Hasta La Gadget!

The computer market has been taking an absolute beating as more and more consumers opt for mobile devices rather than traditional laptop and desktop computers. Research firm IDC issued a report on the computer industry for Q1 of 2013 this week that illustrates a market in significant decline. The report showed that worldwide shipments of laptops and desktop computers declined 14% in Q1 2013.

That 14% decline comes when compared to Q1 laptop and desktop computer shipments for 2012. IDC says that Q1 2013 saw the most significant drop in sales compared to the previous year since the company began tracking data on the computer industry in 1994. IDC also says that Q1 of 2013 is the fourth straight quarter that the computer industry has been on decline.

Another industry research firm, Gartner, estimated that global shipments for the computer industry sank by 11.2%. Gartner says that 11.2% decline is the most significant drop its recorded since Q1 of 2001. Gartner blames smartphones and tablets as the reason for the PC market is in decline. Both research firms also say that Microsoft’s Windows 8 software has failed to push consumers towards any significant increase in computer demand.

IDC analyst Jay Chou says that not only has Windows 8 failed to attract the typical retail consumer to upgrade their computer, it’s also failed to attract businesses. Many major businesses and companies contracted to upgrade computers for major businesses have noted that they are staying with Windows 7. One of these companies, called Ricoh Americas, says that the benefits of switching to Microsoft’s new operating system aren’t worth the effort to train employees to use it.

[via WSJ]

Computer shipments decline 14% in Q1 says IDC is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Giada has unveiled a new and very small fully featured mini-ITX mainboard called the N70E-DR. The little mainboard is aimed specifically at users looking to build network attached storage. The manufacturer of the motherboard says that the board will allow users to build low-cost implementations of NAS servers for file sharing, data backup, and media server functionality.

The mainboard is very small measuring 17 x 17 cm and has a rich component interface. The board supports Intel Ivy Bridge Celeron C2007U processors with power consumption of 17 Watts. The chipset used on the mainboard supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 10 with data security protection.

The mainboard also features dual Intel 82583V Gigabit Ethernet ports. The construction of mainboard uses high-quality solid capacitors enclosed with nickel core inductors for longevity and stability. The board is also fitted with high quality Power PAK MOS FETs.

Other features of the small mainboard include dual USB 3.0 ports and TPM pins allowing the connection of an optional TPM module for data security protection. The board also features intelligent hardware monitoring and management functions such as the CPU overheating alarm and abnormal power state alarm. Pricing for the mainboard is unknown at this time.

[via Giadatech]

Giada N70E-DR mini-ITX mainboard aims at entry-level NAS servers is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

G-Technology has unveiled new storage solutions at NAB 2013. The first storage solution that the company has unveiled is called the G-Dock ev and it fits into the new Evolution Series family. The storage solution is the only two-bay docking station with interchangeable and expandable storage modules that can be used as standalone external hard drives.

That feature makes it easy to transfer, edit, and distribute content in a digital workflow environment in a more efficient nature. In addition to the G-Dock ev with Thunderbolt, the Evolution Series also includes the G-Drive EV Plus external hard drive modules using USB 3.0. The removable and interchangeable storage modules are designed to be taken into the field and used as standalone external drives for the storage of raw content.

The storage devices support JBOD, RAID 1, and RAID 0 configurations. The individual storage modules are offered in two capacities allowing users to expand their storage space as needed. The G-Dock ev is available with with a pair of 1 TB modules installed. The G-Dock ev including to 1 TB modules will be available in May for $749.95. Additional 500 GB modules will cost $149.95 with additional 1 TB modules costing $199.95. The G-Drive ev Plus modules will also be available this summer for $349.95.

The other new storage solution company has unveiled is the G-Drive Pro with Thunderbolt. That particular storage solution promises hard drive capacity with SSD-like performance. The manufacturer says that using the Thunderbolt interface the external storage solution is able to deliver sustained data transfer rates of up to 480 MB/s. The drive features dual Thunderbolt ports for storage expansion and the ability to daisy chain with other Thunderbolt devices. The drive will be available in a 4 TB version for $849.95 and a 2 TB version for $699.95 this summer.

[via G-Technology and G-Technology]

G-Technology unveils new G-Dock ev and G-Drive Pro featuring Thunderbolt is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Fusion-io makes some of the most unique and interesting storage devices on the market today. The company makes storage devices that use solid-state storage rather than spinning magnetic platters. However, the storage devices offered by the manufacturer plug into PCI Express slots rather than traditional SATA ports.

The company aims its high-end ioFX workstation acceleration platform at professionals performing video editing, computer assisted design, 4K and stereoscopic television production. When this device originally launched it was available in a highest capacity of 420 GB. Fusion-io has now announced that it has a version available with 1.6 TB of storage capacity.

By using the PCI Express slot rather than a SATA port, the ioFX device is able to remove traditional data storage bottlenecks allowing for higher performance. The design allows for faster composite, edit, playback, and finish digital content completion thanks to higher speed and efficiency.

The manufacturer says the 1.6 TB Fusion ioFX storage device will be available this summer. The company isn’t saying exactly how much the 1.6 TB version of the device will sell for. Considering that the 420 GB version of the same product is available for $1995, you can expect the 1.6 TB version to cost significantly more.

[via Fusion-io]

Fusion-io ioFX workstation acceleration platform announced with 1.6 TB of storage is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Perhaps not wanting to leave a bad impression on the 2013 SXSW attendees, Google also previewed the much hyped Glass wearable computer at the festival. Videos of the talk given by Google Senior Developer Advocate Timothy Jordan about their wonder device have now made their way online.

Below is an excerpt from Jordan’s presentation, as edited by YouTuber lifechannelable. In it Jordan demonstrates the ways you can interact with Glass. Most of them are swipes made on the plastic surface of the computer as well as voice commands. Jordan also shows the appropriately minimal user interface as well as sample programs written for Glass.

Here’s the full 50-minute presentation:

I’m still not sold on the value of Glass, but if there’s anything to take away from the demo, it’s how impressive Google’s voice recognition technology has become. Seriously. That’s all I could think of while watching the videos.

[via Daily Mail]