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    The next generation MacBook Pro is extremely hard to repair and cannot be upgraded

    Gadgets Team
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    The next generation MacBook Pro is extremely hard to repair and cannot be upgraded

    We’ve known before that Apple doesn’t like users tinkering around their products, but repair site iFixit has just found out how hard it is for a technician to open and service the newly announced, next generation Retina Display MacBook Pro. According to the site, the new MacBook Pro is the “least repairable laptop  we’ve taken apart,” and that Apple “has packed all the things we hate into one beautiful little package.”

    So what kind of difficulties will people opening the new MacBook Pro face? According to the site, aside from the standard, non-standard Pentalobe screws that Apple use, the company has also decided to solder the RAM into the logic board (which means no upgrades in the future if you decide that 4GB isn’t enough for you) and used a proprietary SSD drive. The company has also decided to glue the entire lithium-polymer battery to the assembly, which increases the chances of breakage when you need to upgrade or repair it. Finally the entire, display assembly is completely fused, and there’s no glass protecting it, which means if one of the components break, you will have to change out the entire assembly, which will probably cost an arm and a leg. iFixit has given the next generation MacBook Pro their lowest repair score ever, which is a 1/10. So potential buyers of the new MacBook Pro, remember that if you buy a certain configuration, that’s it – no upgrade down the line. Our advice? Just max that sucker up with the highest specs.

    Source: iFixit

    Curious about Windows 8, but don’t want to take the plunge just yet? Try this.

    Ren Alcantara
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    1
    Curious about Windows 8, but don’t want to take the plunge just yet? Try this.

    With the release of Windows 8 right on the horizon, we’re pretty sure some of you are itching to give it a try. The thing is, it can be a bit scary to install a new OS over your perfectly working one, so perhaps that’s the only thing that’s holding you back. It’s okay. We’d be scared too. Fortunately, there IS a way to give it a shot without risking your current computer environment. The folks over at Redmond Pie have come up with comprehensive instructions for installing Windows 8 on a virtual machine on your device. Head over to the link, put some music on, get your snacks ready, and give Windows 8 a shot HERE.

    Jobstreet hopes to repeat success of 2011 Career Fair

    Gadgets Team
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    Jobstreet hopes to repeat success of 2011 Career Fair

    Last year’s Jobgantic Career Fair from one of the country’s most recognized job sites, Jobstreet, was hailed as the biggest job fair in Philippine history with over 220 exhibitors and nearly 65,500 jobseekers. This year, Jobgantic is back. Now it’s aiming for an even bigger number.

    On June 22 and 23 at Halls 2, 3 and 4 of the SMX Convention Center, Jobstreet hopes to get 100,00 pre-registered attendees and 30,000 walk-in applicants. They have come up with a mean list of nearly 300 employers including top names like San Miguel Corporation, Ayala Land, Robinsons, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, SMART, Petron and ABS-CBN. If you’re looking to get a job at a BPO or IT-enabled company, you are still welcome, as companies like Accenture, Convergys, IBM and Sykes will also participate in the fair.

    Aside from hundreds of booths set up by employers, you will also find some job assistance booths such as the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

    Jobstreet will give pre-registered applicants Fast Lane access and some pointers on how to go about the fair.

    Jobstreet is extremely hopeful for the success of its Career Fair, especially since last year’s fair was a total hit.

    “The success of Jobgantic Career Fair 2011 has challenged us to come up with a bigger and better career fair this year… offering more jobs and more companies so that our attendees can truly find the job of their dreams at the event,” says Jobstreet Marketing Director Yoda Buyco.

    Moreover, as of June 4, the site has recently reached a new record of over 80,000 available job postings.

    LG Optimus 4X HD is coming to the Philippines in July

    Gadgets Team
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    2
    LG Optimus 4X HD is coming to the Philippines in July

    We were wondering when LG would send their high end smartphone, the LG Optimus 4X HD to the Philippines. We’ve confirmed through numerous sources that the flagship smartphone of the Korean based-firm would be landing in July. If you’re not familiar with the LG Optimus 4X HD, let us remind you of its specs: NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A9 processor with 1 GB RAM, 4.7-inch true HD-IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen and is powered by Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). The LG Optimus 4X HD has a large, 2140 mAh Li-Ion battery that’s bigger than other similarly sized smartphones. We’ll give you more details as they come in.

    First impressions: Palit GeForce GTX 670 2GB JetStream

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    First impressions: Palit GeForce GTX 670 2GB JetStream

    Palit has seen fit to send us their latest offering off of NVIDIA’s Kepler line of GPUs, the GeForce GTX 670 JetStream. Today we’re going to be looking at the design and externals of this fine GPU, as well as briefly touch on its features and specs.

    The GTX 670 JetStream comes in an imposing box that’s quite tall. Inside, the actual GPU is encased in hard plastic container that protects it from the rigors of transit before it eventually finds a home in your gaming rig.

    The GTX 670 JetStream looks pretty imposing, and the overall design is quite aggressive. The card uses two cooling fans and a number of heatsinks to cool it, which will be handy once the card kicks into boost mode. The card uses NVIDIA’s GK104 GPU same as the bigger GTX 680, albeit with one SM/SMX cluster disabled.

    This gives the GTX 670 1344 CUDA cores to work with, with a total of 112 texture and 32 raster operating units.

    The GTX 670 JetStream comes out of the Palit factory with a 1006MHz base clock, and a 1084MHz Boost clock. The memory is slightly tweaked as well, which runs faster at 6108 MHz. Display outputs include two dual-link DVIs, one HDMI and one DisplayPort connector. The GTX 670 JetStream uses up approximately 170~180 Watts of power, and is powered through two 6-pin connectors.

     

     

    Turn an Android device into a child-friendy smartphone with Kytephone app

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Turn an Android device into a child-friendy smartphone with Kytephone app

    If you’re planning to give your kid a smartphone but are afraid of what he or she might do with it, there’s an app worth checking out called Kytephone. It’s a free Android app that will turn any smartphone into a child-friendly one. Once it’s installed, the phone becomes a controlled environment for them to play in, where parents are able to control contacts, apps, and photo-sharing. The online dashboard enables parents to see all activity done on the phone as well as track the phone so they’ll always know the location of their child.

    Parents can download the app from Google Play and install it, after which, they can manage the phone via the dashboard. Only parents will be able to disable or unlock the app since they’ll have to input a code.

    Kytephone is currently for Android only, but the company plans to bring it to iOS, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry platforms in the future. The app is free to download, which will give you the basic functions mentioned, but users can also pay for premium features.

     

    Lollipop Chainsaw: The weirdest game you will hear about all day.

    Ren Alcantara
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    0
    Lollipop Chainsaw: The weirdest game you will hear about all day.

    Do you want to play a chainsaw wielding cheerleader surviving a zombie apocalypse while toting her boyfriend’s talking head around? Of course you do. “Lollipop Chainsaw” is a trippy game created by Suda51, the, uh, visionary game designer who gave us such games as “Killer7” and “No More Heroes,” and puts you in the shoes of Juliet Starling, a zombie-slaying cheerleader, who through a cruel, but extremely funny twist of fate, carries around her jock boyfriend’s dismembered head for company during the zombie apocalypse. Don’t worry, it’s not weird. His head talks. Okay, maybe it’s a bit weird. There are boss fights, weird abilities and general Japanese gaming goodness. It was just launched for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Still curious? Head over to this link for the preview.

    Mobile OS comparison gives you an idea just how green the grass is on the other side of the fence.

    Ren Alcantara
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    0
    Mobile OS comparison gives you an idea just how green the grass is on the other side of the fence.

    Redmond Pie, one of the better purveyors of tech news on the web has kindly offered a head-to-head comparison of the three main mobile operating systems out (or out shortly) right now. Ever been a bit curious about iOS6, ICS or Mango? Hit this link to get the skinny. (Photo via Redmond Pie)

    Giada’s D2303 and i53 mini PCs bring Ivy Bridge to HTPCs

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Giada’s D2303 and i53 mini PCs bring Ivy Bridge to HTPCs

    Home Theater PCs aren’t necessarily powerful devices per se, but it always helps to have that extra grunt under the hood when you need it. That’s why Chinese  HTPC maker Giada has decided to release two HTPCs that bring Ivy Bridge to the HTPC fold. The D2303 and i53 are both extremely small and handy HTPCs that are powered by Intel’s newest generation silicon, Ivy Bridge. The D2303 is a small squat box that’s able to accommodate ahost of Ivy Bridge processors and has NVIDIA’s next generation Kepler GPU for heavier transcoding duties, along with a slot optical drive (DVD or Blu-ray). It also sports USB 3.0 slots for faster data transfer speed, which becomes important when transferring videos to the HDD or optional SSD inside it. They didn’t mention it, but we’re sure the D2303 also sports an HDMI port for HD. Even with all of these features, the D2303 only has a measly 50W power consumption.

    Like the D2303, the Giada i53 also uses Intel Ivy Bridge processors to deliver HD content to your home PC. This particular model is a free standing one, and doesn’t have an GPU inside it, instead relying on the built-in graphics of the Ivy Bridge platform for transcoding. Like the i53, you’re also looking at full HD output, USB 3.0 and a measly 30W power consumption, which makes it one of the most eco-friendly HTPC options in the market today. Giada did not give prices for both units during our visit, but we estimate these things will retail for $200 to $350 when they hit the market.

    These cute USB thumbdrives need to be sold in the Philippines, fast

    Gadgets Team
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    2
    These cute USB thumbdrives need to be sold in the Philippines, fast

    One of the booths that we moseyed past last week in COMPUTEX was Digilion, a prolific maker of cute, USB thumb drives and accessories. And boy, the stuff they made was too damn cute not to share with the world. Their creations feature extremely adorable designs that hold USB thumbdrives inside. The thumbdrives in the cute little mascots can easily be popped out and replaced with another one, so you can upgrade your storage from 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB whenever you please. The company rep told us that these things could retail for $15 to $25, depending on how many a distributor brings in. Hopefully a distributor sees these things and brings a lot in, because these things are too cute to ignore.

    [album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/DIGILION/]

     

    Fashion bloggers hailed as Canon IXUS Ambassadors of Style and Substance

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Fashion bloggers hailed as Canon IXUS Ambassadors of Style and Substance

    Who better to represent Canon’s queen of stylish compact cameras than the country’s trendsetters? Five of the country’s top fashion bloggers are now the official Canon IXUS Ambassadors of Style and Substance.

    This group includes Lissa Kahayon, Kryz Uy, Patricia Prieto, Cheyser Pedregosa and David Guison. If you can remember our post about Bloggers United, you will notice that we have previously mentioned some of these big names in the fashion blogosphere.

    Apple announces next generation MacBook Pro, Retina Display, Ivy Bridge in tow

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Apple announces next generation MacBook Pro, Retina Display, Ivy Bridge in tow

    Apple has just announced the newest version of the MacBook Pro, and it’s a doozy. The new iteration of the venerable 15-inch MacBook Pro will be equipped with Intel’s latest Core i7 processor (2.3GHz and 2.6GHz), 8GB of DDR3 memory and more importantly, will have Apple’s resolution busting Retina Display. You’re looking at a native resolution of  2880 x 1800 using the 15.4-inch IPS display. That Retina display is paired with Intel’s HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory, which means the new MacBook Pro has the processing grunt to plow through most graphically intensive tasks while being able to run for 8 hours on a single charge. The MacBook Pro also only uses flash storage for storing everything, and users can choose between a 256GB or a 512GB version. The new MacBook Pro is only 18mm thick, and to be honest if this was just another notebook using Intel’s processor, we’d officially be calling it an ultrabook. Rounding up the specs sheet are multiple output ports, which include a 2USB 3.0 ports,  2 Thunderbolt sockets, full-size HDMI socket, a 3.5mm headphone port, plus a an SD card slot. Apple has pegged the price of the next generation Macbook Pro at $2199 (about Php 97,000) for the 2.3GHz, 256GB version, and $2799 (about Php 124,000) for the 2.6GHz, 512GB version. No word on availability of the new devices for the Philippines.

    [album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/MacBook Pro/]

    Want to kill zombies IRL? Go to Australia.

    Ren Alcantara
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    0
    Want to kill zombies IRL? Go to Australia.

    In a scenario that was bound to happen at some point, an Australian company has put together an event wherein people, armed with rifle, take out zombies who are after their sweet, sweet brains. In a beautiful convergence of tech and fantasy, the start-up company  IRL Shooter has put trigger a totally realistic event involving a huge, abandoned meat factory, zombies, and a handful of human survivors and guns.

    The guns are to reportedly be highly modified M4 carbines. Thanks to the magic of some pretty nerdy tech, everything about the rifles are to be as close to reality as possible. things like the  recoil, to the muzzle flash and ammo usage will be faithful to the real spec, and each player will be monitored for kills, headshots and friendly fire incidents that may happen over the course of the game. The project started through a simple online solicitation campain, and has since gained immense popularity, and more than enough supporters to actually get off the groud.  So if zombie-slaying has always been your kind of thing, head on over to Austrailia and sign up before the October 2012 delivery date. Interested? Head over to http://irlshooter.com/ For more info.

    Canon unveils EOS Rebel T4i

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Canon unveils EOS Rebel T4i

    No word yet on when it’ll be coming to the Philippines, but Canon just announced the EOS Rebel T4i—the new flagship model of the EOS Rebel line. It comes with an 18-megapixel CMOS (APS-C) sensor, a DIGIC 5 Image Processor, and a 100-12800 ISO range that is supposedly expandable to 25600 in H mode.

    One of its upgrades is the 3-inch Clear View LCD touchscreen display. It now also has a nine-point cross-type AF array and high precision dual-cross f/2.8 point at center, which is quite the step up from the previous model. The T4i is the first Canon DSLR to feature the new Hybrid CMOS AF system that cuts down the time spent getting the right focus.

    The price of the new camera that starts shipping at the end of June will be US $850 (approximately Php 35,700) for the body only.

     

    Revealed: PowerColor Devil 13 Dual-GPU 7970

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Revealed: PowerColor Devil 13 Dual-GPU 7970

    We had some time to check out PowerColor’s COMPUTEX booth last week, and boy, we’re glad we did. We managed to check out their upcoming dual-GPU card, the Devil 13.

    This thing is absolutely huge – the Devil 13 uses two 7970 GPUs that deliver absolutely mental amounts of raw processing power to steamroll any and all current and future games that you can think of.

    This iteration of the Devil 13 uses two AMD Tahiti based 7970 GPUs in a PCB that’s longer than most other designs, and is the first in PowerColor’s lineup to utilize three fans. Display outputs include two DVI and mini-DP, and an HDMI port. Each GPU will supposedly have its own BIOS.

    Mounting this particular monster is a bit of an issue though, and requires the user to use a supporting pillar in the GPU so it doesn’t fall when mounted on your rig. No word on price and availability for this juggernaut though.

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