After bringing back the C64 with the retro-tastic C64X, Commodore USA launches the Amiga mini-- a mini-PC boasting a stylish aluminium case (similar to the Mac Mini) ideal for use as either a Home Theatre PC or a gaming machine.

It carries a 3.5GHz Core i7-2700k CPU, 16GB DDR3 RAM, an Nvidia GeForce GT 430 (with 1GB RAM), 1TB HDD and optional 300 or 600GB SSD. Connections come via wifi, Bluetooth, x4 USB 2.0 and x2 USB 3.0 ports, while outputs include VGA, DVI and HDMI.

It also carries a slot Continue reading...

Intel will be introducing optical Thunderbolt cables later this year, an Intel spokesperson says-- allowing longer data transfer distances (with potentially greater bandwidth) for the connection standard.

The news joins the earlier announcement of Intel adding Thunderbolt support to PCI Express 3.0.

What are the differences between copper and optical? Copper handles data transfers for up to 6m (with sufficent bandwidth) while optical technology allows for tens of metres-- making it particularly Continue reading...

MSI launches a range of consumer and professional all-in-one PC models at CeBIT 2012-- the Wind Top AE 1931 and AE 2211 entertainment models, and the AP16 and AP2011 business models.

The Entertainment models feature adjustable touchscreens, in either 19" (AE1931) or 22" (AE2211) sizes. Both carry Intel CPUs and include a "Fun Kit" featuring Smart Media and Smart Link functions, as well as audio and visual entertainment software.

Powering the AE2211 is a 2nd generation Intel Core processor, while Continue reading...

Intel shows off a breakthrough in making faster and more energy efficient wifi-- integrating a 2.4GHz wifi radio and a dual-core Atom processor on the same chip, codenamed "Rosepoint."

The chip was seen at the 2012 IEEE Solid-State Cicuits Conference (ISSCC), San Francisco.

The wifi radio inside Rosepoint is digital RF, and uses only 2 voltage levels. The chip itself is built using a 32nm process, and Intel tells Wired Magazine it brings Moore's Law to the world of RF and radio circuits.

The integrated wifi technology will not hit the market until a few years, and Intel is already working on a version carrying a cellular radio and a built-in antenna. Such technology can result in the more energy efficient internet-connected devices of the future.

Wireless radio and CPUs do not make ideal partners-- radiation from a CPU corrupts data the RF module is receiving, while radio waves mess with microprocessors. The wifi radio and the Atom processor also happen to operate using similar frequencies, demanding the use of noise cancelling and radiation-shielding.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation announces the first batch its intriguing low-cost Linux micro-PCs has just entered production-- and pre-orders should start shipping from February 20 2012.

Designed as an affordable PC ideal to get children into computer programming, the Raspberry Pi is a tiny computer the size of a credit card. Currently a simple open board, it carries an ARM processor (running at 700MHz) on top of a Broadcom BCM2835 SoC, together with a Videocore 4 GPU the Foundation says is capable Continue reading...

Gartner reports Q4 2011 W. Europe PC shipments total 16.3M units-- a -16% Y-o-Y decline-- while total 2011 shipments are also down by -16% from 2010, reaching 58.5M units.

Clearly consumers prefer to spend their money on smartphones and tablets rather than PCs (despite dropping prices) as Q4 2011 represents the 4th consecutive quarter of shipment declines...

Particularly hard hit in Q4 2011 are the PC markets in Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain, with Y-o-Y declines of over -30%. The UK sees the worst Y-o-Y decline in 5 quarters (-19.6%) according to Gartner, while French and German PC shipments drop by -11.8% and -8.2% Y-o-Y.

Lenovo gets flexible as it announces two transformable offerings at CES 2012-- the IdeaPad Yoga ultrabook/tablet combination and the IdeaCentre A720 all-in-one desktop/surface hybrid device.

The IdeaPad Yoga is not just an ultrabook with a screen that flips over like a spiral-bound book-- it is also the first Windows 8 tablet from the company. It has a 13.3" 1600x900 multi-touch display, weighs around 1.47kg, is 16.9mm thick and will carry a "next-generation" (Ivy Bridge) Intel Core processor.

A weak economy, the death of the industry's leading personality, even a new version of Windows-- the year had it all.

We received plenty of gloomy news regarding the state of the PC industry-- not to mention the economy in general. The EU economy growth forecast bears the title "Growth at a Standstill" while all analyst figures point at an EMEA PC market sliding downwards.

The only upwards trend? Tablets, but only those of the Apple variety, really... even if the cheaper Amazon Kindle Fire might shake the market a bit.