ThinkCentre A62 - Desktop PC "Hijau" dari Lenovo

Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Mengikuti trend perangkat komputer yang berhaluan hijau atau ramah lingkungan, Lenovo melepaskan seri desktop terbaru mereka ThinkCentre A62 yang difokuskan pada penghematan daya serta penggunaan resource yang efisien.

Perangkat komputer yang berwawasan kehijauan dalam artian sebuah perangkat elektronik yang dapat menghemat energi menjadi salah satu feature yang banyak diusung vendor belakangan ini. Lenovo sebagai salah satu pemain di dunia desktop PC turut serta dengan mengeluarkan ThinkCentre A62 dengan feature ramah lingkungan seperti penghematan energi hingga 40% (dibanding seri ThinkCentre sebelumnya, E61). Efisiensi ini menurut klaim Lenovo di dapat melalui kinerja prosesor Athlon 2560e.

Masih mengenai tema hijau dalam desktop Lenovo, ThinkCentre A62 juga dilengkapi dengan sertifikasi GREENGUARD dan EPEA T Gold, serta memenuhi rating ENERGY STAR 4.0.

Terlepas dari feature penghematan energy, ThinkCentre A62 juga dilengkapi dengan feature seperti Dash 1.1 yang akan membantu pengelolaan desktop secara remote. Ditambah dengan Express Repair sebuah sistem TVT yang diklaim dapat membantu pengguna menyelesaikan permasalahan yang terjadi di PC dengan cepat tanpa mengganggu data dan aplikasi.

ThinkCentre A62 difokuskan bagi lingkungan korporat, hal ini terlihat dari feature seperti Lenovo ThinkVantage, suatu tool produktivitas komprehensif yang diklaim dapat menurunkan TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) di lingkungan korporat. Lenovo juga memberikan jaminan kestabilan sistem selama 15 bulan kepada lingkungan bisnis dengan mengimplementasikan prosesor AMD yang diklaim stabil.

“Divisi TI, terutama dalam dunia bisnis, tidak menyukai perubahan,” kata Sandy Lumy. Country Manager, Relational Business Lenovo Indonesia seperti dikutip dari press release Lenovo. “ThinkCentre A62 terbaru dibangun untuk menghadirkan PC dengan siklus hidup yang lebih panjang bagi para pelanggan bisnis. Produk ini menggabungkan kinerja, kemampuan pengelolaan dan tanggung jawab terhadap lingkungan terbaik dengan mesin yang bernilai tinggi.” tambahnya.

ThinkCentre A62, dijual dengan harga mulai $398, dan tersedia mulai 5 September 2008 melalui Lenovo Business Partners


Source: Press Release Lenovo
Editor: Patrick Gerard van Diest

Windows 7 May Add Spice to CES

Agam Shah, IDG News Service
Monday, December 29, 2008 6:20 PM PST

Software could overshadow gadgets at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show, with Microsoft expected to shed light on its upcoming Windows 7 OS.

The financial meltdown may also be lingering topic as tech vendors gather to flaunt products at the show in Las Vegas, hoping to show enough glitter and sparkle to bring them better fortunes in the new year. Attendees will pour over the latest technologies, including OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TVs, netbooks, smartphones, media players, and other entertainment devices.

Audiences may miss the show's perennial star, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, who gave his final CES speech earlier this year. Instead, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will kick off the event with a keynote address on Jan. 7. He's expected to give a peek at Microsoft's Windows 7 OS, which many hope will be zippier and less resource hungry than Windows Vista.

Microsoft expects to make "significant" Windows 7 announcements, including a possible release of Windows 7 beta software. A "sneak peek" at future Microsoft Office software may also be offered.

A look at Microsoft's future software could add pep to what otherwise might turn out to be a subdued show. Attendance at CES 2009 is expected to drop as consumers and technology vendors cut spending amid the economic crisis. Hotels, which in previous years were often packed months before the show, have been offering discounted rates to fill rooms.

The Consumer Electronics Association insists that pre-registration has been strong and says it's too early to call it a quiet show. Organizers expect 130,000 attendees, said CEA spokeswoman Tara Dunion.

However, that would still be a significant drop from 144,000 attendees at CES 2007.

The prospect of a reduced audience hasn't fazed companies like Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Dell from showing products in or around the show. Overall, 2,700 companies will be present at various locations, including the Las Vegas Convention Center and surrounding resorts and hotels.

A standout at CES could be netbooks, small laptops used for basic applications such as Web surfing and e-mail. Intel defined the category with its Atom processor, which was then solidified by the success of Asus' Eee PC. The show could see an evolution of netbooks, with features like touch screens attracting interest. Asus will likely show a touch-screen netbook, and Intel is showing off its Convertible Classmate, a netbook with a touch screen that swivels.

Via's elusive Nano processor may also make an appearance. Rumor has it that Samsung will show its NC20 laptop based on a Nano processor.

Some of Intel's competitors, meanwhile, may try to redefine how people think of netbooks by pushing more advanced capabilities. Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia may talk more about boosting graphics on netbooks. Freescale and Qualcomm could demonstrate netbooks with more communication-savvy chips.

Mundane laptops will also get a makeover. Expect plenty of buzz around a new Sony Vaio laptop, which the company says is "revolutionary" and will change the way users think about the products. It remains unclear if the tiny laptop is a netbook or a full-featured ultraportable. For power users, Lenovo is expected to show the ThinkPad W700DS laptop with two screens -- a first in laptops -- for people who want to perform multiple tasks at the same time.

Rounding off mobility will be smartphones with new operating systems, touchscreens and 3G connectivity. Many mobile phone companies are expected to adopt Google's Android platform, including Samsung, which may show an Android phone at CES.

Struggling smartphone maker Palm is holding a big event to announce its new Linux-based OS code-named Nova, along with new devices. The company hopes to use CES as a springboard to regain prominence in the smart phone market, where it has been eclipsed by Research In Motion and Apple.

Like past CES shows, televisions will grab the imagination of visitors as vendors fight to remain the centerpiece for home entertainment. CES 2008 saw the emergence of OLED screens with prototypes from Sony and Samsung, and CES 2009 could see further progress. In May, Sony CEO Howard Stringer said a 27-inch OLED TV would be coming, which could launch at the show.

Samsung showed a 40-inch OLED high-definition TV prototype in October, and larger screens may be on tap.

Given TV's ease of use, some may prefer these devices for Internet access in the future. With that in mind, some companies are working to merge the Internet and TV. Silicon Image will show its Allio high-definition LCD TV with a built-in PC so users can simultaneously use the TV and Internet through a split screen.

Intel will show prototype products for running mini-applications to complement TV viewing with information from the Internet. For example, widgets will allow TV watchers to talk to friends in real time or buy products advertised on TV from online stores.

The Internet also continues to shape how entertainment is delivered. Streaming media will battle Blu-ray DVD as the way to deliver entertainment and movies to end users. Having conquered HD DVD, Blu-ray still has a hurdle to pass with most players priced above US$150, so expect prices to drop at CES.

Some kinks also need to be worked out to better stream media between entertainment devices, and expect to see some improvements at the show. Tzero will demonstrate devices for wireless HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) multimedia streaming between devices using ultrawideband (UWB) wireless technology. Tzero's technology enables uninterrupted wireless delivery of high-definition video and surround sound at a rate of 480Mbps over 20 meters, the company claims.

Users may also see progress in data transfers between PCs and devices like digital cameras with improvements in the USB 3.0 specification.

Overall, many other gadgets will be on display to enjoy over the show's four days. CES may end up being more relaxing and intimate with the floors less crowded.

source : www.pcworld.com

Migrate Data From PC to Mac

Christopher Breen, Macworld.com

Reader Steve Negrete is about to undertake a delicate operation. He writes:

My parents have had a Windows PC for many years but I've finally talked them into buying a Mac. The problem is they expect me to move their data from the old PC to the Mac. Do you have any recommendations for the best way to do this?

It just so happens that I performed this very task for my aunt just last weekend. And performed it successfully, I might add.

There are many ways to do this--some free (depending on the gear you own) and others not quite as free.

If you have a spare external hard drive with a USB interface you can use it to copy your parents' files from the PC to the Mac. First, format the drive so that it can be used on the PC. To do so, plug the hard drive into the Mac, launch Disk Utility (found in the Utilities folder), select the drive in the left pane of the Disk Utility window, click the Erase tab, from the Volume Format pop-up menu choose MS-DOS (FAT), and click Erase. (And yes, this will erase all the data on the drive so be sure there's nothing on that drive you want.) With the drive formatted for Windows, unmount it from the Mac, plug it into the PC, and copy the files you want from the PC to the hard drive. Unmount, drag it back to the Mac, plug it in, copy from hard drive to Mac, done.

This is a fine solution if you know where to find all the files on the PC and have the patience to archive email message, export bookmarks (termed Favorites in Internet Explorer), and sift through this corner or that to ensure you have all the files you need before setting fire to the PC.

If you're without an external drive you can create a quick-and-dirty network between the two computers by stringing an Ethernet cable between them, switching on file sharing, and copying the files from Computer A to Computer B. Doing so requires that you know something about file sharing on both platforms (online help on each computer will explain how) and, again, you'll need to know where to find the files you're after.

A less-free-to-the-tune-of-US$50 option is Belkin's $50 Switch-To-Mac Cable. This is the solution I used because I had one and wanted to see how it worked. I'm pleased to say that it was a breeze. The gist is this:

You install Belkin's software on both the Mac and Windows PC (OS X 10.4 or later and Windows XP or Vista required). For the most part, the Mac software does the work. There you tell the application the kinds of files you want to copy from the PC to the Mac. You can choose music, photos, email, contacts, calendars, documents, wallpaper, and Internet Explorer Favorites as well as the contents of the PC's Desktop and the contents of a folder you've chosen. Once you've set up the software, string the included cable between USB ports on each computer (transfer will happen more quickly over a USB 2.0 port on each computer but it works with USB 1.0 on a PC too). Then tell the Mac version of the application to work its magic and it does so by copying files from the PC to the Mac.

It doesn't just fling files into a folder on your Mac but rather files them where they should be. Your Desktop files, for example, appear on the Desktop of your Mac in a folder labeled with the name of your PC. Music files are moved directly into iTunes. Photos are copied to iPhoto. Favorites become bookmarks in Safari. Outlook mail is shuttled to Apple's Mail just as Outlook's calendars appear in iCal and addresses show up in Address Book.

For a one-time job I can see how this $50 solution might be a little off-putting but, Great Googly Moogly, it is slick and easy. Were I required to do this thing more than a handful of times, I'd consider it money well spent. (Or I might just demand the necessary $50 from a relative or friend who requested my help for this kind of operation.)

Source : www.pcworld.com

Report: Apple's Desktop Sales Down, but Notebooks up

Jim Dalrymple, Macworld.com

Although Apple's computer sales over the past few quarters have been stellar, new research shows that the company's desktop sales numbers took a sharp downturn during the month of November--however, the company's notebooks sales have continued to rise.

According to a new report from market research firm NPD Group, industry desktop sales as a whole in November were down 20 percent from the previous month, representing a decline of 15 percent for Windows-based PCs and a 38 percent decline for Macs. At the same time, Apple's notebooks outpaced the competition with a 22 percent increase, compared to a 15 percent increase for Windows-based PCs (overall notebook sales for the month were up 16.6 percent). Apple's October introduction of new MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks models probably contributed to Apple's laptop rise.

While the numbers clearly show a decrease in sales, Stephen Baker, vice president of Industry Analysis at NPD, said that because Apple doesn't offer a lot of Black Friday promotions, the company was disproportionately affected by the dates of the biggest shopping period of the year in 2008. Last year, Apple enjoyed November sales one week after Black Friday. However, in 2008, Black Friday fell at the end of the month, giving Apple only two days of sales. This year, those sales will be counted for December.

In terms of units, Apple's sold 15.8 percent of the desktop computers purchased in November, down from 17.4 percent in October 2008 and 20.6 percent in November 2007. The company's notebook sales accounted for 14.8 percent of laptop purchases, down from 20.9 percent in October, but up from its 14.1 percent number in November 2007. Overall, Apple's sold 15 percent of all computers in November, down from 20 percent in October and 16 percent in November 2007.

Although all companies are feeling the effects of the current economic downturn, Baker feels that Apple should be "appropriately concerned" about its sales numbers and make smart decisions with its product line and pricing. "The iMac is getting old and is need of a refresh," he said. "They also need to rethink the pricing in this economy. The silver lining is that MacBooks still outgrew the market by almost 50 percent."

Source : www.pcworld.com

Falling pound drives massive increase in hardware prices

By :Ian Grant

CIOs are squeezing their existing and future suppliers for more value as the devaluation of the pound against the US dollar and the euro lead to massive increases for computer hardware.

Anson Chuang is CIO for the specialist IT procurement services provider buyingTeam, which negotiates IT supply contracts for firms such as British Airways, the British Council, Channel 4 and Universal Music. He said the devaluation has not affected software and outsourcing contracts yet, but US-based suppliers were putting through massive price hikes, blaming currency values for 25% of the difference from a year ago.

According to the X-Rates.com foreign exchange website, it cost Brits 50.76p to buy a dollar and 74.71p to buy a euro in January. Today the figures were 88.42p and 66.89p respectively. This reflects falls of 32% against the dollar and 18% against the euro.

Charles Ward, chief operating officer for Intellect, the suppliers trade body, said the devaluation would result in winners and losers. "On the negative side we might see an increase in the price of IT equipment, if suppliers chose to pass on the increased costs of importing," he said. It was unlikely to affect prices at the low-end of the market, he said.

David Roberts, chief executive of the Corporate IT Forum, said the very large firms' prices would be affected by their hedging strategy. "If they are trading in sterling they will have to pay more, but if they are in receipt of dollars, they may have more flexibility," he said.

Alan Bowling, chairman of the SAP Users Group, which this year faced down attempts by the software firm to raise maintenance pricessaid IT departments had to check their services contracts with their suppliers. "A home-based contract in UK currency will likely be unaffected immediately by any currency fluctuations," he said.

Chuang said he was seeing more suppliers with long term deals to supply consumables such as desktop computers defaulting on their contracts. "It depends on the penalty clauses in the contract, but if they cannot supply (at the agreed price), they will not supply," he said.

To protect themselves against currency fluctuations suppliers were slashing the period for which their quotations were valid. "The quotes were usually valid for 60 to 90 days," Chuang said, "now it is from 14 to 45 or 50 days."

CIOs are fighting back by extending the refresh rate of their hardware from the usual three years to four, said Chuang. They were not cutting their gross budgets, but they were asking for a lot more for their money, he added.

His firm was receiving more enquiries than usual, he said. "CIOs were quite protective about their internal procurement staff, but they are now turning to anyone who can help them get dramatic increases in value," he said.

So far the outsourcing sector appeared unaffected by the devaluation. This was partly because many of them are done in local currency, with the risk left with the supplier's internal price transfer system.

IT functions outsourced abroad may face greater economic risk from currency fluctuations, said SAP Users Group's Bowling. "These contracts can be similar to a fixed-price mortgage, as depending on the volatility of the market, users could be in for a nasty shock at the end of contract term" he said. "The same, of course, applies to future purchases of software and hardware from outside of the UK."

Intellect's Ward expected the costs of new off-shore contracts and renewals to rise, but said long term contracting may negate this. "Conversely, near-sourcing will become a more attractive option, although we are yet to see evidence of this on a large scale," he said.

Source : www.computerweekly.com

Acer Veriton L460

by Jon L. Jacobi

Tiny but powerful, this PC is perfect for small workspaces and kiosks.

About the size of a hardcover novel, the Acer Veritron L460 is a great option if you want to fit a value PC into a tight space (such as behind a desk, under a table, or in a kiosk). It may be small, but this Acer's case is tightly packed with an Intel E4700 CPU, 2GB of 337-MHz DDR2 memory, and a 3.5-inch 160GB (7200-rpm) hard drive.

Despite having all of those components jammed into it, the L460 ran amazingly cool to the touch-an important but often overlooked factor to consider when choosing a PC for tight quarters. The 3.5-inch hard drive surprised us a bit: Though 3.5-inchers are usually faster, they also emit more heat and leave less room for an additional drive than less power-hungry 2.5-inch models.

The L460's styling is nice though hardly spectacular. We appreciated the compact desktop's ability to stand upright or on its side when the included base is screwed on. The base is wide enough to allay any concern that a user might inadvertently tip the unit over; you can keep the L460 on top of your desk to access the DVD-writer slot or USB ports without fear of toppling it.

Speaking of USB ports, we would have liked to see a few more. Two in front and four in back may sound adequate, but you lose two of them right off the bat to the bundled keyboard and mouse. Four ports aren't enough when the only available way to expand the unit's capabilities and storage is via USB. That said, you can overcome the shortage of USB ports by using an external hub.

The system's score of 94 on our WorldBench 6 test suite means that the L460 should have no trouble handling the business chores it's designed to perform. On the other hand, it's not a viable option for gamers; in fact, its gaming frame rates are amongst the lowest we've seen recently, and the unit has no room to hold a graphics card if you're tempted to upgrade. Despite the system's incapacity to deal with action games, its bundled Acer X193W 19-inch wide-screen display had a very nice picture.

We heartily recommend the L460 for any space-challenged environment, especially if its primary duty will be to perform business tasks. It's also a great fit for users who simply don't want a large, ungainly PC hanging around

Source : www.pcworld.com

Polywell Poly I7050

by Richard Jantz

Delivers solid performance for basic tasks but not for fast-action games, and its compact case limits expansion.

If you want a space-saving value desktop computer that's powerful enough for general applications, Web surfing, and other routine tasks, the $729 (as of 2/7/08) Polywell Poly i7050 fills the bill. The i7050 weighs only about 12 pounds, versus 28 pounds for Dell's Inspiron 530. But as with nearly all compact models, the trade-off is that you have fewer expansion options inside.

The configuration we tested was equipped with a 2-GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180 processor and two sticks of 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 memory (2GB total) mounted on an EVGA NF77 nVidia nForce 630i motherboard with integrated nVidia GeForce 7150 graphics and HDMI output.

Despite the entry-level CPU, the Poly i7050 scored admirably in our productivity application benchmarks. It tied with the Sys Technology Sys Slimline Si200 in earning a WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 77, the best in our roundup. But like all of the other low-priced systems that use integrated graphics instead of a discrete graphics card, the Poly i7050 tested poorly in graphics performance, so it's not a good choice for 3D gaming fans. However, you can add a low-profile (half-height) graphics card in the system's open PCI Express x16 slot if you want to improve graphics performance; Polywell charges $72 for a 256MB nVidia GeForce 8400GS card (which has twice the memory as the one in the Dell Inspiron 530 we tested) and $85 for a 512MB nVidia GeForce 8500GT.

The Poly i7050's components are housed in a small, 13-by-16-inches, black-and-silver case that's barely 4 inches high. (You can get the same Poly i7050 system components in a cube-shaped case, as well.) Numerous vents--sides, top, and rear--helped keep our test unit cool, along with a quiet CPU fan inside.

The unit we tested had a 250GB Seagate hard drive and a DVD/CD combo writer, leaving only one drive bay (an external 3.5-inch one) free; accessing it requires unlocking a large metal cage and tilting it upwards, a somewhat cumbersome procedure.

Our i7050 also included a KDS K-92BW 19-inch LCD (1440 by 900 native resolution) with a VGA analog-only interface and decent image quality, though it wasn't quite as bright as some of the other 19-inch LCDs on competing systems. The i7050's USB-based Logitech RX300 optical mouse and Logitech 350 keyboard are better than the bare-bones input devices bundled with some budget PCs, but they also take up two of the PC's seven total USB ports.

If small size matters most to you, the Poly i7050's strong performance and features make it a good candidate among the budget-priced compact models. Otherwise, the midsize, $689 Dell Inspiron 530 is arguably a better deal, since it costs a bit less and comes with a discrete graphics card.

Source : www.pcworld.com

Micro Express Microflex 82B

by Nick Mediati, PC World

The MicroFlex 82B gives you plenty of horsepower without draining your savings.

A powerful, fully equipped value-oriented system, the MicroFlex 82B sports a 3-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU, 2GB of memory, a 250GB Serial ATA hard drive, and Windows Vista Business. Unlike many budget PCs, the MicroFlex 82B ships with a dedicated graphics card--an nVidia GeForce 8800GT that carries 512MB of video memory. Thanks to its speedy processor and dedicated graphics, the MicroFlex 82B achieved a WorldBench 6 score of 117. While that doesn't quite reach high-end gaming PC territory, it makes this machine ideal for everyday computing tasks and even some gaming, too.

Our test unit's $799 price (as of August 8, 2008) included the cost of a 17-inch Samsung 740BX display. The bundled Microsoft keyboard and mouse are about what you would expect from a budget system: good but not extraordinary. Despite its generic-looking case, the MicroFlex 82B has plenty of features to like, such as a total of eight USB ports, gigabit ethernet, and S/PDIF digital audio input. In addition, the 82B supports up to 7.1 surround sound.

The MicroFlex 82B is very expandable too, with a total of two PCI and five PCI Express slot (four of which are open), plus a good number of open drive bays. This is one budget PC with plenty of growing room. I also found the system to be reasonably quiet.

The documentation left something to be desired, though. Though the PC comes with documentation for various pieces of the system, there is no user's guide for the entire package. A hardware installation guide provides instructions for installing or replacing certain components, but the instructions are somewhat lacking in detail.

All things considered, however, the MicroFlex 82B does enough right for it to be a very good option for anyone needing a budget PC

Source : www.pcworld.com