "Anthony" regarding the decision to purchase a Plasma TV instead of an LCD. The representative the proceeded to tell Anthony, "Plasma TV's needed to be recharged every 5 years for a cost of $500 or so," trying to sell him a 3 year $300 protection plan that the representative said would cover this service.
Now obviously there is no such thing as a plasma recharge, plasma TVs are sealed units that do not need to be recharged. Even if there was such a thing the 3 year plan would expire long before the 5 year recharging date anyway.
In writing this I did a quick Google Search and found this is not an isolated incident. Looking through some of the hits I found several people referring to sales people at both Sears and Best Buy and attempts at up selling either to higher priced LCD TVs or up selling protection plans for this mythical plasma recharge.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Conficker Worm Infects Nearly 10 Million PC Worldwide
According to security researchers at F-Secure the Downadup virus, also called the "Conficker Worm" has infected nearly 10 million PCs worldwide.
F-Secure researchers have said, "As time passes, the number of estimated Downadup infections becomes more problematic to calculate as we are monitoring a varying number of domains. Re-infections may also be inflating the count." Late last week the companies prediction of an estimated 2.4 million infected machines jumped to over 8.9 million during a four day span.
The company however remained optimistic in Friday's blog post stating, "In any case, today seems better than the day before and we think that growth of Downadup has been curbed. Disinfection of the worm remains a challenge."
Downandup exploits a bug in the Windows Server service used by Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008. Although Microsoft fixed the flaw with one of its rare "out of cycle" updates in late October, it is estimated that about a third of all PCs have not yet been patched.
The worm spreads by exploiting the Windows vulnerability, by brute-force password attacks, through networked devices and by hitchhiking on USB devices like flash drives.
For more details on detection and removal of Downandup checkout F-Secure's Downandup page as well as Microsoft's Conficker Worm Virus alert page. Microsoft has recommended that Windows users install the emergency update, then run the January edition of the MSRT to scrub the worm from compromised computers.
While detection and removal of the worm has been a priority researchers have warned that the worm has yet to be fully implemented. Alfred Huger, vice president of development at Symantec Corp.'s security response group notes, Downadup has yet to trigger it's second stage of attacks.
Typically worms of this nature are used to infect PCs so that hackers can then use those machines for further attacks. Either to send spam, launch attacks against other Web sites or compromise more computers. To do that, the original virus or worm directs the infected PC, a "bot" or a "zombie", to download additional software.
"Why is it taking so long? That's what we're all asking." Huger tells ComputerWorld. Stating he couldn't recall an attack of this size with such a long lag time between the initial attacks and follow-on downloads of more malware to the hijacked systems.
F-Secure researchers have said, "As time passes, the number of estimated Downadup infections becomes more problematic to calculate as we are monitoring a varying number of domains. Re-infections may also be inflating the count." Late last week the companies prediction of an estimated 2.4 million infected machines jumped to over 8.9 million during a four day span.
The company however remained optimistic in Friday's blog post stating, "In any case, today seems better than the day before and we think that growth of Downadup has been curbed. Disinfection of the worm remains a challenge."
Downandup exploits a bug in the Windows Server service used by Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008. Although Microsoft fixed the flaw with one of its rare "out of cycle" updates in late October, it is estimated that about a third of all PCs have not yet been patched.
The worm spreads by exploiting the Windows vulnerability, by brute-force password attacks, through networked devices and by hitchhiking on USB devices like flash drives.
For more details on detection and removal of Downandup checkout F-Secure's Downandup page as well as Microsoft's Conficker Worm Virus alert page. Microsoft has recommended that Windows users install the emergency update, then run the January edition of the MSRT to scrub the worm from compromised computers.
While detection and removal of the worm has been a priority researchers have warned that the worm has yet to be fully implemented. Alfred Huger, vice president of development at Symantec Corp.'s security response group notes, Downadup has yet to trigger it's second stage of attacks.
Typically worms of this nature are used to infect PCs so that hackers can then use those machines for further attacks. Either to send spam, launch attacks against other Web sites or compromise more computers. To do that, the original virus or worm directs the infected PC, a "bot" or a "zombie", to download additional software.
"Why is it taking so long? That's what we're all asking." Huger tells ComputerWorld. Stating he couldn't recall an attack of this size with such a long lag time between the initial attacks and follow-on downloads of more malware to the hijacked systems.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Congress Delays DTV Transition Until June 12th
The Senate passed a bill on Monday to delay the nationwide switch to digital TV signals. The transition date would move to June 12 from February 17 under the bill that was fueled by worries that viewers are not technically ready for the congressionally-mandated switch-over.
The delay comes as an estimated 6.5 million U.S. households have yet to make the digital TV transition.
The Senate is expected to vote on the DTV Delay Act next week, the bill will still have to get through the House before a delay becomes official. Under the bill consumers with expired coupons for converter boxes may apply for new coupons. Those coupons originally had an expiration date of 90 days. The bill also extends the deadline to apply for a coupon from March 31 to July 31.
My thoughts:
This delay really misses the bus and fails to solve the fundamental issue at hand. Many of these so called "left behind" aren't uninformed, how could they be, every single channel in my area has hounded viewers for months about the transition. They either don't want or feel the don't need to buy a converter box.
The second issue the delay fails to address is the reported 2.6 million additional coupon requests the NTIA has said they have on a waiting list as of last Wednesday. The $1.3 billion in funding for coupons was depleted earlier this month. As of yet there is no word that they are going to release additional funds. Aside from the current waiting list there are no actual numbers, just estimates, as to how much additional funding might be needed.
I can say from first hand experience, viewing sites like freecycle craigslist and others, that much of the misinformed public has received coupons that they didn't actually need. Almost daily for several weeks I've seen people offering their coupons that they errornously applied for and recieved. So the question remains how many of the more than 11 million outstanding coupons are in the hands of people that don't really need them or aren't actually going to use them. How many of those coupons cover the supposed 6.5 million homes we are delaying the program for.
The goverment can delay the transition all they want, however what is going to make viewers that have put off the transition suddenly act. Short of going door to door there isn't much else the governemt can do to get the word out. No matter how long you postpone it, there are still going to be people who are not ready.
My final though is this:
The NTIA and Nielsen numbers just don't add up. The Jan. 5th NTIA report says, "Nielsen Company reported recently that in January 2008, 14.3 million households rely on TV with an antenna." That same report also says, "More than 24 million households have requested more than 46 million coupons and more than 18 million coupons have been redeemed." Yet the report says "52.5 percent of coupons requested have been redeemed."
52.5% of 42 million is roughly 24 million, so somewhere we are loosing 6 million coupons that according the NTIA's report had been redeemed. According to the DTV2009.gov stats approximately 21million coupons had actually been redeemed so we can use that number.
According to both Nielsen and Centris Research there are only 14.5 million homes in America that, from my understanding, needed the DTV coupons. That number is estimated as high as 19.6 million. We'll given them the benefit of the doubt and say 20 million homes needed coupons.
Comparing the data we can see that obviously some of these numbers are being misrepresented. That or there is a gross amount of converter boxes that are sitting around in household that really don't need them.
The delay comes as an estimated 6.5 million U.S. households have yet to make the digital TV transition.
The Senate is expected to vote on the DTV Delay Act next week, the bill will still have to get through the House before a delay becomes official. Under the bill consumers with expired coupons for converter boxes may apply for new coupons. Those coupons originally had an expiration date of 90 days. The bill also extends the deadline to apply for a coupon from March 31 to July 31.
My thoughts:
This delay really misses the bus and fails to solve the fundamental issue at hand. Many of these so called "left behind" aren't uninformed, how could they be, every single channel in my area has hounded viewers for months about the transition. They either don't want or feel the don't need to buy a converter box.
The second issue the delay fails to address is the reported 2.6 million additional coupon requests the NTIA has said they have on a waiting list as of last Wednesday. The $1.3 billion in funding for coupons was depleted earlier this month. As of yet there is no word that they are going to release additional funds. Aside from the current waiting list there are no actual numbers, just estimates, as to how much additional funding might be needed.
I can say from first hand experience, viewing sites like freecycle craigslist and others, that much of the misinformed public has received coupons that they didn't actually need. Almost daily for several weeks I've seen people offering their coupons that they errornously applied for and recieved. So the question remains how many of the more than 11 million outstanding coupons are in the hands of people that don't really need them or aren't actually going to use them. How many of those coupons cover the supposed 6.5 million homes we are delaying the program for.
The goverment can delay the transition all they want, however what is going to make viewers that have put off the transition suddenly act. Short of going door to door there isn't much else the governemt can do to get the word out. No matter how long you postpone it, there are still going to be people who are not ready.
My final though is this:
The NTIA and Nielsen numbers just don't add up. The Jan. 5th NTIA report says, "Nielsen Company reported recently that in January 2008, 14.3 million households rely on TV with an antenna." That same report also says, "More than 24 million households have requested more than 46 million coupons and more than 18 million coupons have been redeemed." Yet the report says "52.5 percent of coupons requested have been redeemed."
52.5% of 42 million is roughly 24 million, so somewhere we are loosing 6 million coupons that according the NTIA's report had been redeemed. According to the DTV2009.gov stats approximately 21million coupons had actually been redeemed so we can use that number.
According to both Nielsen and Centris Research there are only 14.5 million homes in America that, from my understanding, needed the DTV coupons. That number is estimated as high as 19.6 million. We'll given them the benefit of the doubt and say 20 million homes needed coupons.
Comparing the data we can see that obviously some of these numbers are being misrepresented. That or there is a gross amount of converter boxes that are sitting around in household that really don't need them.
More Pirated Mac Software Infected
Security and privacy software vendor Intego has reported that pirated copies of Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Apple may contain a variant of the same virus found in pirated copies of Apple iWorks '09 last week.
Intego warned last week that copies of Apple iWorks '09 found on several popular torrent sites contain a virus dubbed, OSX.Trojan.iServices.A. According to Intego's report released today, a new variant dubbed OSX.Trojan.iServices.B, is now being found in torrent downloads of Adobe Photoshop CS4.
"The actual Photoshop installer is clean, but the Trojan horse is found in a crack application that serializes the program," warns Intego.
Intego warned last week that copies of Apple iWorks '09 found on several popular torrent sites contain a virus dubbed, OSX.Trojan.iServices.A. According to Intego's report released today, a new variant dubbed OSX.Trojan.iServices.B, is now being found in torrent downloads of Adobe Photoshop CS4.
"The actual Photoshop installer is clean, but the Trojan horse is found in a crack application that serializes the program," warns Intego.
After downloading this version of Photoshop, users will run the crack application to be able to use it. The crack application extracts an executable from its data, than installs a backdoor in /var/tmp/, a directory which is not deleted when the computer is restarted. (If the user runs the crack application again, the Trojan horse creates a new executable with a different name; these random names make it harder to ensure safe removal of the malware.)
The crack application then requests an administrator password, launching the backdoor with root privileges. This copies the executable to /usr/bin/DivX, then creates a startup item in /System/Library/StartupItems/DivX. The program checks to see if it has been launched with root privileges, then saves the root hash password in the file /var/root/.DivX. It listens on a random TCP port, and answers requests such as GET / HTTP/1.0 by sending a 209-byte packet, and makes repeated connections to two IP addresses.
Next, the crack application opens a disk image which is hidden in its resource folder, in a folder named .data, and proceeds to crack the Photoshop program, allowing it to be used.
Since the malicious software connects to a remote server over the Internet, the creator of this malware will be alerted that this Trojan horse is installed on different Macs, and will have the ability to connect to them and perform various actions remotely. The Trojan horse may also download additional components to an infected Mac.
My.BarackObama.com Spreading Ransomware
A once popular site for Pre-Election Barack Obama supporters, My.BarackObama.com, is being used by hackers to spread malicious ransomware. A trojan downloaded from the site installs a pieces of software which poses as fake security program creating phony warnings that a users computer is infected with spyware. The persistent pop-ups will continue to plague users until the victim pays for the worthless program usually priced between $40 and $50.
According to ComputerWorld.com, the criminals have set up bogus accounts on the site and used them to create blogs. When a user reaches one of the fake blogs, a YouTube-like video window is displayed; clicking on that video frame takes the user to a malicious Web site packed with pornography.
If the user clicks to view the porn, a message pops up claiming a video codec must be downloaded and installed. The executable file is not a real codec, but rather a Trojan horse that hijacks the PC and installs the ransomware.
Websense first uncovered the phony blogs a week ago, it has had no luck reaching someone responsible for the My.BarackObama.com site. "We've been constantly trying to reach them, and tried every possible angle, from e-mail to the site itself to the phone, but we haven't heard back," said Dan Hubbard vice president of security research at Websense. "Obviously, they've been fairly busy."
Visitors to the site that have already been infected should download and run actual spyware removers. There are several free alternatives such as Ad-Aware, Spy-Bot Search & Destroy or Avira. In past dealings with these tricky pieces of malware I've had success removing them using the Smitfraudfix as well as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
According to ComputerWorld.com, the criminals have set up bogus accounts on the site and used them to create blogs. When a user reaches one of the fake blogs, a YouTube-like video window is displayed; clicking on that video frame takes the user to a malicious Web site packed with pornography.
If the user clicks to view the porn, a message pops up claiming a video codec must be downloaded and installed. The executable file is not a real codec, but rather a Trojan horse that hijacks the PC and installs the ransomware.
Websense first uncovered the phony blogs a week ago, it has had no luck reaching someone responsible for the My.BarackObama.com site. "We've been constantly trying to reach them, and tried every possible angle, from e-mail to the site itself to the phone, but we haven't heard back," said Dan Hubbard vice president of security research at Websense. "Obviously, they've been fairly busy."
Visitors to the site that have already been infected should download and run actual spyware removers. There are several free alternatives such as Ad-Aware, Spy-Bot Search & Destroy or Avira. In past dealings with these tricky pieces of malware I've had success removing them using the Smitfraudfix as well as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
More Companies Hit With Layoffs
Despite having a new President in the White House that is looking to act quickly to bolster our failing economy several top companies have continued to layoff employees. It may only be Monday but so far this week we've lost nearly 50,000 jobs.
Amongst the companies announcing cuts today were Home Depot, Sprint Nextel, GM, Pfizer/Wyeth, Philips and Caterpillar.
Sprint Nextel, the nation's third largest wireless carrier will cut 8,000 jobs by the end of March or about 13 percent of its overall work force. (Press Release)
Home Depot, the nations No. 1 home improvement retailer, announced that it is shuttering its high-end EXPO business and shrinking its support staff, with both moves resulting in a reduction of 7,000 jobs. (Press Release)
In by far the largest of today's layoff Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment, said it plans about 20,000 job cuts. Including positions held by Caterpillar employees, contract and agency workers. (Source: Bloomberg.com)
General Motors Corp. said Monday it will cut 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio, and it will halt production for several weeks at nine U.S. plants over the next six months due to slow sales. (Source: Associated Press)
Philips Electronics, Europe's largest consumer-electronics firm, on Monday reported fourth quarter losses of $1.9 billion as it took hefty write-downs on the value of its stakes in LG Displays and NXP and as demand for its televisions and multimedia equipment continued to weaken. Following those losses the company has said it plans to cut about 6,000 jobs in 2009. (Source: Associated Press)
Pfizer Inc. is buying rival drugmaker Wyeth in a $68 billion deal that will increase its revenue by 50 percent, solidfy its No. 1 rank in the troubled industry and transform it from a pure pharmaceutical company into a diversified health care giant.
Pfizer also plans to cut about 8,000 jobs, 10 percent of its workforce, as part of what it expects will be a staff reduction totaling 15 percent of the combined companies' workers — implying a total job loss of almost 20,000. (Source: Associated Press)
Worldwide a total of 85,000 jobs have been cut today, piling more pressure on President Obama as he pushes his $825 billion stimulus plan.
Amongst the companies announcing cuts today were Home Depot, Sprint Nextel, GM, Pfizer/Wyeth, Philips and Caterpillar.
Sprint Nextel, the nation's third largest wireless carrier will cut 8,000 jobs by the end of March or about 13 percent of its overall work force. (Press Release)
Home Depot, the nations No. 1 home improvement retailer, announced that it is shuttering its high-end EXPO business and shrinking its support staff, with both moves resulting in a reduction of 7,000 jobs. (Press Release)
In by far the largest of today's layoff Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment, said it plans about 20,000 job cuts. Including positions held by Caterpillar employees, contract and agency workers. (Source: Bloomberg.com)
General Motors Corp. said Monday it will cut 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio, and it will halt production for several weeks at nine U.S. plants over the next six months due to slow sales. (Source: Associated Press)
Philips Electronics, Europe's largest consumer-electronics firm, on Monday reported fourth quarter losses of $1.9 billion as it took hefty write-downs on the value of its stakes in LG Displays and NXP and as demand for its televisions and multimedia equipment continued to weaken. Following those losses the company has said it plans to cut about 6,000 jobs in 2009. (Source: Associated Press)
Pfizer Inc. is buying rival drugmaker Wyeth in a $68 billion deal that will increase its revenue by 50 percent, solidfy its No. 1 rank in the troubled industry and transform it from a pure pharmaceutical company into a diversified health care giant.
Pfizer also plans to cut about 8,000 jobs, 10 percent of its workforce, as part of what it expects will be a staff reduction totaling 15 percent of the combined companies' workers — implying a total job loss of almost 20,000. (Source: Associated Press)
Worldwide a total of 85,000 jobs have been cut today, piling more pressure on President Obama as he pushes his $825 billion stimulus plan.
Internet Explorer 8 Achieves Release Candidate Status
Microsoft took the "beta" tag off Internet Explorer 8 today with the announcement of Windows Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1. IE8 RC1 is the next best thing to a full release of the software. Stocked with all the features, functions and most of the bug fixes you'll see in the final version.IE8 for the most part appears nearly ready for widespread release, so don't be surprised if the final version arrives relatively soon.
The release candidate software comes in bot 32-bit and 64-bit versions for Vista as well as a 32-bit Windows XP edition. There is no installer for the Windows 7 Beta and RC1 will not work properly on the new OS. Microsoft has said the version of IE8 currently running on the Windows 7 Beta and the current IE8 revision are two seperate builds and should remain so.
If you aren't running Windows 7 and would like to get the latest version of IE8 the Windows Internet Explorer blog has a great post for upgrading to IE8 RC1.
As previous mentioned for Windows XP users if you are not running service pack 3 it is recommend that you install it before upgrading to IE8 or you will not be able to roll back to a previous version.
New Malware Steals Money From Your Cell Phone
Kaspersky Labs has discovered a new piece of malware that targets Symbian based cell phones provided by an Indonesian mobile phone operator. The virus know as Trojan-SMS.Python.Flocker, sends SMS messages with instructions to transfer part of the money in the user’s account to another account, which belongs to the cybercriminals.
So far the amounts transferred has remained small ranging from $0.45 to $0.90. It is likely the attackers are using the small amounts to fly under the radar. However as Kaspersky Labs notes if the cybercriminals behind the Trojan manage to infect a large number of phones, the amount transferred to their mobile phone account as a result could be quite substantial.
"Obviously, the authors of the Trojan want to make money,” said Denis Maslennikov, a senior malware analyst at Kaspersky Lab. “It seems that the focus on financial fraud in the mobile malware industry will only get more pronounced over time. Until recently, many people thought that malicious programs that send SMS messages without the user’s knowledge were a purely Russian phenomenon. Now we can see that the problem no longer affects only Russian users - it’s becoming an international issue."
According to PC World the software is a variant of the Trojan-SMS.Python.Flocker malware, originally written by Russian fraudsters. This software had originally been used to dupe victims into singing up for expensive mobile services such as ringtones, downloadeable games and other high priced services, presumably with the program's authors getting a healthy kickback. "It seems like some Indonesian guys had a look at this stuff and thought, 'Hey, we could do this in Indonesia,'" said Roel Schouwenberg, an antivirus researcher with Kaspersky.
So far the Trojan is limited to a specific Indonesian cell phone provider which allows transfer of funds through SMS, the exact provider was not disclosed. The affected Symbian operating system is used in phones made by Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, among others.
So far the amounts transferred has remained small ranging from $0.45 to $0.90. It is likely the attackers are using the small amounts to fly under the radar. However as Kaspersky Labs notes if the cybercriminals behind the Trojan manage to infect a large number of phones, the amount transferred to their mobile phone account as a result could be quite substantial.
"Obviously, the authors of the Trojan want to make money,” said Denis Maslennikov, a senior malware analyst at Kaspersky Lab. “It seems that the focus on financial fraud in the mobile malware industry will only get more pronounced over time. Until recently, many people thought that malicious programs that send SMS messages without the user’s knowledge were a purely Russian phenomenon. Now we can see that the problem no longer affects only Russian users - it’s becoming an international issue."
According to PC World the software is a variant of the Trojan-SMS.Python.Flocker malware, originally written by Russian fraudsters. This software had originally been used to dupe victims into singing up for expensive mobile services such as ringtones, downloadeable games and other high priced services, presumably with the program's authors getting a healthy kickback. "It seems like some Indonesian guys had a look at this stuff and thought, 'Hey, we could do this in Indonesia,'" said Roel Schouwenberg, an antivirus researcher with Kaspersky.
So far the Trojan is limited to a specific Indonesian cell phone provider which allows transfer of funds through SMS, the exact provider was not disclosed. The affected Symbian operating system is used in phones made by Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, among others.
Thermaltake Launches New Products For Enthusiasts
Thermaltake Technology has announced two new products lines geared towards hard core enthusiasts the new Thermaltake Element S chassis series and new high-performance Toughpower XT power supplies.
Thermaltake Unveils the New Generation of PSU – Toughpower XT
Thermaltake Technology, the leading brand of computer components, today announced the next generation of its high-performance Toughpower family – Toughpower XT. Toughpower XT features a number of cutting-edge innovations that set it above the competition. New features such as FanDelayCool for thorough cooling, S.P.T. Indicator for real-time monitoring, and 12Vin1 for the best compatibility have never been offered in most of the current PSUs. Toughpower XT is currently available in three models: 850W, 750W, 650W.
Since its successful launch in 2006, Thermaltake’s top of the line PSU-Toughpower Series- has gained a great reputation for its high-performance and excellent quality in the past years. To maintain and even surpass its own leading position in the industry, Thermaltake’s R&D engineers have redesigned the inner structure to upgrade the current Toughpower PSU.
To provide users with the highest performance and the best user experience, Toughpower XT is equipped with a three-position FanDelayCool switch that controls how long the fan should continue to operate after system shutdown. FanDelayCool is a brand new feature that ensures the PSU is completely and thoroughly cooled after you shut down your PC. Toughpower XT also utilizes S.P.T. Indicator LEDs to indicate the standby mode, the power good signal, and the temperature of your PSU, bringing you the real-time monitoring over the power supply. Besides, Toughpower XT is also equipped with S.F.C. Quiet for the quietest operation, 12Vin1 for the best compatibility, and High Quality Japanese Capacitors for superb performance and reliability.
All Toughpower XT models are built to the highest standards of quality, delivering stable continuous output at 50℃ operating environment. It also comes with built-in two 6pin & two 8pin PCI-E connectors for Multi-GPU graphic cards, support for Dual Core CPU / Quad Core CPU / NVIDIA SLI and all Multi-Core GPU technologies, and strict voltage regulation (±3%) & high efficiency (qualified for 80Plus Bronze standard). Thermaltake believes the Toughpower XT will bring the highest performance and best quality to all the enthusiasts again!
Thermaltake Toughpower XT: Exclusive Website / Video Introduction / Official Web Page
Element S, New Classic from Thermaltake – Create for Pros!
Thermaltake is a well-known brand for producing high performance, premium quality and superior design product and widely recognizable by media around the world. In the beginning of a new 2009, Thermaltake presenting a whole new line of chassis “Element S” as the year featured chassis. The profound appearance and structure design, “Element S” will the most stylist and unique of the year. Element S will first release exclusively in North America, and absolutely fulfills PC professionals demands.
Element S is entirely different from the chassis Thermaltake made especially for gamers and enthusiasts in the past. It is masterpiece focus on upper level of consumers' satisfaction by satisfy the creative professionals like 3D modeler, music composer, graphic designer, video editor and gamer themselves. The “S” for Element S represents Silence, Sophisticated, Specious, Stream, Speedy and Substantial. With the six core design concepts, every surface, curve, line and crease has a function, expressing its potency and performance. With a seductive flow that incorporates profound detailing and powerful stance, the Element S delivers breathtaking beauty with performance.
The materials and traditional skills are essential elements of the Thermaltake’s experience. In the Element S, the beauty and performance is without equal.
Thermaltake Element S: Exclusive Website / Video Introduction / Official Web Page
Thermaltake Unveils the New Generation of PSU – Toughpower XT
Thermaltake Technology, the leading brand of computer components, today announced the next generation of its high-performance Toughpower family – Toughpower XT. Toughpower XT features a number of cutting-edge innovations that set it above the competition. New features such as FanDelayCool for thorough cooling, S.P.T. Indicator for real-time monitoring, and 12Vin1 for the best compatibility have never been offered in most of the current PSUs. Toughpower XT is currently available in three models: 850W, 750W, 650W.
Since its successful launch in 2006, Thermaltake’s top of the line PSU-Toughpower Series- has gained a great reputation for its high-performance and excellent quality in the past years. To maintain and even surpass its own leading position in the industry, Thermaltake’s R&D engineers have redesigned the inner structure to upgrade the current Toughpower PSU.
To provide users with the highest performance and the best user experience, Toughpower XT is equipped with a three-position FanDelayCool switch that controls how long the fan should continue to operate after system shutdown. FanDelayCool is a brand new feature that ensures the PSU is completely and thoroughly cooled after you shut down your PC. Toughpower XT also utilizes S.P.T. Indicator LEDs to indicate the standby mode, the power good signal, and the temperature of your PSU, bringing you the real-time monitoring over the power supply. Besides, Toughpower XT is also equipped with S.F.C. Quiet for the quietest operation, 12Vin1 for the best compatibility, and High Quality Japanese Capacitors for superb performance and reliability.
All Toughpower XT models are built to the highest standards of quality, delivering stable continuous output at 50℃ operating environment. It also comes with built-in two 6pin & two 8pin PCI-E connectors for Multi-GPU graphic cards, support for Dual Core CPU / Quad Core CPU / NVIDIA SLI and all Multi-Core GPU technologies, and strict voltage regulation (±3%) & high efficiency (qualified for 80Plus Bronze standard). Thermaltake believes the Toughpower XT will bring the highest performance and best quality to all the enthusiasts again!
Thermaltake Toughpower XT: Exclusive Website / Video Introduction / Official Web Page
Element S, New Classic from Thermaltake – Create for Pros!
Thermaltake is a well-known brand for producing high performance, premium quality and superior design product and widely recognizable by media around the world. In the beginning of a new 2009, Thermaltake presenting a whole new line of chassis “Element S” as the year featured chassis. The profound appearance and structure design, “Element S” will the most stylist and unique of the year. Element S will first release exclusively in North America, and absolutely fulfills PC professionals demands.
Element S is entirely different from the chassis Thermaltake made especially for gamers and enthusiasts in the past. It is masterpiece focus on upper level of consumers' satisfaction by satisfy the creative professionals like 3D modeler, music composer, graphic designer, video editor and gamer themselves. The “S” for Element S represents Silence, Sophisticated, Specious, Stream, Speedy and Substantial. With the six core design concepts, every surface, curve, line and crease has a function, expressing its potency and performance. With a seductive flow that incorporates profound detailing and powerful stance, the Element S delivers breathtaking beauty with performance.
- Silence - With the silence environment that Element S created, Audio/Music composer can concentrate on their work without distraction of the noise come from the computer.
Sophisticated - With it's not so flashy appearance and very carefully painted black interior, Element S is a perfect companion for graphic designers.
Spacious - With tremendous HDD space Element S can offer, it can helps them to finish their masterpiece with ease.
Stream - With the superior airflow that Element S can provide, the heat energy that the system produce will be effectively take away.
Speedy - With Element S's advance mechanism like plug & play fan and direction-free HDD cage, gamers can minimize installation time when changing new key components. Their system can get online faster than ever!
The materials and traditional skills are essential elements of the Thermaltake’s experience. In the Element S, the beauty and performance is without equal.
Thermaltake Element S: Exclusive Website / Video Introduction / Official Web Page
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Enter Google's Knol For Dummies.com Contest
Google's Knol and Dummies.com have teamed up to announce the Knol for Dummies.com contest. The contest will be open to residence of the US age 13 or older and any subject matter within the Knol TOS is acceptable.
Simply go to the official contest page, create your own "how to" knol about a subject you know well, and the contest judges will select five finalists who will be eligible to have their knols featured on the Dummies.com site. In addition, the best entry overall will be awarded a $1,000 grand prize.
Submissions are open through March 23rd, 2009, click here for the full contest rules
Simply go to the official contest page, create your own "how to" knol about a subject you know well, and the contest judges will select five finalists who will be eligible to have their knols featured on the Dummies.com site. In addition, the best entry overall will be awarded a $1,000 grand prize.
Submissions are open through March 23rd, 2009, click here for the full contest rules
Monster.com Hit By Security Breach
Popular job search engine Monster.com is reporting their databases have been illegally accessed and user information has been stolen.
Monster posted the following warning about the breach:
Users of both Monster.com and Monster.com's government client USAJobs.com should change their passwords as soon as possible. You should also be on the lookout for very real looking phishing attempts made by fraudsters that could be using your personal details from this breach.
Monster posted the following warning about the breach:
We recently learned our database was illegally accessed and certain contact and account data were taken, including Monster user IDs and passwords, email addresses, names, phone numbers, and some basic demographic data. The information accessed does not include resumes. Monster does not generally collect – and the accessed information does not include - sensitive data such as social security numbers or personal financial data.
In order to help assure the security of your information, you may soon be required to change your password upon logging onto the site. Please follow the instructions on the site. We would also recommend you proactively change your password yourself as an added precaution. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, but feel it is important that you take these preventative measures.
As a further precaution, we want to remind you that an email address could be used to target “phishing” emails. Monster will never send an unsolicited email asking you to confirm your username and password, nor will Monster ask you to download any software, “tool” or “access agreement” in order to use your Monster account. Monster’s security page, http://my.monster.com/securitycenter, provides users with a substantial amount of information about different types of Internet fraud. We encourage you to review the information to learn more about what you can do to protect yourself on the Internet.
Users of both Monster.com and Monster.com's government client USAJobs.com should change their passwords as soon as possible. You should also be on the lookout for very real looking phishing attempts made by fraudsters that could be using your personal details from this breach.
Windows 7 Beta Download Deadline Extended
Microsoft has decide to extend the Windows 7 beta download deadline which originally ended today to Feb 10th."Because enthusiasm continues to be so high for the Windows 7 Beta and we don’t want anyone to miss out we will keep the Beta downloads open through February 10th. Customers who have started but not completed the download process will be able to do so through February 12th," said Windows Communications Manager Brandon LeBlanc in a post to the Windows 7 blog.
Microsoft originally planned to limit the number of downloads and licenses to 2.5 million copies. Due to an overwhelming initial response the company's servers were overloaded resulting in Microsoft lifting the original limit and offering an unlimited amount of downloads through today, Jan. 24.
Despite the fact they "are at a point where we have more than enough beta testers and feedback coming in to meet our engineering needs" Microsoft decided late Friday to extend their deadline two and a half more weeks.
The shutdown of general availability for the Windows 7 Beta will occur in 3 phases over the course of the next few weeks:
- Starting January 27th, the Windows 7 page will be updated with a warning that time is running out on downloading the Windows 7 Beta and that we will be limiting downloads shortly. People will be encouraged to register and start the download of the Windows 7 Beta sooner rather than later.
- February 10th, new downloads of the Windows 7 Beta will no longer be available. People who have already started their Windows 7 Beta download and have not yet finished will still be able to finish their download and are encouraged to do so.
- February 12th, people will no longer be able to complete their download of the Windows 7 Beta. Anyone who hasn’t finished downloading the Windows 7 Beta will be unable to do so.
Product keys for the Windows 7 Beta will continue to be available. So if you have the Windows 7 Beta but didn’t get a product key you will be able to do so even after February 12th.
If you have yet to download the beta you can head over to the Official Windows 7 page for download details and instructions on installation.Thursday, January 22, 2009
Microsoft Reports Lower Earnings, Cuts 5,000 Jobs
Amidst lower than expected 4th quarter earnings Microsoft has announced it will slash 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months.Prior to Microsoft's release of their 4th quarter earnings the company reported they would cut up to 5,000 jobs in research and development, marketing, sales, finance, legal, human resources and IT. With the first 1,400 job cuts coming as early as this afternoon.
In today's earnings report Microsoft announced revenue of $16.63 billion for the second quarter ending Dec. 31, 2008, a 2% increase over the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $5.94 billion, $4.17 billion and $0.47, declines of 8%, 11% and 6%, respectively, compared with the prior year.
“Economic activity and IT spend slowed beyond our expectations in the quarter, and we acted quickly to reduce our cost structure and mitigate its impact,” said Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “We are planning for economic uncertainty to continue through the remainder of the fiscal year, almost certainly leading to lower revenue and earnings for the second half relative to the previous year. In this environment, we will focus on outperforming our competitors and addressing our cost structure.”
Microsoft says revenue declined 8% as a result of PC market weakness and a continued shift to lower priced netbooks. But one has to wonder how much the failure of Vista and the lower than expected adoption rates has really hurt the company.
According to at least one report Vista might have a great role in the drop in revenues than expected. Tom Sullivan at InfoWorld writes: "Windows Vista has been trouble for Microsoft perhaps since the operating system's beginning. And this last quarter was certainly no exception."
"Windows Vista didn't do well. Based on our data, a lot of clients are skipping Windows Vista," said Neil McDonald, an analyst at Gartner. Indeed, nearly every other major analyst firm found a similar lack of Vista adoption, with Forrester Research likening the (operating system) to the failed New Coke.
Vista clearly isn't to blame for all of Microsoft's woes but you've got to admit that they have suffered some set backs because of it.
Seagate Releases New Firmware Fix For Bricked Drives
Seagate has released a new firmware update that, this time , should fix the issues faced my many users. The company has published detailed instructions for how you can identify which model of hard drive a user has and whether it needs a firmware upgrade. Models affected are the Barracuda 7200.11, ES.2 SATA and DiamondMax 22.I highly recommend anyone looking to flash their drive back them up before hand. While so far there have been no reported issues with the new firmware that is no guarantee. The last firmware released by Seagate was faulty and bricked several previously working drives.
Seagate will be offering data recovery services through their i365 subsidiary to any customer that was affected by this issue. Since this is a bios issue the data on the drives that are not inoperable is unaffected and should still be on the drives and can be recovered.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Red Herring Global 2008 Awards Announced
The Red Herring Global 100 awards are given to the top 100 tech startups from around the world. This years event was held January 16th in San Diego and featured more than 1,800 of the top Tech companies worldwide.
The Red Herring editorial team reviews thousands of privately held companies meticulously narrowing their list down to 1200 of the top companies from Europe, North America, and Asia. Deploying a detailed process Red Herring then drills-down that list to of the best companies, first to 200 finalists, then to the top 100 winners.
Past award winners include prestigious names such as Google, Yahoo!, Skype, Netscape, Salesforce.com, and YouTube. This years Red Herring Global 2008 Winners list features several great up and coming companies you might or might not have heard of. Here are a few of the companies I've had a chance to look at and suggest checking out:
There are undoubtedly more great companies on the list, and even more still on the finalists list. I've only had the time to check through a few at random. Please feel free to share your feedback on any companies or services you find.
The Red Herring editorial team reviews thousands of privately held companies meticulously narrowing their list down to 1200 of the top companies from Europe, North America, and Asia. Deploying a detailed process Red Herring then drills-down that list to of the best companies, first to 200 finalists, then to the top 100 winners.
Past award winners include prestigious names such as Google, Yahoo!, Skype, Netscape, Salesforce.com, and YouTube. This years Red Herring Global 2008 Winners list features several great up and coming companies you might or might not have heard of. Here are a few of the companies I've had a chance to look at and suggest checking out:
- www.zoomorama.com - photo album developer
- www.xcerion.com/ - they have a very interesting looking cloud OS platfrom
- www.nimbuzz.com - an all-in-one instant messenger
- www.medialets.com
- www.museeka.com/ - they will be launching their web based music search this year
- www.sclipo.com - social learning, video tutorials
There are undoubtedly more great companies on the list, and even more still on the finalists list. I've only had the time to check through a few at random. Please feel free to share your feedback on any companies or services you find.
Cell Phone Manufacturers Cutting Prices
Weak demand and an overstock of inventory has led to price cuts by many popular cell phone makers.
Sales of consumers electronics were down sharply over the holiday season leading to grim sales figures and an overstock of product. In an attempt to cut inventories and boost sales numbers in the first quarter of '09 several manufactures including Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola have cut prices by as much as 10%.
Reports in Reuters suggest that while vendors often cut prices in January, some actions this year have been more aggressive than usual.
"Our researchers have seen significant price cuts in Europe by the major handset vendors as 2009 begins," said Tom Byrd, who leads device-pricing research at CCS Insight. "This reflects the highly competitive pricing environment we have been predicting for this year."
Insight and other analysts have predicted slow cell phone sales in 2009. Suggesting the economic downturn will affect the entire cell phone market, from handset manufacturers and network operators to component suppliers, developers, distributors and retailers.
According to new data from the government's Bureau of Labor Statistics, cell phone spending has increased steadily, out pacing residential spending in both 2006 and 2007. Expenditures increased rapidly, from $210 "per consumer unit" to $608 in 2007, an increase of almost 200 percent. It is expected that the 2008/2009 numbers will show an even greater increase as the number of U.S. households move away from residential service and towards cell phones.
Sales of consumers electronics were down sharply over the holiday season leading to grim sales figures and an overstock of product. In an attempt to cut inventories and boost sales numbers in the first quarter of '09 several manufactures including Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola have cut prices by as much as 10%.
Reports in Reuters suggest that while vendors often cut prices in January, some actions this year have been more aggressive than usual.
"Our researchers have seen significant price cuts in Europe by the major handset vendors as 2009 begins," said Tom Byrd, who leads device-pricing research at CCS Insight. "This reflects the highly competitive pricing environment we have been predicting for this year."
Insight and other analysts have predicted slow cell phone sales in 2009. Suggesting the economic downturn will affect the entire cell phone market, from handset manufacturers and network operators to component suppliers, developers, distributors and retailers.
According to new data from the government's Bureau of Labor Statistics, cell phone spending has increased steadily, out pacing residential spending in both 2006 and 2007. Expenditures increased rapidly, from $210 "per consumer unit" to $608 in 2007, an increase of almost 200 percent. It is expected that the 2008/2009 numbers will show an even greater increase as the number of U.S. households move away from residential service and towards cell phones.
ASUS Adding Phoenix Technologies' HyperSpace
Phoenix Technologies, the leader in PC 3.0 products, services and embedded technologies, has announced a partnership with ASUS to accelerate the adoption of its award-winning HyperSpace product by consumers worldwide. HyperSpace is a revolutionary new instant-on and always-connected application environment that makes operating a mobile PC as easy and efficient as operating a cell phone.
Based on the partnership agreement, ASUS will incorporate HyperSpace into its next generation notebooks. With HyperSpace-installed notebooks, users can instantly launch important web-based applications (before Windows ever boots), automatically connect to the best available network, dramatically extend battery life and achieve new levels of uptime and security protection. HyperSpace is available for download at http://www.hyperspace.com
"Phoenix is pleased to be working with ASUS to offer a broad choice of affordable products that are revolutionizing the mobile PC user experience," said Woody Hobbs, president and CEO of Phoenix Technologies. "With HyperSpace, we ensure users will enjoy a dynamic online experience seconds after turning on their PCs. And once Windows has fully booted, users will be able to quickly and easily toggle back and forth between their Windows applications and the instant-on, always-available HyperSpace environment. An added benefit is that HyperSpace extends the battery life on an average notebook by more than 25%."
Mr. Hobbs added, "All-day mobile computing is a cornerstone of our PC 3.0(TM) promise to simplify the PC end user experience and transform PCs into more user-friendly, fun, versatile and effective systems."
"As the fastest growing notebook brand, we are committed to bringing to market innovative technology solutions that simplify consumers' lives; we are glad to see Phoenix's PC 3.0 vision is in line with our commitment to our customers. HyperSpace's easy-to-use, smart, instant-on and longer battery life features will allow ASUS to deliver richer, more dynamic products and satisfy our customers' desire to make mobility a far more elegant and intuitive experience," said Henry Yeh, General Manager, ASUS Notebook Business Unit.
Phoenix HyperSpace was named "Best Software" by Laptop Magazine at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). HyperSpace is also the winner of Laptop Magazine's 2009 CES Readers' Choice Award. For more information about HyperSpace, please visit http://www.hyperspace.com
Source: Phoenix Technologies Press Release
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Gaming: Sony Provides "Sneak Peek" Of The Upcoming PS3 Firmware (v2.60) Update
Eric Lempel the Director of PlayStation Network Operations provides PS3 users with a sneak peek into the software updates for PS3. The newest Firmware v2.60 is said to be coming soon and is designed primarily to enhance the system’s media capabilities.
According to Lempel's blog post the key feature is a new Photo Gallery application, which delivers a suite of tools for sorting through and displaying your digital photo collection. Digital pictures can be organized in groups according to various criteria, including the camera used to take the photos, the event date and time, colors in the photos, as well as the number, ages, or facial expressions of the people pictured. You can also create slideshows set to music and build photo playlists with an easy-to-use interface. The Photo Gallery application will need to be installed separately from the XMB after you update your PS3’s firmware. To install the Photo Gallery application, go to the Photo section on the XMB, select Photo Gallery and press the X button.
While there is no official word on the release date some sites are speculating it will be available for download tomorrow January 21. Until then here’s a video walk-through of the firmware showing off the Photo Gallery.
According to Lempel's blog post the key feature is a new Photo Gallery application, which delivers a suite of tools for sorting through and displaying your digital photo collection. Digital pictures can be organized in groups according to various criteria, including the camera used to take the photos, the event date and time, colors in the photos, as well as the number, ages, or facial expressions of the people pictured. You can also create slideshows set to music and build photo playlists with an easy-to-use interface. The Photo Gallery application will need to be installed separately from the XMB after you update your PS3’s firmware. To install the Photo Gallery application, go to the Photo section on the XMB, select Photo Gallery and press the X button.
While there is no official word on the release date some sites are speculating it will be available for download tomorrow January 21. Until then here’s a video walk-through of the firmware showing off the Photo Gallery.
Amazing GeoEye Pictures Of President Obama’s Inauguration
The GeoEye gallery feature some great 1/2 meter resolution images of the Washington D.C. area during the President's Inauguration. The images were taken from space, some 423 miles up in, by the GeoEye-1 or as many know it the “Google Satellite”.
This half-meter resolution image of the United States Capitol, Washington D.C. was collected by the GeoEye-1 satellite on Jan. 20, 2009 to commemorate the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. The image, taken through high, whispy white clouds, shows the masses of people attending the Inaugural Celebration.
This half-meter resolution image of Washington D.C.’s National Mall was collected by the GeoEye-1 satellite on Jan. 20, 2009 to commemorate the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. The image, taken through high, whispy white clouds, shows portions of the monuments along the National Mall and the masses of people between the Capitol and the Washington Monument.
The images definitely offer a different perspective. The little blobs of people looks so minuscule, yet each blob represents 10's of thousand off people, if not more.
This half-meter resolution image of the United States Capitol, Washington D.C. was collected by the GeoEye-1 satellite on Jan. 20, 2009 to commemorate the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. The image, taken through high, whispy white clouds, shows the masses of people attending the Inaugural Celebration.
Click to enlargeThis half-meter resolution image of Washington D.C.’s National Mall was collected by the GeoEye-1 satellite on Jan. 20, 2009 to commemorate the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. The image, taken through high, whispy white clouds, shows portions of the monuments along the National Mall and the masses of people between the Capitol and the Washington Monument.
Click to enlargeThe images definitely offer a different perspective. The little blobs of people looks so minuscule, yet each blob represents 10's of thousand off people, if not more.
Payment Processor Heartland Hit With Security Breach, 100 million Accounts Vulnerable
Information is now being disclosed about a massive data breach that hit payment processor, Heartland Payment Systems, late last year. The breach may have may have led to the theft of more than 100 million credit and debit card accounts.
Robert Baldwin, Heartland's president and chief financial officer, said the company had receiving several fraudulent activity reports late last year from MasterCard and Visa on cards that had all been used at merchants which rely on Heartland to process payments.
"We found evidence of an intrusion last week and immediately notified federal law enforcement officials as well as the card brands," said Baldwin. "We understand that this incident may be the result of a widespread global cyber fraud operation, and we are cooperating closely with the United States Secret Service and Department of Justice."
Upon investigating suspicious activity surrounding processed card transactions, Heartland uncovered malicious software that compromised data that crossed Heartland's network. The company reportedly took immediately steps to further secure its systems. In addition, Heartland will implement a next-generation program designed to flag network anomalies in real-time and enable law enforcement to expeditiously apprehend cyber criminals.
Heartland has created a website, www.2008breach.com, to provide information about this incident. It is advised that you check your credit reports for any suspicious activity and scan your credit card statements closely. Even the smallest of charges should be considered suspicious as credit card thieves often create a test charge for something small to see if the card works. Then they'll go in for the kill and buy those high ticket items.
Robert Baldwin, Heartland's president and chief financial officer, said the company had receiving several fraudulent activity reports late last year from MasterCard and Visa on cards that had all been used at merchants which rely on Heartland to process payments.
"We found evidence of an intrusion last week and immediately notified federal law enforcement officials as well as the card brands," said Baldwin. "We understand that this incident may be the result of a widespread global cyber fraud operation, and we are cooperating closely with the United States Secret Service and Department of Justice."
Upon investigating suspicious activity surrounding processed card transactions, Heartland uncovered malicious software that compromised data that crossed Heartland's network. The company reportedly took immediately steps to further secure its systems. In addition, Heartland will implement a next-generation program designed to flag network anomalies in real-time and enable law enforcement to expeditiously apprehend cyber criminals.
Heartland has created a website, www.2008breach.com, to provide information about this incident. It is advised that you check your credit reports for any suspicious activity and scan your credit card statements closely. Even the smallest of charges should be considered suspicious as credit card thieves often create a test charge for something small to see if the card works. Then they'll go in for the kill and buy those high ticket items.
Obama Officially Takes Office
I'm not one for politics so instead of being glued to the TV like many of you I was sleeping during today's historical inauguration. Being the geek I am I knew there would be much missed as everyone, everywhere would be streaming the video. So I headed over to YouTube and watched the Associated Press video.
Being a "Semi-Republican", I'm a nonpartisan voter that votes Republican more often than not, I'm not a big supporter of our new President. I'd like to be optimistic and think he'll turn things around. That he can walk the walk and back up some of what he has been talking. I'm just not getting my hopes up. Politicians all to often make big promises, get into office and then don't deliver.
Today's historical significance aside I don't see the event as being worthy of the attention it is receiving. More than a million people crowded the National Mall and the parade route along Pennsylvania Avenue for the inauguration of President Obama. That's great that all those people wanted to be a part of the inauguration of our first black president, but at the end of the day that really doesn't mean much.
If President Obama can't, or doesn't deliver on his promises and the economy doesn't make a miraculous turn around then he goes down in history as what he is, just another President. In my opinion for this to truly be a noteworthy even President Obama has to make a significant impact on the world. If two years down the road things are as bad or worse then today's historic moment losses all of its shine.
Being a "Semi-Republican", I'm a nonpartisan voter that votes Republican more often than not, I'm not a big supporter of our new President. I'd like to be optimistic and think he'll turn things around. That he can walk the walk and back up some of what he has been talking. I'm just not getting my hopes up. Politicians all to often make big promises, get into office and then don't deliver.
Today's historical significance aside I don't see the event as being worthy of the attention it is receiving. More than a million people crowded the National Mall and the parade route along Pennsylvania Avenue for the inauguration of President Obama. That's great that all those people wanted to be a part of the inauguration of our first black president, but at the end of the day that really doesn't mean much.
If President Obama can't, or doesn't deliver on his promises and the economy doesn't make a miraculous turn around then he goes down in history as what he is, just another President. In my opinion for this to truly be a noteworthy even President Obama has to make a significant impact on the world. If two years down the road things are as bad or worse then today's historic moment losses all of its shine.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus For Windows 7
Kaspersky Lab has released their technical prototype of Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows 7 which is now available for download. For more details you can read the full press release below, to get the new software prototype which includes not only an antivirus component but an effective and fully functional firewall and anti-spam filter visit the download page
Kaspersky Lab, a leading producer of secure content management solutions, announces the release of a technical prototype of Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows 7. The prototype is based on the new antivirus engine which provides complex antivirus protection from all types of Internet threats.
Kaspersky Lab, a leading producer of secure content management solutions, announces the release of a technical prototype of Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows 7. The prototype is based on the new antivirus engine which provides complex antivirus protection from all types of Internet threats.
The new technical prototype of Kaspersky Anti-Virus is designed to secure computers running under Windows 7. The beta test version of Microsoft Windows 7 operating system was released at the beginning of January 2009. Kaspersky Lab simultaneously released its technical prototype providing greater efficiency and complex antivirus protection for the new operating system.
“We knew the release of the new version of Windows would be a huge event for the IT community, which is why we were prepared for it,” said Alexey Kalgin, Director, Product Marketing, Corporate Business Division, Kaspersky Lab. “Our company has always made support for Microsoft’s new operating systems a top priority. For example Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows Vista was released simultaneously with the operating system’s official launch. When Windows Server 2008 was released, Kaspersky Anti-Virus was the only antivirus product on the market certified by Microsoft. Users can now see for themselves how our antivirus protection technologies perform on the new platform.”
Kaspersky Lab’s technical preview is a comprehensive solution, including not only an antivirus pattern-recognition component but also a heuristic analyzer which can detect and block as-yet-unknown malicious programs based on their suspicious characteristics, a firewall and an anti-spam filter. The prototype is intended to provide effective protection from all types of Internet threats – viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, hacker attacks and spam.
At the heart of the new technical prototype is Kaspersky Lab’s new antivirus engine which is even more effective at detecting malicious programs than its predecessor. The new engine dramatically increases system scanning speed thanks to improved processing of objects and optimized use of system resources, particularly on dual- and quad-core processor platforms. The unique product architecture ensures high productivity and one of the lowest uses of system resources in the industry. The prototype is fully compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system. Both inexperienced and advanced users will find the solution to be user-friendly and easy to install and configure.
“The new Microsoft Windows operating system promises to be even more popular than its predecessor and we expect a high level of migration after its official release. We have already received numerous requests from companies planning to migrate to Windows 7 and who are now testing its efficiency and compatibility with the products they use. We see it as our duty to provide these companies with the most secure and reliable solution for business-level protection, which is why the prototype for Windows 7 was developed on the basis of our corporate solution,” added Alexey Kalgin.
Moreover, Kaspersky Lab plans to provide centralized administration tools during the testing stage of the new operating system. By the time Windows 7 is officially released, Kaspersky Lab intends to launch a full range of products providing comprehensive protection for both home and corporate users of the new operating system.
You can download Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows 7 here.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Seagate's Firmware Update Bricking Drives
According to several reports on the seagate support forums Seagate's recent firmware update for Barracuda 7200.11 drives affected by a faulty firmware is actually doing more harm than good and in many cases is bricking previously working 500 GB hard drives.The thread is packed with owners of ST3500320AS model 500GB Barracuda drives who have attempted to update their firmware according to the Seagate knowledge base article. The update which is supposed to prevent failures is actually causing drives to be bricked.
For now the update has been "temporarily taken offline as of Jan 19, 2008 8PM CST for validation." There has been no official word from Seagate regarding the new issues faced by their users, however the company said yesterday they would provide free data recovery services for affected users so we can assume they will extend that offer to anyone that is affected by this latest issue.
AMD Phenom II X4 Chips Get Price Cuts
Less than two weeks after their official launch AMD's newest processors, the Phenom II X4 920 and Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, are already receiving price cuts.Several retailers including Newegg and ZipZoomFly slashed prices today, cutting $40 off the price of both CPUs. The Phenom II X4 920 is now selling for $195, down from its launch-price of $235. While the Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition is listed at $235, down from a $275 launch price.
Clearly AMD's is responding to Intel's price cuts announced earlier today, but you've got to wonder how long they can compete if they are already being forced to cut processors prices just weeks after their release.
One thing is for sure, these processor pricing wars are great for consumers. You can now get several power house chips at very reasonable prices.
*Update*
Newegg is also offering $15 off with coupon code "AMD1815" dropping the price of the X4 940 to $220 and the X4 920 to $180 with free shipping on both.
 | AMD Phenom II X4 940 3.0GHz Black Edition Quad-core Processor |
 | AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz Quad-core Processor |
Antec 902 Now On-Sale
Antec's recently launched Nine Hundred Two (902), is now on-sale at Newegg. The Nine Hundred Two, or 900 version 2, is the latest update to Antec's line of high-performance gaming cases that offer enhancements designed specifically for hardcore gamers, such as increased cooling and maximized airflow.
The best-selling Antec Nine Hundred offers gamers an unbeatable enclosure, one that delivers a combination of cooling, performance and convenience that stands head and shoulders above the competition. Now, the Nine Hundred Two builds on this design with improved airflow and dominating style.
The 902 features many of the design elements that make the 900 a great case. Including a perforated front bezel for superior air intake, a massive top-mounted 200mm "Big Boy 200", 2 front 120 x 25mm special black blue LED intake fans with front speed control and optional side or middle mounts for additional 120mm fans.
More Nine Hundred Two Features:
My thoughts
The 902 is a nice redesign of the current Antec 900 however I don't see anything that justifies the $50 premium for the case. For my money I'd buy the older 900 and spend the additional $50 on a power supply. But users wanting to pick up the updated version can get it now at Newegg for $159.99. Newegg current offers a free AMD X2 BE-2300 CPU w/ purchase, ends 1/31.
The best-selling Antec Nine Hundred offers gamers an unbeatable enclosure, one that delivers a combination of cooling, performance and convenience that stands head and shoulders above the competition. Now, the Nine Hundred Two builds on this design with improved airflow and dominating style.
The 902 features many of the design elements that make the 900 a great case. Including a perforated front bezel for superior air intake, a massive top-mounted 200mm "Big Boy 200", 2 front 120 x 25mm special black blue LED intake fans with front speed control and optional side or middle mounts for additional 120mm fans.
More Nine Hundred Two Features:
- 9 drive bays - External 3 x 5.25"; Internal 6 x 3.5" for HDD, or
- Built-in washable air filters
- 8 expansion slots to support multiple graphics cards, including NVIDIA 3-way SLI
- Front mounted I/O ports - 2 x USB 2.0
- Motherboard: Mini-ITX, microATX, Standard ATX
- No power supply included
- Unit Dimensions: - 19.4" (H) x 8.6" (W) x 18.6" (D)
- Package Dimensions: - 22.7" (H) x 11.3" (W) x 20.1" (D)
- Weight: - Net: 25.4 lbs / 11.5 kg
- External 6 x 5.25"; Internal 3 x 3.5" for HDD, or
- External 9 x 5.25"
- 1 x eSATA
- Audio In and Out (AC’97 and HDA compatible)
- 49.3cm (H) x 21.8cm (W) x 47.2cm (D)
- 27.7 cm (H) x 28.8 cm (W) x 51 cm (D)
- Gross: 28.9 lbs / 13.1 kg
My thoughts
The 902 is a nice redesign of the current Antec 900 however I don't see anything that justifies the $50 premium for the case. For my money I'd buy the older 900 and spend the additional $50 on a power supply. But users wanting to pick up the updated version can get it now at Newegg for $159.99. Newegg current offers a free AMD X2 BE-2300 CPU w/ purchase, ends 1/31.
 | Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window $139.99 |
 | Antec Nine Hundred Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window $109.99 |
AMD Expected To Cut 1,100 Jobs
With a worsening economy and poor sales it should come as a surprise that AMD has been forced to make cutbacks. According to AMD the company plans to cut 1,100 jobs - or roughly 9% of its global staff. In all the company will lay off 900 employees at various levels of its product business, and will shed a further 200 positions through attrition and by divesting its handheld business, according to spokeswoman Hollis Krym.These cuts will be the third round of layoffs for the chip manufacturer in the last year with the latest round of cuts coming back in November when AMD laid off 500 workers. The largest of the three cutbacks came when AMD laid off 1,600 employees in April of 2008.
In addition to the layoff the company will be cutting salaries, cutting overtime pay and suspending matching contributions for U.S. employees' 401k retirement investment funds.
AMD will announce its Q4-08 earnings after market close on Thursday, January 22, 2009. At this time its unclear how just how much the losses for the fourth quarter will be however if they are inline with the recent Intel numbers they will be significant.
AMD had a rough year in 2008 reporting losses in each of the first three quarters. In the 3Q of '08 the company reported a net loss of $67 million. In the second quarter a net loss of $1.189 billion and in the first quarter their net loss was $358 million. All told AMD has reported eighth consecutive quarterly losses. (AMD Quarterly Earnings)
Rumors Confirmed Intel Slashes CPU Prices
Last week we reported that Intel might be slashing prices on their popular Core 2 Quad lineup, today the company has made it official cutting prices of its Core 2 Quad chips by up to 40 percent, while dropping prices along its other product lines, as well.Intel Core 2 Quad processor Dec '08 (12/28) Jan '09 (01/18) %Decrease
- Q9650 (12M L2 cache 3.00GHz 1333MHz FSB 45nm) $530 to $316 -> 40%
- Q9550 (12M L2 cache 2.83GHz 1333MHz FSB 45nm) $316 to $266 -> 16%
- Q9400 (6M L2 cache 2.66GHz 1333MHz FSB 45nm) $266 to $213 -> 20%
- Q8300 (4M L2 cache 2.50GHz 1333MHz FSB 45nm) $224 to $183 -> 18%
- Q8200 (4M L2 cache 2.33GHz 1333MHz FSB 45nm) $193 to $163 -> 16%
Intel Core 2 Duo processor Dec '08 (12/28) Jan '09 (01/18) %Decrease
- E7400 (3M L2 cache, 2.80GHz, 1066MHz FSB45nm) $133 to $113 -> 5%
Intel Pentium Dual Core processor Dec '08 (12/28) Jan '09 (01/18) %Decrease
- E5300 (2M L2 cache 2.60GHz 800MHz FSB 45nm) $86 to $74 -> 14%
- E5200 (2M L2 cache 2.50GHz 800MHz FSB 45nm) $84 to $64 -> 24%
- E2220 (1M L2 cache 2.40GHz 800MHz FSB 65nm) $74 to $64 -> 14%
Intel Celeron Dual Core processor Dec '08 (12/28) Jan '09 (01/18) %Decrease
- E1400 (512K L2 cache 2.00GHz 800MHz FSB 65nm) $53 to $43 -> 19%
Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile (FCBGA6/A8 - FCPGA6/A8) Dec '08 (12/28) Jan '09 (01/18) %Decrease
- P8600 (3M L2 cache 2.40GHz 1066MHz FSB 45nm) $241 to $209 -> 13%
Intel Celeron Mobile (uFCPGA) Dec '08 (12/28) Jan '0 9 (01/18) %Decrease
- 585 (1M L2 cache 2.66GHz 667MHz FSB 65nm) $107 to $70 -> 35%
- 570 (1M L2 cache 2.26GHz 533MHz FSB 65nm) $134 to $70 -> 48%
- 560 (1M L2 cache 2.13GHz 533MHz FSB 65nm) $107 to $70 -> 35%
- 540 (1M L2 cache 1.86GHz 533MHz FSB 65nm) $86 to $70 -> 19%
- 530 (1M L2 cache 1.73GHz 533MHz FSB 65nm) $86 to $70 -> 19%
Intel Xeon Server UP (LGA 775) Dec'08 (12/28) Jan '09 (01/18) %Decrease
- X3370 (12M L2 cache 3.00GHz (95W) 1333MHz FSB 45nm) $530 to $316 -> 40%
- X3360 (12M L2 cache 2.83GHz (95W) 1333MHz FSB 45nm) $316 to $266 -> 16%
- X3350 (12M L2 cache 2.66GHz (95W) 1333MHz FSB 45nm) $316 to $266 -> 16%
- X3330 (6M L2 cache 2.66GHz (95W) 1333MHz FSB 45nm) $266 to $224 -> 16%
With this new round of cuts the Intel Q9650 and Q9550, which both out peform the AMD Phenom II X4 940, have a great price to performance ratio. At its $316 price tag the Q9650 is only 15% higher than the current price of the Phenom II 940 which it beats handily in most benchmarks. Once again making Intel a clear winner for anyone wanting to get the most performance for their dollar.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Belkin Admits To Paying For Positive Reviews
Late last week Arlen Parsa of the blog The Daily Background posted a story accusing electronics manufacturer Belkin of hiring people to write fake positive Amazon reviews. According to the report (and the screenshots) a post was created by a user named Mike Bayard on Amazon's Mechanical Turk offering to pay users 65 cents for every positive review they leave the product, a Belkin router.
The request asks users to leave a 100% rating (as high as possible), also suggesting user write as if "they own the product and are using it" and to "mark any other negative reviews as “not helpful” once you post yours.”
It just so happens Mike Bayard is, at least according to The Daily Background and a now removed Linked-in profile, the Business Development Representative at Belkin International in charge of “Sales of Belkin products to major .com accounts such as Amazon.com.”
Belkin's President Mark Reynoso has confirmed the reports in his response.
My thoughts
As a consumer I think it sucks and is unfair. But the truth is paying for reviews is nothing new, so this really doesn't surprise me much. Posts on Mechanical Turk have been involved in similar controversy in the past, with Wired.com reporting an iPhone developer was using the site to pay for positive iPhone reviews.
I'm sure in neither situation was it the first time it has happened and it won't likely be the last. User generated reviews can only be trusted so far, from there you've got to check some of the professional reviews and make a comparison. Not to say that professional reviews can't be tainted, but you do your homework and use your best judgment.
The request asks users to leave a 100% rating (as high as possible), also suggesting user write as if "they own the product and are using it" and to "mark any other negative reviews as “not helpful” once you post yours.”
It just so happens Mike Bayard is, at least according to The Daily Background and a now removed Linked-in profile, the Business Development Representative at Belkin International in charge of “Sales of Belkin products to major .com accounts such as Amazon.com.”
Belkin's President Mark Reynoso has confirmed the reports in his response.
Belkin has always held itself to the highest standards of corporate ethics and its employees to the highest standards of personal integrity. Similarly, we support our online user community in discussion and reviews of our products, whether the commentary is good or bad. So, it was with great surprise and dismay when we discovered that one of our employees may have posted a number of queries on the Amazon Mechanical Turk website inviting users to post positive reviews of Belkin products in exchange for payment.The question for many will be was this actually all Bayard’s idea? Or did it come from someone higher up? How many products does this actually cover and over how many sites? For now at least all of the postings have been removed from Mechanical Turk.
Belkin does not participate in, nor does it endorse, unethical practices like this. We know that people look to online user reviews for unbiased opinions from fellow users and instances like this challenge the implicit trust that is placed in this interaction. We regard our responsibility to our user community as sacred, and we are extremely sorry that this happened.
We want to stress that this is an isolated incident and to re-instill trust with you, we have taken the following courses of action:
- We've acted swiftly to remove all associated postings from the Mechanical Turk system.
- We're working closely with our online channel partners to ensure that any reviews that may have been placed due to these postings have been removed.
It's also important to recognize that our retail partners had no knowledge of, or participation in, these postings.
Once again, we apologize for this occurrence, and we will work earnestly to regain the trust we have lost.
My thoughts
As a consumer I think it sucks and is unfair. But the truth is paying for reviews is nothing new, so this really doesn't surprise me much. Posts on Mechanical Turk have been involved in similar controversy in the past, with Wired.com reporting an iPhone developer was using the site to pay for positive iPhone reviews.
I'm sure in neither situation was it the first time it has happened and it won't likely be the last. User generated reviews can only be trusted so far, from there you've got to check some of the professional reviews and make a comparison. Not to say that professional reviews can't be tainted, but you do your homework and use your best judgment.
Follow-Up: Circuit City Liquidation Sale
Following yesterday's post Circuit City Liquidation Sale, I was contacted by a Circuit City employee wishing to provides us with a little feedback on the ongoing liquidation sale as well as clarify a few details from that post.According to the employee, that wishes to remain anonymous, the shelves at Circuit City store might look bare, however this was not due to items being sold out rather because they had not been receiving new stock for several weeks (possibly even months).
I don't know about other stores but at our store [location not disclosed] we haven't re-stocked shelves in a long time. Before the sale hit there were sections of the store that looked empty. In my dept. [cameras & accessories] we had plenty of stuff left because no one was coming in and buying anything before the sale but I saw other parts of the store with empty shelves.
When asked about rumors that the liquidators, Great American Group LLC, Hudson Capital Partners LLC, SB Capital Group LLC and Tiger Capital Group LLC, had been raising prices on popular items anonymous responded:
I don't know about that, prices in my section looked the same. But prices tags on alot of items were gone. So you really wouldn't know what the original price was unless you looked it up. I guess they might have, but if they did we wouldn't be able to tell.Yesterday during my visit I had noticed that several of the large ticket items I looked at didn't have prices. I also noticed that items displayed on a clearance table didn't have price tags. So customers were stuck trying to find someone that could access the computer system to verify the price of items before taking them to checkout. Removing the price tags means the liquidators could use the computer system and change prices at will and without customers knowledge.
As for customers buying items that were over priced it was noted:
People just pay whatever, I don't think they care. Its like they think they got a good deal so they are happy. I sold a guy a camera with a 10% discount and he thought it was the best deal ever. I mean I kind of felt like telling him he was an idiot cause we had that same camera around New Yrs. I think for way less.
As a final note I was asked to tell potential customers to keep in mind that the CSRs are working as hard as they can at a job they will only have for a short amount of time. They aren't responsible for there being a long line, a wait or there not being enough staff.
Seagate Issues Firmware Update Following Hard Drive Problems
Hard drive manufacturer Seagate has acknowledged a firmware issue in certain products, including some Barracuda 7200.11 model hard drives manufactured through December 2008 that has been causing many drives to freeze up during data transfers or failing all together.For users affected by the issues Seagate is now offering a firmware upgrade that it says will fix the issue as well as data recovery for drives that are already bricked. Here's the full statement from the company's spokesman Mike Hall:
Seagate has isolated a potential firmware issue in certain products, including some Barracuda 7200.11 hard drives and related drive families based on this product platform, manufactured through December 2008. In some circumstances, the data on the hard drives may become inaccessible to the user when the host system is powered on.
As part of our commitment to customer satisfaction, we are offering a free firmware upgrade to those with affected products. To determine whether your product is affected, please visit the Seagate Support web site at http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207931.
Support is also available through Seagate's call center: 1-800-SEAGATE (1 800 732-4283)
Customers can expedite assistance by sending an email to Seagate (discsupport@seagate.com). Please include the following disk drive information: model number, serial number and current firmware revision. We will respond, promptly, to your email request with appropriate instructions. There is no data loss associated with this issue, and the data still resides on the drive. But if you are unable to access your data due to this issue, Seagate will provide free data recovery services. Seagate will work with you to expedite a remedy to minimize any disruption to you or your business.
For a list of international telephone numbers to Seagate Support and alternative methods of contact, please access http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/about/contact_us/
According to the Seagate knowledge base entry, the issue may affect a large number of drive models with Seagate recommending that users with 1.5TB, 750GB, 640GB, 500GB, 320GB, and 160GB Barracuda 7200.11 drives, along with some Maxtor and ES.2 models, all install the firmware update.
The company hasn't provided a direct link for the firmware download, instead they are urging users to use the following tools and instructions to determine if you have one of the affected products. If you do, it is recommend that you update the firmware on the disk drive to prevent this condition:
- Click here for instructions on how to find the serial number on your drive.
- Click here to use the online serial number validation tool to check whether your drive requires a firmware update or not.
When typing in your serial number into the validation tool, make sure to use ALL CAPS. Using lower case characters will invalidate the result. If the online serial number validation tool states that your drive is affected, you need to contact Seagate Customer Support for a firmware update to your hard drive.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Microsoft Hit With More Antitrust Charges
The European Commission has once again filled Antitrust charges against software giant Microsoft, alleging that the companies inclusion of the Internet Explorer (IE) browser with the Windows operating system infringes the EC Treaty rules on abuse of a dominant position.
According to the European Commission's Statement of Objections to Microsoft the commission feels Microsoft’s tying of Internet Explorer to the Windows operating system, "harms competition between web browsers, undermines product innovation and ultimately reduces consumer choice."
"Yesterday, Microsoft received a Statement of Objections from the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission," the company said in a statement on Friday. "The Statement of Objections expresses the Commission's preliminary view that the inclusion of Internet Explorer in Windows since 1996 has violated European competition law."
Microsoft has 8 weeks to reply to the SO, and will then have the right to be heard in an oral hearings. If found guilty of violating the antitrust laws the Commission may impose a fine on Microsoft, require Microsoft to cease the abuse and impose a remedy that would restore genuine consumer choice and enable competition on the merits.
Opera Software CEO Jon von Tetzchner has released the following statement:
In a phone interview with NetworkWorld Tetzchner claimed that the software giant was undermining open software standards on the Internet.
"Its a problem for companies like ours if Microsoft doesn't support the open standards we all apply, because many Web sites are designed to work with IE, which means our browsers won't always work out of the box," he said.
With a market share of nearly 70% Internet Explore is still the most widely used browser on the web today. Although recent numbers would suggest third party browsers are gaining popularity as IE's share has fallen below the 70% mark for the first time ever. If Microsoft is forced to remove IE from its bundled software it is likely that we'll see a much larger decline in their overall market share.
However that is unlikely to happen. In their previous rulings the Commission ordered Microsoft to offer a second version of Windows alongside the regular version of the software, but without a bundled copy of Windows Media Player. Microsoft complied with that ruling by offering both choices with no price difference.
According to the European Commission's Statement of Objections to Microsoft the commission feels Microsoft’s tying of Internet Explorer to the Windows operating system, "harms competition between web browsers, undermines product innovation and ultimately reduces consumer choice."
"Yesterday, Microsoft received a Statement of Objections from the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission," the company said in a statement on Friday. "The Statement of Objections expresses the Commission's preliminary view that the inclusion of Internet Explorer in Windows since 1996 has violated European competition law."
Microsoft has 8 weeks to reply to the SO, and will then have the right to be heard in an oral hearings. If found guilty of violating the antitrust laws the Commission may impose a fine on Microsoft, require Microsoft to cease the abuse and impose a remedy that would restore genuine consumer choice and enable competition on the merits.
Opera Software CEO Jon von Tetzchner has released the following statement:
"On behalf of all Internet users, we commend the Commission for taking the next step towards restoring competition in a market that Microsoft has strangled for more than a decade. The Commission’s Statement of Objections demonstrates that the Commission is serious about getting Microsoft to start competing on the merits in the browser market and letting consumers have a real choice of internet browsers.
The browser is the consumer’s gateway to the Internet and a critical platform for application development itself. Today the Commission has confirmed that it will do what it can to make sure consumers are able to continue to freely enjoy one of the most important innovations in the history of humanity: the Internet.”
In a phone interview with NetworkWorld Tetzchner claimed that the software giant was undermining open software standards on the Internet.
"Its a problem for companies like ours if Microsoft doesn't support the open standards we all apply, because many Web sites are designed to work with IE, which means our browsers won't always work out of the box," he said.
With a market share of nearly 70% Internet Explore is still the most widely used browser on the web today. Although recent numbers would suggest third party browsers are gaining popularity as IE's share has fallen below the 70% mark for the first time ever. If Microsoft is forced to remove IE from its bundled software it is likely that we'll see a much larger decline in their overall market share.
However that is unlikely to happen. In their previous rulings the Commission ordered Microsoft to offer a second version of Windows alongside the regular version of the software, but without a bundled copy of Windows Media Player. Microsoft complied with that ruling by offering both choices with no price difference.
Circuit City Liquidation Sale
Yesterday it was announced that Circuit City would close their remaining 567 stores nation wide, this following November announcement that the failing electronics retailer would be closing 155 stores across the country. As part of the closure Circuit City will liquidate all of its remaining stores.In many areas the liquidation sale off began this morning, many more stores are expected to begin selling off their remaining merchandise later this month. These sales will last as long as it takes to sell through the merchandise at each of the stores, something that Circuit City and its liquidators expect to wrap up by the end of March 2009.
Here in the Sacramento area Circuit City has 5 stores which will be liquidated. Those stores include 7980 Arcadia Boulevard, Citrus Heights, 205 Serpa Way, Folsom, 8211 Laguna Boulevard, Elk Grove, 10251 Fairway Dr, Roseville Folsom and 2121 Arden Way, Sacramento.
Citrus Heights being my local store I decided to run down there today and do some bargain hunting.
The store was pretty busy, with lots of people trying to hunt down a hot deal. The liquidation prices are nowhere near what they should be. TVs, computers and most high end equipment was marked at only 10% off, with some accessories, DVDs, CDs and furniture at 30% off. Despite the minimal percentages off the store looked picked over in some spots, yet hardly touched in others.
Being a computer geek I hit that section first. Laptops, PCs and LCDs are only 10% off, so there were no real bargains there. There was a limited number of employees, with only one or two in each section,and getting help was nearly impossible. So I didn't get to check the prices or inquire about sale prices on some of the components I was looking at. For the most part however everything was still overly priced.
From my observation there seemed to be more people leaving empty handed than there were people actually buying anything. I did see some rather poor decision making and some very bad purchases. I saw two laptops and a desktop that was extremely overpriced being bought. I didn't get model numbers, but I know one of the laptops had been on sale not long ago for far less than the gentleman was paying.
Overall I'd say it was about what I expected. A bunch of uneducated impulse buyers (for lack of a better term) thinking they are getting a great deal buying up overly priced items.
Tips for bargain hunters
From my perspective right now there aren't any hot deals to be had at Circuit City. That doesn't mean there aren't deals just that I didn't see anything that was priced in my target range. But here are some tips for those of you wanting to check it.
- Research your prices ahead of time and go with a plan: If you are looking for a laptop then check prices at other local stores and get a feel for what the price range should be. If you've got an iPhone or other smartphone don't be afraid to use it to check prices elsewhere, heck call someone and ask them to look. But don't buy something just because you "think" it's a good price.
- Know what you need and don't expect alot of answers: There were only a few CSRs on the floor and they were overwhelemed with questions. So don't expect them to help you find out if a part is going to be compatible with your system.
- Plan for and expect a crowd: I saw several people in the parking lot getting frustrated with other drivers. I also so people complaining while standing in line to checkout. You should know ahead of time there is going to be a wait, it is a sale after all!
- All sales are final: This is a liquidation sale which means once you leave the store with it it is yours. If there is a problem then you won't be able to take it back to the store. So make sure you know what you've got and that it will work before you but it.
Shortly after posting this post I was contacted by an anonymous Circuit City employee that has provided us with a few details concerning liquidation prices, empty shelves and more. To read that post click here. It is also thanks to that employee that we added number 4 to the list.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Run Old Apps On Vista With New Microsoft Virtualization Tool
Microsoft has released the first public beta of MED-V a virtualization tool that will allow you to easily create, deliver and centrally manage virtual Windows XP or 2000 environments. The tool is based on and runs with Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 to help users to run legacy applications on their Windows Vista (and presumably Windows 7) desktops.
According to the Official Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) blog, the final version of MED-V 1.0 is slated to release in the second quarter of this year as a part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack.
MDOP is a suite of virtualization and management technologies that extends the Windows platform by enabling user productivity anywhere, greater IT control of the desktop, and streamlined PC management.
For more details on MED-V visit the Official MDOP blog. To test out MED-V simply register at https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=665 and download the beta software.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Possible Intel Core 2 Quad Prices Cuts Coming
According to eWeek, Intel seems likely to slash processor prices after it announces fourth-quarter financial results this week. Well today Intel released those results and the outlook is pretty gloomy, Intel reported that fourth-quarter profits plummeted 90% and revenue fell 23%.Intel reported a fourth-quarter revenue of $8.2 billion, operating income of $1.5 billion, net income of $234 million and earnings per share (EPS) of 4 cents. The results included a billion-dollar negative impact from the previously announced reduction in the carrying value of the company's Clearwire investments.
For 2008, Intel posted revenue of $37.6 billion, operating income of $9 billion, net income of $5.3 billion and EPS of 92 cents. Intel generated approximately $11 billion in cash from operations, paid cash dividends of $3.1 billion and used $7.1 billion to repurchase 324 million shares of common stock.
Now for the good news, at least for consumers. According to an anonymous tipster that TechReport says, "has been right on at least one occasion, price cuts are indeed coming—they'll hit on Monday, January 19, and they'll affect Intel's line of Core 2 Quad processors."
Here are the chips TechReport says will likely see price cuts, the first price is the current volume prices from Intel's price list, the second price is the purported post-cut prices and the third is Newegg's current price:
- Core 2 Quad Q9650 $530 ~ $322 ~ $549.99
- Core 2 Quad Q9550 $316 ~ $267 ~ $309.99
- Core 2 Quad Q9400 $266 ~ $217 ~ $269.99
- Core 2 Quad Q8300 $224 ~ $194 ~ $237.99
- Core 2 Quad Q8200 $193 ~ $163 ~ $189.99
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