ASUS, a company that, as of late, has been concentrating mostly on its moneymaking product lineup with the Eee family, has just remembered that it is also among the world's leading motherboard makers. This is precisely why the Taiwanese manufacturer has decided to roll out two new products, with each being designed for a different market segment. The just introduced P5N7A-VM and P6T WS Professional motherboards have been built to deliver support for Intel's current and upcoming processor lineups, by integrating the new GeForce 9300 + nForce 730i chipset combo and the Intel X58 next-generation chipset.
These motherboards are generations apart one from the other in terms of features and performance potential. While the P5N7A-VM has been designed with an integrated graphics processor, the X58-based P6T WS Professional motherboard is set to provide support for Intel's upcoming Core i7 processors for a high level of computing power in a workstation computer system.In terms of specifications, the new GeForce 9300-enabled motherboard from ASUS is rather a standard implementation of NVIDIA's latest Intel-supporting chipset. The board is equipped with four memory DIMMs that can support a maximum of 16GB of DDR2 memory. There's only a single PCI-Express X16 graphics slot with support for Hybrid SLI setup. Users will be able to benefit from up to five SATA 3GB/s for storage, one eSATA port with support for RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and JBOD, and an UltraDMA 133 connector. The backpanel features six USB 2.0 ports, out of a total of twelve that are available through the board's chipset.Things aren't as specific where the X58-based mobo is concerned, because Intel is yet to officially unveil all the details of its next-generation desktop platform. However, from what we can see in the product's image, users will get the usual six memory DIMMs with support for triple-channel DDR3 memory, along with two PCI-Express X16 graphics slots with support for both SLI and CrossFireX technologies, two PCI-X slots and one PCI.
Both boards also feature ASUS' proprietary ExpressGate utility, which allows users to boot into a non-Windows OS in just 5 seconds. This will make it possible for them to go online and benefit from a suite of entertainment options without having to wait for a full Windows boot.

Apple today officially unveiled an all new MacBook family that feature all-metal enclosures and pro-performance with prices starting from $700.

The new MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro both have a precision unibody enclosure crafted from a single block of aluminum, resulting in thinner and more durable designs. In addition, every member of the new MacBook family includes NVIDIA graphics, instant-on LED-backlit displays and new large glass Multi-Touch trackpads that offer almost 40 percent more tracking area and support more Multi-Touch gestures.

"Apple has invented a whole new way of building notebooks from a single block of aluminum. And, just as important, they are the industry?s greenest notebooks," said Steve Jobs, Apple?s CEO. "The new MacBooks offer incredible features our users will love ?like their stunning all-metal design, great 3D graphics and LED backlit displays?at prices up to $700 less than before."

The new MacBook line features the new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, a new 3D integrated graphics processor that features 16 parallel processing cores and delivers up to five times the 3D graphics performance as previous MacBook and MacBook Air designs.The new smooth glass Multi-Touch trackpad on the MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro gives users almost 40 percent more tracking area than before, making it even easier to use Multi-Touch gestures like pinch, rotate and swipe. New gestures allow users to activate Expos? or switch between applications at the touch of a fingertip. The entire trackpad surface is also a button, allowing users to both track and click virtually anywhere on the trackpad. Users can easily enable multiple virtual buttons in software, such as right-clicking.

Every member of the new MacBook family features an LED-backlit display for instant-on performance that uses up to 30 percent less energy than its predecessor and eliminates the mercury found in industry standard fluorescent tube backlights. Every display in the new MacBook line uses completely arsenic-free glass.

The new MacBook delivers the top three features that MacBook customers have told us they want in a new MacBook?an all metal enclosure, high performance 3D graphics and LED-backlit displays?at an entry price that is $700 less than the $1,999 price of the MacBook Pro. At only 0.95-inches thin and weighing just 4.5 pounds, the new 13-inch full featured aluminum MacBook is a compact and durable notebook starting at just $1,299. Featuring the new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor, MacBook delivers outstanding 3D game play on a consumer notebook, with up to five times faster graphics performance than the previous generation. The new MacBook is available in two models: the 2.0 GHz MacBook with a 160GB 5400 rpm hard drive, and the 2.4 GHz MacBook with a 250GB 5400 rpm hard drive and a backlit keyboard.

The new 15-inch MacBook Pro at only 0.95-inches thin and weighing just 5.5 pounds. Starting at $1,999, the MacBook Pro uses the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors available, running up to 2.8 GHz, and a new graphics architecture that allows users to switch between the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor for better battery life and the powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics processor for higher performance. The new MacBook Pro is available in two models: a 2.4 GHz model with a 250GB 5400 rpm hard drive and a 2.53 GHz model with a 320GB 5400 rpm hard drive.

Today Apple also updated MacBook Air and the 17-inch MacBook Pro. MacBook Air, measuring only 0.16-inches at its thinnest point, 0.76-inches at its maximum height and weighing just three pounds, now includes new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and a faster architecture. Starting at $1,799, MacBook Air is available with a 120GB 4200 rpm hard drive, a 50 percent increase from the previous generation, or a new 128GB solid state drive. The updated 17-inch MacBook Pro keeps its original aluminum design, and now comes standard with a high resolution 1920 x 1200 LED-backlit display and a larger 320GB hard drive or an optional 128GB solid state drive.

The new MacBook, 15-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air include a next generation Mini DisplayPort to connect with the new Apple LED Cinema Display featuring a 24-inch LED-backlit widescreen display with a built-in iSight video camera, mic and speakers in a thin aluminum and glass enclosure. Part of the next-generation DisplayPort industry standard, the new Mini DisplayPort delivers a pure digital signal that can drive up to a 30-inch widescreen display. The Mini DisplayPort is ultra-compact at just 10 percent the size of a full DVI connector, perfect for the sleek design of the new MacBook family. Adapters are available for using the MacBook?s Mini DisplayPort with older generation VGA, DVI/HDMI and Dual-Link DVI displays.

The new MacBook, 15-inch MacBook Pro and 17-inch MacBook Pro are now shipping and the new MacBook Air will be available in early November through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. An updated 13-inch white MacBook featuring 2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors, a 120GB 5400 rpm hard drive and a slot-load 8X SuperDrive is now available for $999 (US).

For more information visit Apple

Acer announces its new Veriton S461 series of business desktop PCs featuring more security and manageability. The S461 series claims to provide all the essentials required by the demanding business environments.

The Veriton S461 features streamlined form factor design, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, high-capacity hard disk drive and dual-channel DDR2 memory, providing the multi-tasking business users with superior performance.The Acer Veriton S461 provides hardware manageability and security with its Acer LANScope 3.5 application which gives complete blueprint of desktop hardware and software. Combining the LANScope application with Intel vPro processor technology results into more efficient and easier system administration. It allows security updates even if the PC is powered off, thus reduces vulnerability and deployment time of the system network.

The Veriton S461 series runs on Windows Vista Business and also features Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor E2200, an integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100, 2GB DDR2 Memory, 4 memory slots up to 8GB, 80GB SATA II Hard Drive, DVD-Dual drive, one PCI Express x16, one PCI Expressx1, PS2 keyboard and USB optical mouse.

The Veriton S461 desktop PC is available in North America through Acer authorized resellers and the starting pricing is US$549 (approx Rs.23,440). It comes with a three year limited warranty with limited on-site service.