iTwin. The cable less cable

iTwin takes the idea of remote connection and transfers it to hardware. A simple two-part USB drive allows one user to plug it in to one computer and then split off and hand the second part to someone else with another computer. They will then have instant access to the other computer. It’s as if there was a hard line cable connecting two computers anywhere in the world but its cable less. The idea came to the team base in Singapore. They realized that remote access to a second computer was simply too complicated for most users. Everyone gets how to use USB drives, but those simply either don’t have enough storage to share an entire other computer’s hard drive, or are not secure enough (you could lose the drive, etc). So iTwin combines the two technologies.

Apple Mac OS X 10.6: Snow Leopard is coming!

Apple's new operating system dubbed Snow Leopard or Mac OS X 10.6 is coming soon, scheduled to release on the 28th August 2009 according to Apple's website. Unlike the previous Mac OS releases, 10.6 will have incremental upgrades rather than offering a lot of new features and will also be entirely Intel based meaning it will not work on previous PowerPC machines. Here are some key highlights of the new OS as found on their website:

• Solely Intel based
• Smaller footprint
• Faster, more reliable installation of Snow Leopard
• Quick Time X
• Innovative Chinese character input using the Multi-Touch trackpad
• Maximises processing of multicore processors
  
• OpenCL (Harnessing the graphic processor for general-purpose computing)
• Microsoft Exchange support
• and more, for more details on features of the new Mac OS please visit Apple's website

Users of Leopard or 10.5 will be able to upgrade their system to 10.6 for $29 USD after the 28th August or opt for pre order and expect to upgrade on the day when the product is officially launched. Do take note that users not residing in the US will have to check with their local stores or apple online stores for the cost of upgrading their system in their respective currency. Malaysians can upgrade to Snow Leopard for 109MYR for single user or 189MYR for family pack and pre order is available from the Apple online store. For those that are interested in getting the Mac Box Set which includes Mac OS 10.6, iWork'09 and iLife'09, please click here for more details. As usual Apple will allow early adopters that purchased their system that does not comes with Mac OS 10.6 to get Snow Leopard at a cheaper price however it is only limited to purchases made on or after June 8 2009 and is limited until December 26 2009. Please visit Apple's up-to-date program for further details and terms and conditions

Atlona AT-DP200

Atlona AT-DP200, a DVI to Mini displayport converter works with all Macs and PCs with DVI output and supports up to 1920×1200 resolution. The converter can even maintain the HDCP compatibility. The AT-DP200 allows users to extend their desktop to a 24'' or similar displayport display. Users can use the connected monitor as their main display or extend their desktop using it in addition to their laptop's screen

Atlona AT-DP200 has a DVI female input connector and a Mini DisplayPort connector. It is priced around RM500.

Microsoft Windows 7 Officially Hits RTM

Microsoft announced the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, the next versions of its desktop and server operating systems. With the completion of this development phase, industry partners are readying products in time for the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 worldwide general launches. Windows 7 will be generally available to customers around the world on October 22, and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be generally available on or before that date. As always, current customers of the Windows Volume Licensing program, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers and TechNet subscribers will be among the first to get customer access to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.