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OCZ's RevoDrive 3 X2 review roundup: SSD melts faces with 1.5GBps read and 1.2GBps write speeds

Did our footage of OCZ's new RevoDrive 3 X2 whet your appetite for more info on the super speedy SSD? Well, your wish is the web's command, and we've got a full roundup of reviews that'll tell you all you need to know. After putting OCZ's latest through its paces, the consensus is that the SSD is seriously quick in remembering and retrieving data. According to Tom's Hardware, the RevoDrive 3 X2 -- with its max 1.5GBps read and 1.2GBps write speeds -- "smokes everything" they've had pass through their lab. However, AnandTech noted that such capacious bandwidth is "simply overkill" for most users, as the drive only really flexes its muscles once the queue depth increases from enterprise-level workloads. Several sites noted that the drive's lack of TRIM support was also a concern, and that more cost effective (albeit slower) storage solutions can be had with a DIY RAID array of SATA SSDs. Of course, you don't have to take our word for it, get down to the nitty gritty in the links below.

Read - Hot Hardware
Read - AnandTech
Read - Tom's Hardware
Read - PC Perspective
Read - The SSD Review

The Elliptical Machine Office Desk: putting the 'commute' back in 'telecommuting'

Quite frankly, you've got it just a bit too easy. You rise 98 seconds before you're scheduled to clock in, you mash a power button, and suddenly, you're at work. PJs still caked to your legs, mouth still steaming from a lack of brushing. You're a telecommuter, and you're the envy of the working world. In fact, it'd be just stellar if you'd do us all a solid and add a sliver of complexity to your workday -- you know, like swapping out your OfficeMax special for an elliptical machine. And maybe, just maybe, you can convert your laptop into one that's pedal-powered, forcing you to keep churning for fear of dropping from the virtual office. And no, you can't ask for donations to cover the $8,000 price tag -- your fuel savings from last week alone should just about cover it. Harrumph.

ThinkPad Tablet shown off with keyboard-laden folio cover, could ship within a month

Well, lookie here! Seems that ThinkPad Tablet's getting more real by the hour. For what it's worth, Lenovo hasn't exactly done a laudatory job keeping its next major Honeycomb tablet under wraps, but flaunting it in public? Now that's just asking for it. According to ZTOP, the enterprise-centric Tablet will arrive within three to four weeks boasting Tegra 2 silicon, a 10.1-inch display (1280 x 800) and an optional folio / cover that might just steal the show. According to the report, it's a leather-wrapped case that contains a full-on keyboard and optical tracking sensor, presumably using a USB connector to make the magic happen. Think Clamcase, but tailored for Lenovo. There's no mention of a price on that one, but we're guessing it ain't gonna be tossed in gratis. Tap the source for one more look, and expect to hear more on the whole kit and kaboodle as July draws closer.

HP tempts webOS early adopters to buy a TouchPad with $50 rebate

HP TouchPad
WebOS hopefuls -- especially owners of a Palm Pre, Pixi or their Plus variants -- you there? HP's TouchPad launch is a few days away, and the company's seeking to entice loyalists with a $50 mail-in-rebate on the new slate in the US and Canada. You've got until July 31st to make good on the deal, and all it'll take is proof that you own one of the aforesaid phones. Still need help deciding? We've heard that a visit to Walmart might score you some hands-on time while you're stocking up on bulk toilet paper. Hit that source link below for the full details straight from Ruby and Co.

Kaz Hirai to become Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman, leave Andrew House with tough CEO gig

When you've had to deal out as many public apologies as Sony has had to perform over its protracted PSN hacking saga, the typical expectation is that someone somewhere will be getting fired or "reshuffled" into a new post. No firings at PlayStation headquarters, however our old pal Kaz Hirai is getting a new position as Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman, with Andrew House succeeding him in the CEO hot seat. Mr. House was previously Sony's PlayStation chief in Europe, so he's simply stepping up to be responsible for the company's global operations, but Kaz's new duties are less clearly defined. Both changes will go into effect on September 1st, a day after current Chairman Akira Sato retires, giving both Kaz and Andrew a little time to get accustomed to their new(ish) surroundings before tackling Sony's massively important PS Vita launch at the tail end of the year.

Razer trots out Transformers 3 Edition DeathAdder, Vespula and laptop case

After what we're guessing was a fruitful tie-up with Tron, the fine folks at Razer are back at a similar well; this time, the company's dishing out a limited run of gear that's been splashed with color and branding from the upcoming Michael Bay train wreck blockbuster, Transformers 3. Outside of being doused with red, yellow, silver and purple paint, the special edition DeathAdder mice ($69.99 a pop) are identical to the version already on the market. If that's just not enough, there's also a dual-sided Vespula mouse mat ($44.99) to commemorate the film, not to mention a foursome of colored laptop sleeves ($49.99 each) that'll make public your infatuation. Curiously absent? A handwritten letter of congratulations from Shia LaBeouf.
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Angry Birds lands on Windows Phone 7, ready to explore the third ecosystem

Nowadays, you can't really claim to have a mobile OS worthy of the title if your users can't run Angry Birds on it. Good news from Microsoft, then, as Windows Phone 7 can finally be admitted at the grown-up table now that it has released its port of Rovio's epic bird-launching experience. $2.99 is the Marketplace price for the full version, though there's also the option to try out the first few levels for free. Because, you know, there might still be people out there who haven't yet been exposed to the charms of this perniciously addictive little game.
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Skype gets Congressional approval, will help Representatives stay in touch with the common people

Look, Capitol Hill is a nice place to be, okay? There are interns eager to please, lobbyists keen to buy you dinner, why would you ever want to leave? Unfortunately for US Congressmen and women, the schleps who elected them insist on getting face time with their supposed representatives, which means a regular schedule of commuting getting in the way of some critically important foot massages and aromatherapy treatments. Never fear, though, Skype has come to the rescue. Microsoft's latest acquisition has scored a stamp of approval from the House of Representatives, permitting Congresspersons to use it to interact with constituents, attend virtual town hall meetings, and collaborate with other members of the House. All fun-making of lawmakers aside, this strikes us as a step in the right direction and Skype promises that it's done its homework on keeping communications secure. Let's hope so.

Google unveils Swiffy: turns high maintenance Flash animations into HTML5

Still hanging on to those sweet site loaders hoping they'd be of use again someday? Perhaps the time has come -- for some ads and animations, that is. Google Labs has cooked up Swiffy, ...

Oregon engineers roll out cheaper, less wasteful solar cells with inkjet printer

Oregon engineers roll out cheaper, less wasteful solar cells with inkjet printer It looks like the push to turn the inkjet printer into the next great manufacturer of solar cells has found another proponent in a team of engineers at Oregon State University. That group of resourceful researchers claims to have created the world's first "CIGS solar devices with inkjet printing," thus giving birth to a new production process that reduces raw material waste by 90 percent. CIGS (an acronym for copper, indium, gallium, and selenium) is a highly absorbent and efficient compound, especially suited to creating thin-film solar cells. The team has used inkjet technology to pump out a CIGS ink with an efficiency of five percent, and a potential efficiency of 12 percent; apparently enough to produce a "commercially viable solar cell." Unfortunately, the group has yet to announce plans to bring the ink to our desktop printer -- so much for that backyard solar farm. Full PR after the break.
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Office 365 ditches the beta tag, ready to take on Google Apps

Office 365We know what you're thinking -- you like the idea of Google Apps, but the Mountain View crew kind of creeps you out. Well, don't worry, Microsoft has your back. After making its beta debut last year, Office 365 is officially ready to spread its wings and offer its productivity web app wares to the business-minded masses. For $6 per-user, per-month small businesses get access to Microsoft Office Web Apps, Exchange, SharePoint and Lync video conferencing and can take advantage of the suite's integration with WP7 once Mango lands. Larger, enterprise plans start at $10 per user while adding support for desktop Office products and Lync VoIP solutions as you climb the pricing ladder. Really there's not much more to say except, check out the full PR after the break.
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Silver-ink pen freestyles handmade circuitry, paves way for flexible displays

We've never been the type to appreciate luxury pens, but if said pen was packing a silver-based ink solution that left behind a trail of conductivity... well, our pocket-protector would be very much at its disposal. Announced today, this evolution in penmanship tech has two great University of Illinois minds to thank -- Professors Jennifer Lewis and Jennifer Bernhard. That's right, the two Jennifers schemed up a desktop solution that could see flexible displays and disposable devices coming soon to your pocket (or garbage pail). By eschewing pricey inkjet printers for a low-cost hand-crafted approach, the creators hope future multimedia artists and the engineering-inclined will try their hand at innovative uses. We always knew the pen was mightier than the sword, but now it's just plain Mighty.

Facebook Likes, hires iPhone jailbreaker 'Geohot'

He's jailbroken the iPhone and been sued by Sony over alleged hacks, and now George "Geohot" Hotz is grappling with the biggest challenge of his young career: social networking. After ...

Xtreamer's Prodigy media streamer gets upgraded internals, shoots 3D video to your screen for €149

Last time we saw the Xtreamer Prodigy, it was shaping up to be quite the slick little media streamer with a Realtek 1185 chipset running at 500MHz, a plethora of supported codecs, and a fancy flash-based GUI with Android underpinnings. In the months since, the Prodigy hit the gym and now packs Realtek's 1186 silicon clocked at 750MHz and HDMI 1.4 for pumping out video in three dee. There's also Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WiFi, and support for up to a 3TB HDD in its 3.5-inch bay, so you can source your videos from home or abroad with the greatest of ease. Currently up for pre-order, this digital media distributing dandy will cost €149 (that's $213 here in the States), but won't ship until September.

MoviePass wants to be Netflix, but for theaters

Here's a scenario: you'd love to see the latest blockbuster, but aren't willing to fork out a month's wages to do so. Cue MoviePass, a startup seeking to make life cheaper (fiscally, not emotionally) for repeat cinema moviegoers. The $50 subscription allows for "unlimited" cinema screenings, provided you're okay with a few caveats: 3D or IMAX screenings incur a $3 surcharge, and you'll be limited to one flick per day. Tickets must also be purchased on a partner website, netting you a coupon code that's exchanged for stubs in-theater. Not the most elegant solution, but the reliance on paper prevents folks from re-watching or double-dipping while inside. If that sounds just a bit too jovial for you, the company's also considering a chopped-down $30 plan, which would impose a four movie limit each month. It's launching as a trial this weekend in San Francisco, so if you've nothing better to do, give it a go and let us know how it works out.

World of Warcraft Starter Edition lets you reach lvl 20 for free, Night Elf Mohawk still only available to Mr. T

If there was one thing, one thing, keeping humanity safe from total enslavement to the grind of World of Warcraft, it was the fact that you have to pay to play the game for longer than a ...

Google+ invite received, we go hands-on

It's hard to argue with Google's track record. The company has scored a hit in nearly every space in which it's dabbled: search, email, ads, office software, etc. There's always been one glaring exception to this rule, however: social networking. The company hasn't made much of a dent in a world dominated by Facebook (and, once upon a time, MySpace and Friendster). For Google+, however, the company dove in with both feet, launching a multi-faceted service that brings a lot to the table with features like Circles, Hang Out, and Huddle. Is it enough to end Google's streak of misteps in the social world? Join us as we take a dive deeper into Google's latest attempt to find out.
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RIM scraps 10-inch PlayBook to focus on QNX-powered superphone?

BlackBerry PlayBook enthusiasts will want to cuddle up with their favorite blanket and a carton of ice cream, as the 10-inch version of RIM's tablet may have been given the axe. N4BB reports that its development was recently cancelled to focus on an upcoming QNX-based "superphone," said to feature a 1.2GHz single-core processor (same as on the Bold Touch 9900) and a 4.3-inch HD-quality display. It's no secret that phones powered by this platform are on the roadmap, but scrapping a PlayBook project in its behalf could indicate the company's elevated desire to get it to market even sooner than originally planned. Anything less than two cores, however, will be an unpleasant surprise; company reps have stated that a QNX-powered handset won't hit the market without a dual-core CPU inside. The motive behind this change of heart appears to be battery life concerns with the existing PlayBook's chip. The report doesn't completely rule out the possibility of an extra core getting thrown in, but we're not holding our breath. While tragic, the scrapped product will make room for other projects -- the already-announced 7-inch LTE variant is reportedly targeted for an October launch -- but since this is all hearsay, let's hold off on the eulogy for now.

Apple Thunderbolt cable, Promise RAIDs now available to get your 10Gbps interconnect on

Apple Thunderbolt Cable
Was it really four months ago that Intel and Apple took the curtains off of Thunderbolt I/O? The MacBook Pro and iMac lines have since been refreshed with the interconnect, but early adopters haven't had much more than a fancy port to stare at. Thankfully, Apple's $49 T-bolt cable is finally available as your ticket to the 10Gbps superhighway. Apparently, it quietly hit Apple's web store this morning along with some fresh Promise Pegasus RAID enclosures ($1k for 4TB up to $2K for 12TB) to support it. All of the peripherals appear to be in stock and ready to ship; so if you've been eagerly waiting to make use of that extra port, now's your chance.

Google starts highlighting content creators, will never forget that music blog you had in college

Google has a lot of pictures of people. Google also indexes a lot of content written by people. Ponder those two facts for just a moment and you'll come upon the search giant's Next Big ...
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