Isaiah's Tech

AVG 8.5 is now up for download, but i can't really tell you about it's new features because the site i get the information from is blocked on my school library's WiFi. I also have to study for Physics, so i can't waste time installing it and such (But, i do waste my time blogging instead of studying). The download link is here, via Download.com, for all of you AVG fans, like myself. Although, i now despise downloading stuff off of FileHippo because of my non-working AVG that i downloaded off of that site.

I present to you Asustek's (Asus for short) dual-panel touchscreen. This photo was taken live from CeBIT and the model that Asus was showing was not able to be touched, hence the "Don't Touch !!" sign on its holder. There were some models running Windows 7, but there is obviously no word on pricing or availability, since it's still a new product. One side of the panel will have an on-screen keyboard when it's in a sort-of netbook mode. Engadget points out that the "on-screen keyboard looked great from where we stood, but it's tough to say how hard it would be to get used to banging out dissertations on a flat panel." But, i think they should have just made a netbook instead of this thing.

I never blogged about it, but if you were keeping a close eye around the Internet, you may have came across the leaked pictures of the Mac Mini. There was even a video showing off the new Mac Mini. Today it has been confirmed that the Mac Mini leaks were true. There are 2 versions now available on the Apple store, starting at $599 USD. The $599 USD version has a 2.0GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB HDD, the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card and an "8X SuperDrive." There is also one more version and it is going for $799 USD. It will have the same graphics card, processor and "8X SuperDrive" as the aforementioned model, but will update its RAM to 2GB and its HDD to 320GB. Both models come with a wide variety of ports, including: Gigabit Ethernet, Firewire 800, Mini DVI, Mini DisplayPort and will have 5 USB 2.0 slots.

Looks like the early rumours of the new iMacs running on Intel's Core i7 processors have been smashed. The 4 new Apple iMacs have now hit the Apple Store. Let's start off with the most basic 20-inch iMac. It will be rocking the 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB HDD and will have the GeForce 9400M graphics card. The 20-inch model is going for $1,199 USD. The most basic 24-inch iMac comes with the same GeForce 9400M graphics card and 2.66GHz processor but has 4GB of RAM and a 640GB HDD. This is going for $1,499 USD. The next best model is another 24-incher that has 4GB of RAM, packed with a 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo processor and the GeForce GT 120 256MB graphics card for $1,799 USD. The best 24-inch model also has 4GB of RAM, but instead has a 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo processor and the GeForce GT 130 512MB graphics card inside of it. It's going for a retail price of $2,199 USD. Apple has also changed their keyboard, taking out the numeric keypad.

The new Mac Pro will be available on March 9 which is under a week from today. It has the "new Xeon Processors [with a speed of] up to 2.93GHz." This means that the Mac Pro will have "a quad-core 64-bit processor with 8MB of fully shared Level 3 cache, with integrated memory controllers that plug into 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM memory with Error Correction Code, which according to Apple boosts access 2.4 times over the previous version." I don't really know what half of that stuff means, hence why i copied just about half of the article from Gizmodo. I do know that the base model is going for $2,499 USD. The base model's graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB GDDR3 memory, but you can bump it up to the ATI Radeon HD 4870 with 512MB of GDDR5 memory if you have the money. Have fun, Apple fans.

AVG 8.5 download link: http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html
Asus Dual Panel Touchscreen (and picture): http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/03/hands-on-with-asus-dual-panel-touchscreen-pc-at-cebit/
Apple Mac Mini (and picture): http://i.gizmodo.com/5163353/new-mac-mini-looks-just-like-the-leaked-mac-mini
Apple iMacs (and picture): http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/03/apple-debuts-new-imacs-including-cheaper-24-incher/
Apple Mac Pro (and picture): http://i.gizmodo.com/5163387/mac-pro-gets-nehalem-xeons-new-architecture-graphics

Sony looks like they'll be expanding their Bravia HDTV lineup. Starting with the W-Series which includes the 52, 46 and 40-inch models. These will have "easy access to Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, Sony Pictures content, etc." These TVs are Internet-connected and will have Sony's MotionFlow 120Hz technology to get rid of blurriness. The W-Series HDTVs all have an Ethernet jack and will have "Yahoo!-powered widgets engine." It will also come with 4 HDMI inputs. No word on the pricing, but it should be available later this Spring.

Ahh, the MSI GT725 17-inch gaming laptop. Specifically, the first laptop sporting ATI's 512MB Radeon HD4850 GPU. It also comes with: a WUXGA display, which is anti-glare, a 320GB SATA hard drive, a Blu-ray optical drive, up to 4GB of RAM, a whopping 9-cell battery and an integrated 2MP webcam. "There's also an ExpressCard slot, four standard speakers plus a 'subwoofer' and a Turbo Drive Engine to make overclocking a lesson in simplicity." The laptop ways weighs 7 pounds and is claiming to be MSI's new "flagship" laptop. Engadget points out that this is understandable when you re-read that awesome spec sheet. No word on price or availability, but i can confirm it's sexiness.

iGoogle, Google's start page that rarely anyone uses, got a new feature. Sidebar chat. It is extremely similar to Gmail's chat feature. I don't really know who uses iGoogle, but i used to use it. But after i found Google Reader, i didn't really think i had any uses for it anymore. I can tell you that my Google Latitude is finally working today. =). You can all stalk me now.

Hmm, a bit more MSI news today. They will be releasing 3 new limited edition laptops in Japan. The PX600, PR201, EX620. Let's start things out with the PX600 Prestige Collection. First off, it does not have a price and they will only produce 30 units of this, so if you really want it, it probably already ran out. It has a 15.4-inch screen, a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo P8600 processor, GeForce 9300M GS graphics, 4GB of RAM, and "an equally stylish 4GB USB drive." Up next is the PR201. It will have a 12.1-inch screen, different colours (pink, green, blue), 2GHz Core 2 Duo T4200 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 320GB HDD. The MSI PR201 will go for ¥88,000 ($900 USD). Last, but not least, is the EX620. It will have the ATI Radeon HD3470 graphics card. It will be accompanied with a Blu-ray burner and "among other fairly standard specs." The MSI EX620 will be going for ¥130,000 ($1,340 USD).

Sony Bravia W-Series (and picture): http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/sony-expands-connected-bravia-hdtv-line-with-new-w-series/
MSI GT725 (and picture): http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/msi-details-well-specced-gt725-17-inch-gaming-laptop/
iGoogle Gets Sidebar Chat: http://lifehacker.com/5163322/igoogle-adds-sidebar-chat-works-just-like-gmail
MSI Brings 3 New Limited Edition Laptops To Japan (and picture): http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/03/msi-debuts-three-new-limited-edition-laptops-for-japan/