EVGA's W555 Motherboard

CES was a huge event when it happened a few of weeks ago. There was some pretty big surprises and some huge new technologies unveiled that everybody was talking about. But what people are talking about now are some of the things that flew under the radar at the show, products like the new W555 Motherboard from EVGA.

The W555 is basically like your typical dual-processor LGA1366 motherboard except this baby was designed to be overclocked. Now judging by the images already seen the W555 isn't small. There are no exact dimensions that have been officially released yet but EVGA has confirmed that the W555 is larger than either the E-ATX or SSI standards.

But why is it so big you might ask? Well maybe because this thing is packed full of stuff. The W555 can hold two overclocked processors and a dozen DDR3 DIMM slots. On top of that there is also room for 7 PCI expansion slots. At first glance, people may think that they will be able to toss in two core i7 processors and start overclocking. Core i&s only have a single QPI link so in order to run a pair of processors in SMP you will need two Xeon W5000-series CPUs which each have two QPI links.

This board is already getting people excited with the possibility of being able to overclock a pair of 8-thread CPUs. Adding to that, you should be able to install a pair of Xenon-branded 12-thread Gulftown cored CPUs, set to be released later this year, for a whopping total of 24 threads from a single box. Each of the CPUs socket is provided with its very own bank of 6DIMM sockets.

Overall this thing looks insane. With all the overclocking possibilities and the theoretical possibility of running 7 GPUs in this thing is enough to make all you computer geeks out there slipping in a puddle of your own drool. Add that to the possible 24-thread count from a single box and you have a match made in geek heaven. No word on a release date or price has been revealed but we will keep you updated as more information rolls in.

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Great Products For Child-Proofing Your Computer

Anyone with a child knows they are fascinated with computers, starting at a very young age. Leaving your child alone with your computer is not the ideal situation, but watching them every second isn't always possible, either. Whether you want to protect your children from the many dangers of the internet or protect your important files from little hands who may not know exactly what the "delete" button means, the following programs can help make your child's PC experience more enjoyable and help you rest a little easier.

Safe Eyes 5.0 This program does everything you need and then some. It's touch - your smartest kid won't break the code of protection - and it covers up to three computers. It's compatible with both Mac and PC and retails for about $49.95.

Peanut Butter PC 3.0 Peanut Butter PC not only protects your files, but it keeps your kids entertained at the same time. It's not nearly as tough as Safe Eyes, but it does have interactive elements. However, in a review, PC Mag says they aren't very exciting. This one retails for about $24.95.

Hoopah Kidview Computer Explorer 6 This one is perhaps a bit too cutesy for older kids, but it will keep the little ones out of your important files. It offers kid-safe email and keeps web-surfing age-appropriate and it sells for about $39.95.

KidZui 5.0 KidZui allows your kids to surf the web, play games, view videos and interact socially online in a very lively environment. And it does it all for a mere $7.95.

Net Nanny 6.0 This is probably the best choice for child-proofing your PC. It does what you probably expect it would, but it also offers a number of unique features not found on any of the other programs. It has secure web-traffic filtering, ESRB-based game control, and records IM conversations if they come across as dangerous. You can monitor and manage from any location with email alerts and remote configuration. This one is $39.95.

OnlineFamily.Norton This is the only free product on the list but it's actually pretty good quality compared to a few of the others. It blocks bad websites, controls how long your child can spend on the computer, supervises chats and social network use. It works with both Macs and PCs and remote configuration and reporting is super-easy.

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McAfee's Predicted Security Threats for 2010

McAfee recently released a report that predicts potential online security threats for 2010. To summarize, the anti-virus and computer security company, which is based out of Santa Clara, California, sees an increase in threats from social networking sites, banking security, and bot nets. In addition, they see increases in attacks targeting users, businesses, and applications. However, the findings weren't all negative. McAfee says they expect an increase in law enforcement and its effectiveness in fighting cybercrime.

As social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, become increasingly popular, they'll most likely become a breeding ground for cyber attacks. On top of the increased number, the attacks will be more sophisticated. Facebook users are particularly vulnerable due to the number of third party applications used. Games and other applications are popular and most people will trust an invitation from their friends without using caution. But that invitation could easily be malware or something else designed to harm your computer. There's really no way to protect yourself other than avoiding the third party apps such as quizzes and games.

URL shorteners such as bit.ly and tinyurl.com are also expected to become a target of cybercrime. These tie-in to social networking because most people use them to post links to their profiles. The websites shorten a normal URL into a smaller one that will fit in almost any space and is especially popular on Twitter, where you only have 140 characters to gets your message across. One major problem with these smaller URLs is that they can't be previewed, so clicking on one at random could lead you to somewhere you don't want to be. This makes it a very easy target for crooks.

Due to the popularity of Microsoft products, cyber criminals have been taking advantage of them for years. However, as programs such as Adobe Reader and Flash become more popular, McAfee expects they will become a bigger target, taking over the top "honor" from Microsoft. In 2009, Adobe Reader saw an increase of problems due to security holes, leading the company to take a more proactive approach to patching up problems.

Email attachments have always been a problem when it comes to spreading malware and that threat is expected to continue and even get bigger. The company expects an increase in specific targets when it comes to email, and those include journalists, corporations, and individual users who could easily be convinced to download an attachment that is hiding a Trojan or other bit of malware.

Other projected problems include banking Trojans. Normally used to get your financial information, McAfee expects them to become so advanced that they will start interrupting transactions and even withdrawing money from your accounts. 2009 already saw an increase in banking cybercrime, with many Trojans making their way past strong bank security. Botnets are also expected to be a threat. McAfee calls them a "leading infrastructure for cybercriminals" and says they are "used for actions from spamming to identity theft." While they are harder to track down due to their ability to move from computer to computer without a central base of operation, there has been some recent success in shutting them down.

Despite all the many threats, McAfee does project an increase in law enforcement's ability to track down cybercriminals. Even so, there are steps you should take to protect yourself. Purchasing security software and keeping it updated is very important and something everyone should do. Keeping your PC up-to-date with Microsoft patches that protect your operating system, office suite, and browser is also important. You should also be sure that you are aware of all the latest threats and realize what's at risk. Exercise caution when opening files or downloading applications.

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Will Desktops Ever Make a Comeback?

Laptops are becoming increasingly popular. Personally, I haven't owned a desktop in five years and don't see myself ever going back to being desktop-only household. Nothing beats using my wireless laptop from anywhere in my home. If I'm cooking from a recipe I found online, I just put the computer on my kitchen counter. If I'm sick, tired or just being lazy, I can take the laptop to bed with me. And on nice spring days, I can work outside, on my porch, vs. being tied to my desk and stuck inside all day. Not to mention I can take my computer with me anywhere I go, whether it be a vacation or to a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi.

But it seems as though I'm not alone. Desktop sales are falling and laptop sales on the rise. Does that mean desktops are gone forever? Not according to a few people at AMD and Via.

Patrick Moorehead, a vice president at AMD, told the New York Times he sees the computers reemerging as "small form-factor desktop[s]." Via Vice President Richard Brown is also optimistic, asserting that desktops in the corporate world are not going away anytime soon.

But according to research firm IDC, desktop shipments will decline over the next few years. In the United States, in 2009 alone, desktop shipments were expected to drop 14.2%. In 2010, they will fall another 3.6% and 1.9% in 2011. However, international desktop shipment numbers look a little different. While shipments were expected to decline 12.9% in 2009, they are expected to gradually rise again in the following years: 0.1% in 2010, 1.6% in 2011, 2.0% in 2012 and 0.9% in 2013.

According to Brown, that worldwide increase can be attributed to Asia, "In China and elsewhere, those people have started to desire a real computer when they get home. They want a bigger screen and more power. The desktop offers that."

Even so, laptops and other portable computer shipments are expected to increase at unbelievable, double-digit rates over the next four years, due to the fact that users are becoming increasingly mobile. There's no question notebook computers will continue to dominate the market in the near future but as for the desktop, only time will tell what becomes of it.

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Guru'board's Miniguru Keyboard

Companies are always looking for ways to shake up the market they are in and Guru'board is no different with the newest keyboard from the unproved company, conveniently titled the Miniguru, having the potential to do just that.

The basic concept of the Miniguru is simple as it is designed to keep your fingers on the home row. The keyboard tries to do this via special modifier keys that allow you to move through three layers of functions. If you hold down the the modifier button your J, K, L and I keys get turned into your up, down, left and right arrow keys and your Caps Lock button gets turned into your control button.

The keyboard also features a mouse nub which is also designed to keep you keyboard-centric. However, I'm pretty sure mouse nubs went out of style back in the 90's so it is a good thing that you can remove it in the highly-custom sales configuration panel. The configuration panel also works in an option to choose from three different switch parts, a plethora of colors and the existence of keycap symbols.

I'm not sure how popular this device is going to be. it does look very interesting and the concept behind it is unique. How many people will find a use for this keyboard, or even want it, is still up in the air but I'm sure people will want to give it a test run just out of sheer curiosity. Nothing has been heard about a release date, or even if the Miniguru is going to make it out onto the market at all. We can only sit and wait to find out.

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Buffalo Introduces 4TB TeraStation in America

CES was home to a ton of new tech this year including the 4TB TerraStation WSS. Buffalo Technology, who has been a global leader in the development, design and manufacturing of wireless and wired networking, network and direct attached storage solutions, unveiled at CES 2010 the TerraStation WSS which utilizes Windows Storage Server.

The TerraStation incorporates a new x86 hardware platform. This allows the TerraStation to feature four quick-swap SATA hard drives as well as redundant RAID technology and a heavy-duty power supply which provides a dependable and cost effective storage solution. The TerraStation also utilizes Window's NTFS file system providing excellent file security for the SMB as well as really granular folder and file permissions. If you add this to the native Active Directory support then you get a new and really-cost effective solution to the SMB.

According to Ralph Sagnola, Vice President if Sales for Buffalo Technology, "Buffalo technology has been a leader in the SMB storage space and incorporating Windows Storage Server is just the next step. The latest TerraStation WSS is Buffalo delivering on its ongoing commitment of producing high quality, robust storage solutions to the SMB market that are not only cost effective but are also able to meet the high demands of today's business needs."

The TerraStation features Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 Express Edition. This helps businesses store and protect all of their digital assets. Setup for the TerraStation is easy is easy and it is also easy to manage plus it gives you all the power of a Windows server operating system to provide feature-rich file sharing. The TerraStation has support for protocols like SMB, AppleTalk, NFS and Netware and the TerraStation WSS also allows data to be shared along different platforms. Native integration with the Active Directory service provides a simplified management for customers operating in a Windows domain environment.

The TerraStation WSS is backed by a three-year warranty which includes 24/7 technical support. Two different models will be available, a 2TB (WS-Q2.0TL/R5) for $1,599.99 and the 4TB (WS-Q4.0TL/R5) for $1,999.99.

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D-Link Touch, Pocket 802.11n Router and Rush Wireless Accelerator

D-Link dropped some pretty cool tech at CES which included some new routers and the Rush accelerator which is basically a powerful 4x4 access point. The Rush accelerator can be switched between 2.4GHz and 5GHz and can also do up 600 Mbs over 802.11n. The routers shown consist of the new D-Link Touch and the D-Link Pocket.

The D-Link Touch sports a 3-inch interactive touchscreen that allows for easy setup, configuration and management of the router as well as internet traffic. It has dual-band capabilities and three data streams that support data transfer rates up to 450Mbps. This allows users to stream HD content faster in the 5GHz wireless band. You can also surf the web lag-free on the 2.4GHz band. An extra bonus feature is that the D-Link Touch is backwards compatible with earlier standards (802.11 a/b/g).

The D-Link Wireless N Pocket Router is designed to be a quick and crude travel router. The Pocket Router can be used multiple ways either as a wireless router that allows you to create an 802.11n Wi-Fi network or as an access point which allows you to add Wi-Fi to an existing wired network. The router includes SharePort technology. This allows you to share USB devices. Along with this the Pocket Router can be used to connect an Ethernet-ready device like a desktop or even an Xbox 360, to a Wi-Fi network.

Unfortunately, though these devices are very cool and many people will be looking to get their hands on them soon, there has been no word on pricing. Though it ha been revealed by D-Link that all three devices will be available and on the market in the first half of 2010. It seems the new year tech is already coming out fast.

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The All-in-One Sony VAIO VPC-L117FX/B

I have not really been keeping up with desktop computers, but when I took a look, I discovered that the all-in-one Sony VAIO VPC-L117FX/B was definitely one of the most feature-filled promising all-in-one computers out there.

Honestly, the VAIO pretty much looks like 24-inch HDTV. It can easily blend in to anywhere you might place a smaller HDTV. It could really replace a bedroom TV because it has the built-in Blu-Ray player, ATSC tuner, and HDMI-in ports. You can even easily connect a gaming system, like the Playstation 3, or a set-top box like the one from your cable company into the computer with the HDMI-in ports. The VAIO’s built-in tuner can quickly grab HDTV signals over the air and display them in Windows 7’s built-in Media Center interface. The picture on the VAIO is crystal clear and noise-free. Like I said, its like watching on a high quality HDTV.

The system is wall mountable which is a feature that I thought was cool. You do have to buy a separate mounting kit, but I think it would definitely be worth it. There is also a space in the base of the system that comes in handy giving you plenty of room to store your wireless keyboard and mouse. It seems that Sony just thought of every possible convenient way to place and store everything concerning the VAIO.

The VAIO includes five USB ports, a FireWire/i.Link port, and features a 24-inch 1,920 x 1,080 resolution (which is true 1080p HD). Also included with the system is 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and an IR remote control that allows you to operate the system almost completely wirelessly.

The beautiful screen of the VAZIO VPC-L117FX/B is a full blown touchscreen. The screen is multi-touch enabled and can utilize the standard Windows 7 touch commands such as flick, swipe, pinch, and rotate. VAZIO’s quad-core processor makes the system a little bit more responsive than the HP TouchSmart 600. The VAZIO also comes standard with the VAIO Media Gallery. This program is a unified multimedia viewing interface that gives you the ability to easily view your music, photos, and videos. From the Media Gallery, you are able to quickly create slideshows and then export them to VAIO Movie Story. Movie Story is an easy way to create home movies compiled of pictures and video clips from your digital camera or cell phone. You are then able to burn your movie to a DVD of Blu-Ray disk, export it to a Sony Media device, or save it in several different media forms to your computer.

The VAZIO features Google’s Chrome as their default browser, but Internet Explorer 8 is definitely the main browser for a reason. All of the touch navigation works much better in IE8. Everything is much smoother and commands are much more responsive with IE8, but hopefully Google will be improving their interface with time.

Besides the very helpful software that everyone wants on their computer, the VAZIO VPC-L117FX/B really doesn’t have any bloatware to bog down the hard drive. The systems comes standard with a copy of Microsoft Works and features an installer for the 60-day trial of Microsoft Office. There are really no stray files that you will have to worry about cleaning up on your computer.

The VAZIO VPC-L117FX/B features a Intel Core 2 Quad 8400S processor and Nvidia GeForce GT 240M graphics giving it a very high performance rating. The VAZIO is only one second behind the Gateway FX6810-01 at the Windows Media Encoder Test making it a fantastic choice for someone looking for a multimedia packed computer.

The Sony VAIO VPC-L117FX/B is a bit pricey coming in at $1,999.99, but if you consider all the features, I think that it is worth it. If you purchase the VAZIO you are getting a computer that includes a Blu-Ray player and burner, the HDTV-like screen, polished touch technology, and so many other incredible features. If I was looking for a desktop computer the VAZIO VPC-L117FX/B would definitely be at the top of my list.

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KidZui: A New Computer Parental Control Program

So today kids see their older siblings and parents on the computer, surfing the Internet, keeping up with their friends, and playing games…little kids want to play around on the computer too.

Now most parents don’t want to just let their kids loose on the computer. Your computer holds financial information, programs, pictures, documents, and lots of other things that you don’t want your kids messing with. The new KidZui 5.0 offers children use of your computer without exposing them to the inappropriate side of the Internet and without allowing them access to your local files and programs. This could be a great solution for your younger children.

KidZui was started in the spring in 2008 and now has more than one million registered kids and parents. The latest 5.0 version offers even more ways for kids to safely interact with their friends and parents. There is a free version that is available that gives kids access to most of the content on KidZui, but they are limited in their ability to personalize their experience. If you pay for the program, parents are given the ability to monitor their children’s activity and kids are given the ability to customize everything dealing with the program.

In KidZui, kids are given to ability to create their avatar that is referred to as a Zui. They are able to choose the coloring and shape of the head, eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, and skin. From there they can add shirts, pants, shoes, hats, glasses, and even hobbies. There are even seasonal items such as a Santa suit, Christmas tree costume, and reindeer antlers. There are certain items that feature a lock symbol on them. To unlock these items your child must accumulate points and reach higher levels. To gain points, all kids have to do is enjoy the KidZui environment. Those that are using the free version can still accumulate points but cannot level up.

KidZui will launch when you startup your computer and kids can select their Zui image on the login screen. Kids will be unable to log out of the KidZui environment without a parental password. This protects anything on your computer that you don’t want your children messing with. Another great feature about the program is that the KidZui client can be installed on as many computers as you want. KidZui user information is stored online, so as long as the software is downloaded on the computer your kids are using they can access their KidZui account from wherever.

With KidZui, parents don’t specify categories or sites to allow or block content. Instead, a team of specialist approved way over two million Web sites, photos, and videos that your kids can have access to. This gives them plenty of content to keep them occupied. All the content on the sight should be safe for any child. Your child will be able to click on a category and bring up dozens of sites relating to that category that they can navigate to. As parents, you will be able to approve any sites that are currently blocked on KidZui that you want your children to have access to. Search sites like Google and Yahoo are blocked, but unblocking these sights is pointless though because every search result page will say “now on our list to review.”

The Picture and Video tabs work just like the Web tab does. Kids are able to select a category or enter search terms to find what they are looking for. All the approved videos for KidZui are available at www.zuitube.com which is powered by YouTube. Most of the video files are short and the photos are small so that kids don’t have to wait for long periods of loading time.

There are a multitude of games that your child can play through KidZui. Kids can play such games and Web surf with their friends. They are able to interact and share their favorite games and sites with other kids without revealing any personal information. This is definitely something that parents are going to appreciate.

Kids are able to choose from dozens of words and phrases to reflect their “status” just like their older siblings or parents do on Facebook or Twitter. They are able to keep track of all their friends on the friends bar and can see whether or not they are online. Another list will display all of their friends status changes and tagged items. Kids may also “ping” their friends which is basically a kind of electronic wave. They also are given the option to e-mail their parents at any time to share a video or picture that they think they might enjoy.

Now one of the important aspects of KidZui is the parental control. Parents that pay for the subscription are able to access a full activity report on what their kids are doing. The reports will show exactly how many minutes their child spends on KidZui every single day up to six months in the past. There are also lists that show your child’s activities on KidZui, their most-visited sites, and the sites that they tried to visit that were blocked. Parents are able to see every Web site, video, or photo that their child has viewed. Your child’s friend lists are able to be examined on the parental control page also. If there is anyone that you do not want your child to be friends with, you can easily block them.

KidZui is a very fascinating parental control program. For only $7.95, your child can have a whole interactive experience without coming across anything you might not want them to see. All the different features included with the paid subscription protect your child while allowing them to have a fun time on the computer. Your kids see you playing around on your computer, so its awesome that there is finally a program that allows them to do exactly the same thing in a safe environment.

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