Hasta La Gadget!

It’s time for Samsung’s first big plunge in with the Windows 8 universe with their mobile data connected Samsung ATIV Smart PC – dropping on the 9th of this month. You’ll be glad to find the Ubi Ubiquitous Computer up for pre-order now as well. A bit of a leak has occurred surrounding no less than Black Ops II.

The folks at HP have entered into Linux Foundation Platinum for $500,000 USD. Apple has announced that they’ve sold 3 million new iPads in their first weekend on the market – but they’re not saying which units sold how much. Steve Ballmer is insisting that Windows 8 will ramp quite quickly.

Check out the column called Why I’m OK with the Death of Consoles as written by Don Reisinger. Be sure to peek at our massive Nokia Lumia 920 review in all it’s glory.

The Wii U will be out in kiosks starting today – but wont be up for sale for a while yet (November 18th.) Sony has released their Sony Reader app for iOS – on the app store now! Alien life has been decidedly knocked down in all likelihood, so say scientists studying asteroids.

The Samsung Galaxy Camera has been priced and dated for the UK. The UK also has Skype pre-paid cards starting today. The dominance of the iPad has been tipped to slide as Samsung and Amazon ramp up. The PlayStation 3 is headed to China – maybe! The iPad mini has been torn down once again to show a price of $188 USD.

SlashGear Morning Wrap-up: November 5th, 2012 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

AMD has launched its latest next-gen Opteron 6300 Series processors, aiming to power the server you buy tomorrow, and the more mainstream branch of its twin enterprise chip strategy. The new chips – which promise up to 24-percent higher performance versus the Opteron 6200 processors the new range replaces – use AMD’s Piledriver core technology for reduced power consumption: that means cooler, faster servers that are cheaper to run.

The Opteron 6300 Series line-up maxes out at 3.5GHz base frequency, though there’s up to 3.8GHz on offer in AMD Turbo CORE mode. 4-, 6-, 8-, 12-, and 16-core versions are offered, with TDPs ranging from 85W in the 6366 HE low-power model, through to 140W for the 16-core, 2.8GHz 6386 S top of the line chip.

Up to four 1866MHz memory channels are supported, and AMD claims the 6300 Series is the only x86 processor to work with ultralow voltage 1.25v memory. Each CPU can handle up to 384GB of memory – spread over up to 12 DIMMs – and up to four x16 HyperTransport links (each up to 6.4GT/s).

However, AMD isn’t solely relying on x86 for its future server chip strategy. The company recently confirmed that it was developing 64-bit ARM-based server processors, borrowing architecture more commonly associated with tablets and smartphones, and repurposing it for frugal use in enterprise server rooms.

The first servers to use the Opteron 6300 Series chips are on sale today, with Dell and HP both signed up to produce systems using AMD’s new CPU by the end of the year.

AMD Opteron 6300 Series slots a 16-core Piledriver in your server rack is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If there’s one thing that I’ve lost a lot of over the years, it’s USB flash drives. From people just taking them, to just losing them because of their diminutive size, USB drives need to be replaced at rapid rate. However, if you had a USB drive hidden in your bracelet, you’d probably be less likely to misplace it.

This USB drive is hidden inside a nice-looking bracelet made out of braided leather. It’s definitely a stylish way to tote around your storage. They come in black, brown and beige, and the 4mm braided leather cord will ensure that it’s nice and comfortable, no matter where you take it.

The USB Bracelet is available from Etsy contributor Merete Nordvik Larsen. They sell for €30 (~$40 USD).

[via Uncrate]

I can’t remember exactly the last time I paid for a webcam, probably 8 years ago, or something like that, however if you use your webcam a lot, it makes sense to buy something with a better sensor than the one you’ve got stuck on the top of your laptop. Check out Belkin’s NetCam, a webcam that’s got night vision.

The NetCam is a Wi-Fi camera that can see in the dark, and it will allow you to easily monitor your home remotely. It’s also got a wide-angle lens, so that you can get a better view of the room it’s placed in. Video can be saved to mobile devices, allowing you to quickly share it with others. Unlike some other cameras of this class, the NetCam also captures audio. It works with iOS and Android devices, and will directly hook up to your Wi-Fi router. Its greatest feature is that it will send you an alert when it senses movement, and include a snapshot of what caused it.

The Belkin NetCam will sell for $129.99(USD).

[via Ubergizmo]

Windows 8 officially launched last week, which means that a ton of new computers, laptops, and tablets are either on shelves now or coming up soon. By far one of the most interesting new Windows 8 machines is the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13, a new convertible that aims to show off Windows 8 in all of its touch-based glory. The major selling point of the Yoga 13 is its 360-degree hinge, which allows you to use the laptop in a number of different ways. It’s certainly cool, if not a little strange at first.

If you couldn’t already tell, I haven’t used very many convertibles. I was never really sold on the idea of a tablet/laptop hybrid, but with what I’ve seen of the IdeaPad Yoga 13, I might be singing a different tune by the time everything is said and done. The Yoga 13 impresses right out of the box – the silver chassis looks sleek, and I was actually surprised by how light it is. I was certainly expecting heavier than 3.3 pounds, though with that weight, the Yoga 13 still has some heft that you won’t find in traditional ultrabooks.

The screen is really nice as well, though again a little unconventional as far as ultrabook screens go. Instead of running at the 1366×768 resolution we’re all so bored with, the Yoga 13′s touch screen is running at 1600×900 resolution. It’s an odd resolution that we don’t see to often in notebooks, but it’s a welcome change. The visuals are sharp and touch is responsive. This plays hand-in-hand with the touch-friendly tiles in Windows 8; even when using the Yoga 13 in notebook mode, I’m finding myself using the touch screen instead of the track pad. I said in my Windows 8 review that the operating system was clearly geared toward touch screens, and the Yoga 13 backs that assertion up.

There are four different “modes” Lenovo has been pushing with the Yoga 13: notebook mode, which is self-explanatory; stand mode, which allows the user to place the keyboard face-down with the screen angled upward; tent mode, which has the user standing the laptop up on its ends like a little mini tent; and tablet mode, achieved by folding the screen all the way around to the underside of the notebook. Tablet mode feels a little strange at first due to the fact that the keyboard is exposed on the slate’s backside, but thankfully the keyboard and trackpad are both disabled when you’re using a mode other than the traditional notebook setup. This means that you don’t have to worry about hitting keys and screwing everything up while using the machine in tablet mode.

On the inside, there isn’t too much deviation from the hardware found in other ultrabooks. We’ve got a third-gen Intel Core i5 processor clocked at 1.7Ghz – essentially the industry standard for ultrabooks – working alongside 4GB of DDR3L RAM, making the Yoga 13 quite the little speed demon. That’s all helped along by the 128GB SSD, so if it’s speed you want, the Yoga 13 probably isn’t going to disappoint. On the outside, the pickings are a little slim, as you’ve only got one USB 3.0 port and one USB 2.0 port to take advantage of. Those are joined by a 2-in-1 card slot (SD and MMC), a headphone jack, a full-size HDMI port, and of course, the jack for the power adapter.

I’m impressed with what I’ve seen of the IdeaPad Yoga 13 so far. There are certainly aspects that are going to take some getting used to, but I’m looking forward to spending more time with the Yoga 13 and seeing all that it and its 360-degree hinge have to offer. My full review of the IdeaPad Yoga 13 will be coming up shortly, but in the meantime, let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like me to touch on.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 hands-on and first impressions is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.