SystemShock

Taipei, Taiwan, September 08, 2009 – GIGABYTE Technology CO., LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to launch their latest generation P55 series motherboards, based on the Intel® P55 chipset, GIGABYTE P55 motherboards build upon the success of their Ultra Durable™ 3 design featuring 2oz copper PCB and deliver a host of cutting-edge features including the industry’s first 24 phase VRM design, innovative Smart6™ PC management tools and Dynamic Energy Saver™ 2 power saving utilities just to name a few.

Supporting the latest Intel® Core™ i7 and Core™i5 processors featuring LGA 1156 socket (code named Lynnfield) GIGABYTE P55 series motherboards set a new standard in high performance computing. With the memory controller integrated directly into the processor die, GIGABYTE P55 motherboards support 2 channel DDR3 memory for blazing fast memory performance up to 2200MHz and above. Additionally, the GIGABYTE P55 Series features Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, which is able to power down idle processor cores and dynamically reroute the power to the active cores for significant performance boosts, and at the same time, maintain greater energy efficiency.

Super-fast and ultra-small computers have been brought one step closer to reality with the successful test of a new penny-sized chip.

The optical quantum chip does away with traditional circuitry and instead uses particles of "whizzing" light.

Scientists asked the "photonic" chip to find the prime factors of 15 and, although it took longer to work it out than a schoolchild could have, it produced the answer - 3 x 5.

The test is a massive breakthrough because it is the first time the chip's processing power has been condensed into such a small size.

Opera Software on Tuesday took the lid off its final version of Opera 10. The free, open-source browser works on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms and offers three key features it hopes will woo browser users.

First, Opera 10 features Opera Turbo, a new compression technology that, when enabled, automatically detects slow speeds and provides broadband-like speeds. Once turned on, Turbo instantly compresses pages so less data needs to be transferred over a limited connection.

Second, Opera 10 offers a new interface. And finally, Opera promises better tabs.

More than 40 million people use Opera, but the company has only two percent of the browser market. By contrast, Google Chrome has a 2.8 percent share, Safari holds four percent, Firefox boasts 22.9 percent, and Microsoft Internet Explorer dominates with 66.9 percent, according to Net Applications.

US software giant Microsoft announced on Tuesday that smartphones powered by the latest version of its Windows Mobile operating system would be available in October.

The Redmond, Washington-based company said in a statement that the new phones will hit stores on October 6 and will be the first to feature Windows Mobile 6.5, the latest version of its mobile phone software.

Microsoft said the new generation of "Windows Phones" will feature a redesigned Internet Explorer Mobile browser and that a "wide variety" of applications will be available for the devices.

It said telecom carriers and handset makers from around the world planned to include phones with Windows Mobile 6.5.

Microsoft is making available a free Windows 7 Enterprise Trial version for IT professionals without access to the release to manufacturing version. The trial must be activated within 10 days of download from the Springboard area of TechNet, and is good for 90 days.

The version was announced Tuesday by Microsoft's Stephen Rose on the Springboard Series blog. The trial is meant to give IT professionals a way to test their applications, hardware and deployment strategies.

Microsoft Corp. is slashing the price of the high-end Xbox 360 console by $100, matching Sony's $100 price cut for the PlayStation 3 last week.

Now, both the Xbox 360 Elite and the PS3 will cost $299. The price cuts in both cases are worldwide, though the exact amounts vary by region depending on currencies.

Microsoft, which has had three versions of its Xbox 360 available at three different prices, also was to announce Thursday it is phasing out the mid-range, Pro, version of the console. It will be available for $249, down from $299, while supplies last.

The cheapest Xbox, the Arcade, which comes without a hard drive, will still cost $199.