ASUS Premium Boards To Bundle w InterVideo Software

ASUS Technology Pte Ltd (ASUS), the worldwide leader of motherboards,recently announced the bundling of multimedia software Media Launcher fromcooperative partner, digital media leader InterVideo, along with the ASUSpremium motherboard series.

This strategic collaboration not only further the cooperative effort, but alsorepresents the conviction from ASUS in pursuing total multimedia entertainmentsolution for users, while providing more value-added services for end users tofully enjoy the advantages brought forth in the age of multimedia.

For overclocking aficionados, the ASUS premium motherboards have alwaysdemonstrated competent prowess in meeting technological and performancerequirements. This is even more evidently seen through numerous innovations fromASUS such as 8-phase power design, Stack Cool 2, Heat pipe, etc. which arewidely acclaimed by users all over.

Nevertheless, ASUS not only excels in hardware designs, but also bundle softwarewith hope in offering best overall user experience. The InterVideo MediaLauncher for instance, is a multimedia editing, monitoring, and managingsoftware, which includes WinDVD Creator2, PhotoAlbum, Disc Master2.5, DVDCopy2.5, and recently published MediaOne Gallery. For users with a wealth ofphotos, clips, music files, or even assorted documents, this is certainly adream come true. Furthermore, for users who made the purchase along with bundledMedia Launcher, upgrade to the advanced, feature-ridden MediaOne Gallery isavailable for a nominal fee that is lower than the retail price of USD$ 50.

The offer is expected to begin with the launch of A8R32-MVP in March, andcarries over to existing models such as, A8N32-SLI Deluxe, P5N32-SLI Deluxe,P5WD2 PREMIUM, P5LD2 DELUXE, A8N-SLI PREMIUM, P5WDG2-WS, and etc. The MediaLauncher will also be bundled along with future premium motherboard series toprovide users with multimedia total solution and valuable entertainmentexperience.

With the coming age of digital home, how to seamlessly integrate PC into homecenter will depend on software interface design, as a true testament of PCmaker’s familiarity to home electronics. ASUS will dedicate the hardware designand production expertise, combined with multimedia talents from InterVideo, toprevail in the upcoming rise of digital home market.

The ASUS motherboards are now available worldwide. For more information, pleasevisit the company homepage at www.asus.com

Wakfu affiche enfin une date de sortie

Voilà maintenant près de trois ans que Wakfu est en phase de bêta, et plus de six ans qu'il a été annoncé. Aujourd'hui, l'attente de centaines de milliers de joueurs prend fin avec l'annonce de la date de sortie du nouveau jeu d'Ankama.

Nous pourrons donc profiter du MMO 100% français dans sa version finale dès le 29 février prochain. Rappelons que Wakfu reprend beaucoup de mécaniques de Dofus (auquel il fait suite), et nous propose un monde entièrement gouverné par les joueurs, que ce soit au niveau politique ou sur le plan écologique. Une idée très ambitieuse qui a eu le temps de se peaufiner sur la bêta. On attend de voir ce que donnera le jeu dans cette nouvelle version, et s'il rencontrera le même succès que son prédécesseur.

ASUS M4A89 Xtreme Design Motherboards Garner Global Accolades

Exclusive Core Unlocker Gains Media Attention with its Superb PerformanceASUS has garnered worldwide media distinction with its leading Core Unlocker innovation-the first intuitive solution for unlocking latent cores on AMD CPUs-that is currently available on ASUS M4A89 Series and AMD 800 chipset-based motherboards. Several premiere media organizations predict Core Unlocker will become a technology standard because of the industry-changing performance it delivers.



Core Unlocker was developed by ASUS to easily activate latent AMD CPU cores. Without requiring any additional upgrades, ASUS motherboards with Core Unlocker deliver more performance by unlocking extra CPU cores-providing more value. To experience an instant processing boost, users simply turn on a switch on the new M4A89 Series or intuitively press the number "4" key during the power-on self test in existing M4 series motherboards.



Worldwide Recognition by Top Media ProfessionalsThe M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 has been quoted as delivering impeccable performance by various global media organizations, garnering an impressive cache of awards and accolades. Joe Hsieh, general manager of ASUS Motherboard Business Unit, said, "Whether users are looking for extreme performance, exceptional value, or an affordable platform, the M4A89 Series will be able to meet all their needs."
Superb Performance with Next-generation Features: M4A89 SeriesBased on the latest AMD 890 chipset and Socket AM3, the M4A89 Series will support upcoming 6-core Phenom II(tm) processors to provide more performance and multi-tasking capabilities. It also accommodates ATI CrossFireX(tm) and NVIDIA Hybrid CrossFireX(tm) technology for stunning graphics rendering. In addition, the M4A89 Series includes the latest USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps transmission technology for accelerated data transfers and rapid reading and writing of data from the hard disk drive.
M4A89GTD PRO/USB3SpecificationsModel:M4A89GTD PRO/USB3CPU Socket:AMD Socket AM3 ; Phenom(tm)II/Athlon(tm)II/Sempron(tm) 100 Series ProcessorsChipset:AMD 890GX/SB850Memory:4x DIMM, Max. 16 GB, DDR3 2000 (O.C.)/1333/1066 ECCPower Phase:8+2 phasePCIe x16 Slots:2(@dual x8 speed)Multi-GPU:Hybrid CrossFireX(tm) support,ATI CrossFireX(tm) supportGbit LAN:1xAudio:8-ch HDStorage:1x Ultra DMA 100/66/33,6x Serial ATA 6Gb/s,1x Power eSATA 3Gb/s portUSB:2x USB 3.0,14 x USB 2.0

AMD Worldwide Distributors Conference

AMD announced today that it is holding its first annual WorldwideDistributors Conference in Singapore on March 4, 2004. Previously, AMD officesconducted their distributor conferences in their respective geographicalregions. In choosing a venue for AMD's first global meeting, Singapore's statusas a leading technology research and development hub, its importance in theworldwide electronics, supply chain and logistics industry, and its position asan international and cultural crossroads made it the ideal location for theConference.

The AMD Worldwide Distributors Conference 2004 will see the participation ofover 70 industry top executives from more than 30 companies. There will be over40 AMD executives attending the Conference, including members of AMD executivemanagement. Leading the group is Henri Richard, Senior Vice President, WorldwideSales and Marketing, who is here to forge stronger ties with AMD's globalpartners.

"AMD enjoys a truly global customer base," said Henri Richard, Senior VicePresident, Worldwide Sales and Marketing, AMD. "With more than seventy percentof our revenues from international markets, AMD understands the importance ofdeveloping partnerships with distributors across the world. Our first WorldwideDistributors Conference is being held in Singapore in recognition of the risingimportance of the Asia Pacific market and the role that Singapore plays in ourglobal manufacturing operations."

"Our distributors are our business partners", said Pierre-Yves Ferrard, VicePresident, Worldwide Distribution Sales, AMD. "We strive to develop a deepercollaboration that really works for our partners. This means providing the rightresources to support their efforts and helping them succeed in a verychallenging marketplace."

The theme of the conference is "Deliver on the Promise to Customers" and theevent will allow AMD to share its vision and channel strategy, and discuss waysto help drive channel partner profitability. The event will provide anopportunity for AMD and its partners to discuss plans to address the issues andtrends that will drive mutual success.

Miner Wars 2081 est de sortie

Il aura pris son temps mais c'est fait ! Miner Wars 2081 est enfin disponible sur les plateformes de téléchargement (Steam notamment).

Mais qu'est-ce que Miner Wars 2081 ? Il s'agit d'un jeu de vaisseaux spatiaux plutôt original. L'action, vous l'aurez deviné, se déroule en 2081 et le joueur est aux commandes d'un vaisseau de minage. Le jeu est qualifié de 6DOF (six degrees of freedom soit six degrés de liberté). Ce terme barbare englobe l'action, la survie, l'espace, le shooter et la simulation (on cherche encore le sixième degré...). Le jeu offre un monde ouvert dans le vide intersidéral que les joueurs peuvent malmener à loisir puisque tous les éléments présents sont destructibles.

Si vous hésitez ou êtes simplement curieux de voir ce que ça donne, une démo jouable est maintenant disponible au téléchargement derrière ce lien.

· Télécharger la démo jouable de Miner Wars 2081 (886Mo)
· Forum Miner Wars 2081

Assassin's Creed III to feature four-player online co-op mode

Assassins Creed III, Ubisofts upcoming back-stabbing adventure, will include an online co-operation mode for up to four people.

The multiplayer mode will allow between two and four people to get in on the Assassins versus Knights Templar action, with players able to find team-mates from across the world.The game will also feature the other multiplayer modes that came with Assassins Creed: Brotherhood, such as free-for-all and team, with various maps and mission objectives. This should add some longevity to the game once the single-player gameplay is fully experienced.Ubisoft is also promising that the use of its new AnvilNext game engine will make Assassins Creed III look like a next-generation game on existing consoles. While this is obviously a marketing ploy, the studio is promising some big improvements to the graphics, including more realistic facial animations, in addition to better artificial intelligence.The launch trailer for the game shows the American Revolution setting, revealed by Ubisoft last week, along with a new main character, Connor, who is half Native American, making for an interesting divergence from the settings and characters of the previous installments. It also demonstrates some of the cool new moves we can expect.Source: CVG

Asus' U30s second generation Core i notebook gets reviewed early

Notebooks with Intels second generation Core i processors are slowly starting to trickle out into the market, but so far weve only seen 14 and 15.6-inch models from Asus. However, an early review of one of its upcoming 13.3-inch models the US30s which is an interesting mix of portability and features. This is likely to be Asus budget 13.3-inch model judging by the features, so we can expect a higher-end version to be announced at some stage as well.

The U30s should be a direct replacement of the current U30Jc model, but with several key feature changes beyond the CPU and chipset. The chassis actually appears to be mostly identical to the older U30Jc which means that the U30s still packs an optical drive, something that results in it being a rather chubby 13-incher. The model on review came with a Core i5-2410M processor; although wed expect it to be available will several CPU options.

The U30Jc featured Nvidias now almost antiquated GeForce 310M graphics and this is where the U30s really improves on things with a GeForce 520M. In as much as this is an entry level solution from Nvidia, it should still be a huge step up from the old 310M. Asus has also built in support for Nvidias Optimus graphics switching technology which switches over to the Intel HD graphics when the additional power of the GPU isnt needed.

What Asus missed to add was USB 3.0 support which is a real shame, as the U30s doesnt feature an eSATA port so the fastest interface for peripherals is USB 2.0. Bluetooth 3.0 has been thrown in for good measure though, although this is becoming an increasingly common feature on notebooks, but doesnt add much in terms of actually being useful as there are still very few devices that utilizes Bluetooth 3.0.

Battery life is said to be good for up to 6h of light usage and about 4.5h watching HD videos on it. Not amazing by todays standards, but still decent enough battery life for whats expected to be Asus most affordable 13.3-inch model, at least for now. Pricing is estimated to end up sub €1000 (S$1770) including tax fully kitted out with 8GB of RAM and a 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive. In will be interesting to see what else Asus has coming over the next few months as the U30s is really just an upgrade of an old model, but were hearing that we can expect some interesting announcements at Computex in May.

Source: Netbooklive