The HD 700′s are higher end headphones which has a headlining feature of its vented magnet system. Which manages the air flow to prevent unwanted resonance or “turbulence”. The headphones shouldn’t be used with any old device as Sennheiser recommends you use a amplifier as any old device doesn’t provide power. The Verge has said they prefer the HD 25′s as they provide more “oomph”.

Source: The Verge 

The Powerline 500 Nano also has NETGEAR’s unique “Pick-a-Plug” function which automatically tests the connection at any power point and displays the results with coloured LED lights to ensure that users can pick the best power point for the highest possible network connection.

The Powerline 500 Nano will be available Q1 2012 for $119.95 worldwide.

Powerline 500 Nano

With best-in-class performance and reliability, NETGEAR’s Powerline 500 Nano converts any electrical outlet in your house into a high speed network connection, instantly. It offers easy, plug-and-play setup and top speeds, all in the smallest form factor available today. The Powerline 500 Nano is perfect for connecting a single device such as game console, Blu-ray™ player, Smart TV, HD set-top box, network DVR, PC, and other devices to the home network router and the Internet. Gamers particularly benefit from Powerline technology because of its exceptionally low latency.

NETGEAR’s Powerline 500 Nano delivers speeds up to 500 Mbps, which easily accommodates HD and 3D HD video streaming, multimedia, multiplayer gaming and other bandwidth intensive tasks. With NETGEAR’s unique “Pick-a-Plug” function, the Powerline 500 Nano automatically tests the connection at any electrical outlet and displays the results in the form of color coded LED lights to ensure that users can pick a specific electrical outlet in order to ensure the highest possible performance.

Pricing and Availability
NETGEAR Powerline 500 Nano will be available in Q1 2012 for $119.99. The NETGEAR N900 Video and Gaming 4-Port WiFi Adapter will be available in the summer of 2012 for $79.99. Both products will also be available worldwide from major retailers in stores and online.

More information
To learn more about NETGEAR’s Powerline 500 Nano and N900 Video and Gaming 4-Port WiFi Adapter or the, please visit http://www.netgear.com/N500 and http://www.netgear.com/N900.

Aimed for HD/3D Smart TV’s, streaming media players and the like, the WN2500RP will allow you easily extend your wireless network and share it in a new room or even in another house. No word on availability yet or pricing. More available on their website.

Hard drive manufacturer, Seagate has provided a financial update, reiterating that the demand for hard drives will exceed the supply this year. Meaning it will be hard to purchase hard drives at their usual cheap price. Seagate claims that prices of hard drives will remain quite stable.  ”The exabyte (overall capacity) shortage will be more pronounced than the unit shortage, and as a result pricing is expected to remain stable,” Seagate added.

Due to the recent floods in Thailand, many hard drive manufacturers (such as Seagate or Western Digital) have had to stop or slow down their production. This has had a huge effect on consumers as prices have sky-rocketed and the supply of hard drives has dropped significantly.

Intel has also said it should see a fall in revenue as people will not be building new computers due to the price of hard drives. They estimate to loose $1 billion dollars in 2012.

Source: Cnet

The year 2011 was one year that we will all never forget. Even though they were all in the beginning of the year, the floods in Queensland and Brazil, the earthquakes in Christchurch and the tsunami in the north of Japan are still present in all of our minds. We also saw the death of a tech luminary, Steve Jobs; and the powerful News Corporation losing its influence over politicians in the UK after the phone hacking scandal took a drastic turn from celebrities to victims of crime.

This year, we’ve decided to recap the top 11 tech stories of the year – from security problems to business failures, and even the growing popularity of Windows Phone 7.

You can explore the choices below.

• The Revolutions Heard Around The Globe
• The Catastrophic Disaster of the PSN
• Steve Jobs: 1955 – 2011
• The Phone Hacking that killed the News
• A Global War – Apple v Samsung
• A 50 Day Hacking Campaign, for the lulz
• The Rise of Windows Phone 7
• An annus horribilis for RIM and Netflix
• Palm is dead, WebOS lives on
• Social: Google enters, LinkedIn goes IPO and Timeline
• Gone Viral: Friday – an instant success amongst the haters
• Credits

Image Credits: Al Jazeera English (Left) and David Shankbone (Right). All are licensed under Creative Commons.

So, if you did miss our Holiday Gift Guide Live podcast this year, Stewart actually found a way of recording it. So this is the entire two-hour live show, unedited and uncensored for your own listening pleasure.

Featuring Stewart Wilson, Terence Huynh and Tom Solari to answer the 120-ish questions, we gave away many prizes. We couldn’t get through of all of the questions, but we will be using it to write some stuff for TECHGEEK.com.au in the upcoming year.

So listen, like, tweet and subscribe! See you next year.

If you’re looking for the news portion of the podcast – it’s episode 72. Also, it is a 71MB-ish file, so it will take a while to download. So you’re much better off streaming it from the handy player below.

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Don’t forget! We have our live podcast on this Friday, 16th December 2011 starting at 7:00PM. The show will be filled with Gift Ideas, best products to buy and of course, giveaways! However, you have to be an Australian citizen to win. But how do you win? Simple. Ask us a question.

The live show will start at 7:00PM Sydney/Melbourne Time (6:00PM Brisbane Time, 3:00PM Perth Time) with our Pre-Show (we will be recording the last episode of the year of TECHGEEK Weekly), then at 7:30PM we will get straight into the Holiday Gift Guide special. We will have different sections of the podcast to announce winners and also

Any answer from November 21 up until Friday December 16 7:00PM, will be in the running to win one of these great products:

• NETGEAR N600 Dual Band Gigabit Router – Premium Edition
• 5 x BitDefender Total Security 2012
• Buffalo Home Networking Pack w/ LinkStation Pro
• Kingston Wi-Drive
• 10 x TegaTech Screen Cleaner – Double Pack
• 3 x 50GB Binverse Download Accounts
• AlfaHosts Web Hosting Account (US-Web-Standard)

So what do you need to go in the running to win one of these prizes? Simply submit a question to our team via http://holiday.techgeek.com.au or by filling in the form below by the 16th of December 2011. It’s that easy! After the 16th of December 2011, we will pick someone at random. Please remember to take a look at our giveaway rules.

Thanks to our friends at Kingston, one lucky winner has the chance to win this fantastic Kingston Wi-Drive (RRP $149.99). With it’s built in 16GB of flash storage, Wi-Drive allows iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch users to stream movies, listen to music, view pictures or download documents by utilizing the Wi-Drive App (available on the App Store) and Wi-Fi 802.11 g/n.The files are easily retrieved wirelessly and without the need for messy cables.

So what do you need to go in the running to win this great router? Simply submit a question to our team via http://holiday.techgeek.com.au or by filling in the form below by the 16th of December 2011. It’s that easy! After the 16th of December 2011, we will pick someone at random. Please remember to take a look at our giveaway rules.

Kingston Wi-Drive Features and Specifications:
•    Capacities*: 16GB, 32GB
•    Dimensions: 121.5mm x 61.8mm x 9.8mm
•    Operating Temperature: 32°F to 122°F (0°C to 50°C)
•    Storage Temperature: 14°F to 185°F (-10°C to 70°C)
•    Wireless Network Interface: Wi-Fi 802.11g/n with wireless security (WPA/WEP)
•    Rechargeable Battery: up to four hours of continuous use
•    Cable: Mini-USB to USB cable included.  User can upload files and content from their

PC/Mac to the Wi-Drive using the USB cable
•    Portable: Uses Flash-based technology for durability and reliability
•    Convenient: pocket-sized for easy transportability
•    Simple: just plug into a USB port
•    Guaranteed: one-year warranty
•    App: downloadable at Apple’s App Store
•    Compatible with: iPad, iPhone 3G/3GS/4, iPod touch (3G is limited to iOS 4.2.1+)
•    Configurable APN (access point name) and Key functions to connect to Wireless Access

Point (Internet Connection)
•    Supported File Formats:
•    Audio: AAC, MP3, WAV
•    Video: m4v, mp4, mov, Motion JPEG (M-JPEG), AVI
•    Image: jpg, bmp, tiff
•    Document: pdf, doc, docx, ppt, pptx, txt, rtf, xls

* Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage. For more information, please consult Kingston’s Flash Memory Guide at Kingston.com/Flash_Memory_Guide.

We’ve set some conditions for our laptops and made 3 categories (much like our Budget/Pre-Paid Smartphones gift guide) – the budget laptop (cheapest laptop), the beast (does everything you need it to be) and the All-rounder (best laptop overall). Another condition is that it cannot be a netbook. We are taking prices from top Australian retailers such as Officeworks, JB Hi-Fi and Dick Smith Electronics.

Budget Laptop: Compaq Presairo CQ43

The Compaq Presairo CQ43 has made it into our Budget laptop category. This laptop features the new AMD E-300 1.3GHz APU with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320GB hard disk and a 14″ LED Display. We have chosen this laptop because it features a relatively powerful processor, a sufficient amount of RAM and hard disk space and it’s small enough to fit in most back packs. It has a 6-cell battery which should last around 3 or 4 hours if you doing light web browsing or word processing. Weighing just 2.5KG, it’s a perfect pick for High School or University.

JB Hi-Fi: $295
Officeworks: $348
DSE: $349

The Beast: Acer Aspire AS8950G

If your looking for something to perform either when browsing the web or gaming, we cannot go past the Acer Aspire AS8950G – this year’s beast. Featuring an Intel Core i7-630qm 2.0ghz (can boost up to 2.9ghz) with 8GB of DDR3 Ram, a 1.5TB hard disk, an ATI Radeon HD 6850 with 1GB of Dedicated Memory, Blu-Ray player and a 18.4″ LCD Display – this laptop is set out to impress. The graphics card can play most new games such as Skyrim or Starcraft 2 and the built in Blu-Ray player will be able to play movies in Full 1080p native resolution. Weighing in at 3.8KG, It’s a laptop for just around the house (or you can move it around.. that’s okay too).

JB Hi-Fi: $1698
Not available anywhere else.

All-rounder: Acer Aspire AS5750-2434G64Mnkk

If your looking for something that performs well with everything you set it out to do with a cheap price tag, this Acer is great for the price. Featuring an Core i5-2430M 2.40ghz (with 3.0ghz burst) with 4GB of DDR3 Ram, 640gb hard disk, an Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics card with 128MB dedicated memory and a 15.6″ LED Display. It has a 6 cell battery meaning you should get around 2 to 3 hours out of this machine. Paired with a card reader and Wireless-N, this laptop is a great all-rounder with decent performance with demanding programs. Weighing in at just 2.6KG, this laptop should be easy to carry around in a backpack or around the house.

JB Hi-Fi: $593
Officeworks: $594
DSE: $598

Think we missed a laptop, or have your own suggestions? Add them to the comments below – we’d love to hear it. Also, stay tuned for our picks for the best smartphones and tablets.

Looking for a new router for your home network or maybe you have no idea what to buy the techie in the family? Well the NETGEAR N600 Dual Band Gigabit Router is a great gift for yourself or someone else. It has all the features of the modem/router we reviewed before, the Netgear DGND3700 N600 Wireless Modem Router plus much much more. More information after the break.

GIVEAWAY!

So what do you need to go in the running to win this great router? Simply submit a question to our team via http://holiday.techgeek.com.au or by filling in the form below by the 16th of December 2011. It’s that easy! After the 16th of December 2011, we will pick someone at random. Please remember to take a look at our giveaway rules.

Some great features that are worth noting:

• ReadySHARE Cloud – Plug any USB drive into the N600 and it will instantly becoming accessible in the cloud. Available from the NETGEAR website, iOS and Android.
• ReadySHARE Printer – Plug any USB printer into the N600 and it will be shared across your network instantly.
• NETGEAR Genie – computer software for monitoring, controlling and repairing the network
• Live Parental Controls – parents can control what days their children can access the internet and filter out nasty websites.
• Guest Network – Allows guests to access an internet connection without knowing the main password or gaining access to other computers on the network
• TiVo Storage – The USB drive plugged into the N600 can act as extended TiVo storage
• Open platform – Techies can install open source firmware to expand the routers features or make their own configuration changes
• Time Machine compatible - Apple Computers can use the USB drive plugged into the N600 as a time machine backup drive
• Much much more…

Thanks to NETGEAR Australia, we have one of these great routers to give away to one lucky reader.

Readers, please be advised that this week’s edition of TECHGEEK Weekly will be missed due to the majority of the TECHGEEK team having examination preparation. We apologise for the inconvenience and will be back next week or the week after with the latest and greatest of Tech News!

- The TECHGEEK.com.au Team.

In this edition of TECHGEEK Weekly, host, Stewart Wilson is joined by Tom Solari to deliver you the best (and worst) in news. We talk about the happenings at Nokia World, Some things you didn’t know about Steve Jobs and the sexy thermostat.

We also talk about interesting commands Siri can do, iPhone 4S battery issues and the new Kaching App from the Commonwealth Bank. Tune in and don’t forget to subscribe!

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Check out the full review after the break.

The Netgear N600 Wireless Modem Router combines two major network devices, a modem and a router. It’s a common thing these days but you still find people having both a modem provided by their ISP and their own router providing wireless and connectivity. The N600 has a built in ADSL2+ modem and a WAN port, allowing you to use a cable modem (or the NBN Box if you have it). It has 4 Gigabit LAN ports available to plug in your computers or networkable devices and two USB ports which allow you to plug in your external USB drives and share them over the network through DLNA or normal SMB sharing.

The N600 has dual-band Wireless 802.11n which sends two streams to your computer which doubles the speed of which you transfer at. This is handy for gamers who play games that require a fast, reliable stream or if you watch HD videos over your wireless connection. The N600 allows you to setup a guest network, which separates your normal network into a secure environment. Any guests connecting to the guest network will be able to browse the internet but not be able to access shared devices on the network or even computers. This is handy in a business environment but is also handy at home if you have people connecting that you don’t trust.

Setup

The N600 does not come with a easy setup CD like other Netgear or other brands come with but the setup through the interface is easy. You need to plugin the N600 into power, ADSL connection and ethernet to your computer, navigate to the routers web based configuration page (details are included in the routers documentation) and follow the steps. You can either follow the automated setup which can automatically detect your connection type, apply settings etc or you have choose to do it manually. I tried both ways and in the end, the router was setup the same.

Performance

During our testing, we found the N600 had very good performance compared to some other routers on the market (We really need to review more routers so we have things to compare to!). I had the router hooked up to a media server with gigabit connectivity and transferred a 4GB file (three times) and averaged the results. During my testing on the 2.4 GHz band, I received the following speeds:

Performing the same tests but on the 5 GHz band, yielded the following results:

Personally, I was pleased with the results from our wireless tests. However, we did have some performance issues with the modem side of things. The modem was unable to hold sync for longer than an hour and there was significant drops in my sync speed. At the time, my Billion modem would sync at 4600 Kbps, however, the N600 would only sync at around 3000 Kbps. This is a disappointing let down as the rest of the router is great! Since the N600 offers a WAN port, you could buy this just for the router features and use another modem.

The built in NAS feature for allowing you to share files from a USB stick or USB hard drive was a great performer. Thanks to the N600′s dual-core processor, the files where transferred quickly through both gigabit Ethernet and dual-band wireless. I have no complaints, it was easy to setup and delegate different permissions to different users.

Conclusion

If your looking to upgrade your home network to Gigabit and Wireless N, this router would be great upgrade. The features and connectivity provided are speedy and easy to use but we aren’t too fond on the modem’s performance. Check out the WNDR3700 which is just the router (without modem) if your looking to upgrade everything but the modem. But all in all, great!

Participating in a DDoS is illegal, so make sure your protected now. Sophos’ OS X applications have been updated to detect and remove OSX/Tsunami-A. Not protected? Download Sophos for free.

Source: Naked Security

James Wilson holds iPad 2 at the Sydney Launch on March 30. (Image: Stewart Wilson/TECHGEEK.com.au)

That’s right, the iPad eveyone knows and loves will soon be available to purchase from your local Telstra Store. Telstra are allowing you to purchase the iPad WiFi + 3G version either for full price on pre-paid or spread the cost out over 24 months on a post-paid plan. As per any Telstra mobile product, you’ll experience NextG’s vast and supiror network. Too bad the iPad 2 doesn’t support LTE/4G. You can register your interest here. The full press release is after the break.

Apple iPad 2 coming to Telstra Stores soon

19 October, 2011 – Telstra today announced it will offer iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G and iPad 2 post-paid data plans in the coming weeks.

iPad 2 is the next generation of Apple’s magical device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading ebooks and much more. The amazing new iPad 2 improves on the original iPad by being thinner, lighter and faster, all while maintaining the same incredible 10 hours of battery life.

Customers can register their interest to receive more information about in-store availability and pricing by heading to www.telstra.com/ipad2.

For more information about iPad 2 please visit www.apple.com/ipad/.

We’re up for the Let’s Talk iPhone event at Cupertino and this Special Edition of TECHGEEK Weekly just recaps what happened in the very lacklustre event in a small 20 minute podcast.

I’m joined with Chris Southcott to help recap the event while Terence wrote up articles and tried to freshen himself up before an examination.

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Show Notes

LIVEBLOG! Join us for the Apple October Event 10am PDT, 4am AEDT

Apple updates iPod nano and touch; brings new pricing scheme

Apple announces iPhone 4S – 8MP camera, A5 processor, no 4G 

Apple announces release date for iCloud – Get your umbrella ready for October 13

Telstra has announced that it will start offering products under its new 4G LTE service, that will see speeds ten times faster than those on 3G. The public offering comes after months of trialling the service with a small number of customers.

For the capital cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, coverage will be within 5km of the GPO. To check if you’re covered Telstra has a coverage map showing where they are. In addition with the capital cities, Telstra will launch it in another 31 regional and metropolitan areas that require the user to be in 3km of their GPO:

• NSW: Parramatta, Albury, Dubbo, Gosford, Newcastle
• VIC: Ballarat, Castlemaine, Echuca, Geelong, Horsham, Morwell, Shepparton, Nyah/Nyah West, Lake Boga, Warragul, Werribee
• QLD: Bundaberg, Cairns, Coolangatta Airport, Tweed, Nerang, Gympie, Maryborough, Mt Isa, Caloundra, Noosa Heads, Toowoomba, Townsville
• SA: Mt Barker, Port Lincoln, Stirling

In addition, Telstra plans to launch 4G service in another 50 locations by the end of the year:

• NSW: Armidale, Bathurst, Coffs Harbour, Goulburn, Lismore, Maitland, Nowra, Orange, Penrith, Port Macquarie, Singleton, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga, Wollongong, Wyong
• VIC: Bairnsdale, Bendigo, Mildura, Swan Hill, Wangaratta, Warrnambool, Wodonga
• QLD: Caboolutre, Emerald, Gladstone, Gold Coast (Southport and Surfers), Hervey Bay, Ipswich, Mackay, Rockhampton, Roma*, Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore and Nambour), Yeppoon
• SA: Clare, Gawler, Mt Gambier CBD, Victor Harbour, Whyalla
• WA: Albany, Broome, Bunbury CBD, Brusselton, Esperance*, Exmouth*, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Newman*, Karratha, Port (& South) Hedland*
• TAS: Bernie, Devonport, Launceston, Ulverstone
• NT: Alice Springs*, Casuarina, Palmerston Region

An asterisk (*) means that ACMA has not given licenses yet to these areas to start 4G service

Currently, there are only one 4G device – their USB 4G Card. Telstra will be selling it for $0 upfront on a range of 24-month plans, including on a $39.95 for 8GB of data. Business customers also have varying plans. Hopefully, we are also going to see a bunch of other devices released on Telstra since many of the phones released now do come with LTE support.

Telstra joins a small number of carriers already implementing a full scale rollout of 4G services to their customers, including Verizon Wireless in the United States.

However, Telstra won’t be the only one: Optus will also be rolling out their LTE network to a number of NSW towns from April 2012. Vodafone is yet to announce their plans, but they will have a 4G network also. Check out the full media release after the break.

Terence Huynh and Stewart Wilson contributed with this report.

Telstra lights up 4G mobile services in Australia

27 September 2011 – Australians will enter a new era of mobile telecommunications today with Telstra launching the nation’s first superfast 4G LTE mobile network in capital city CBDs and more than 30 regional and metropolitan centres.

Telstra CEO David Thodey said Australians could now access one of the world’s most advanced mobile networks delivering some of the fastest mobile download and upload speeds available anywhere.

“Today marks a new high-speed chapter in Australian mobile telecommunications. Telstra’s 4G network delivers mobile speeds scarcely imagined a decade ago, making it easier for people to connect with the things they need and love when on the move,” Mr Thodey said.

“The superfast speeds mean consumers can download songs faster, get TV shows in minutes and do more things simultaneously.

“This is just the beginning. Telstra 4G will allow our mobile devices to perform even more advanced tasks and open the door to a host of innovative high-speed services that have yet to be conceived.

“Customers trialling Telstra 4G have told us it is already changing how they connect and work. For example, a sports photographer in Melbourne is now sending his high-resolution footy images direct to newspapers from the boundary line faster than ever. In Sydney, video producers are handling larger video files on the go and saving time in the process. In regional Australia, a skin cancer doctor has increased the quality of his medical images thanks to the increased bandwidth available over 4G,” Mr Thodey said.

Using the Telstra USB 4G mobile broadband modem, which goes on sale today, customers in 4G coverage areas can enjoy typical download speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 40Mbps – up to ten times faster than 3G speeds currently claimed by other Australian telecommunications companies. Customers can also experience typical upload speeds of 1Mbps to 10Mbps – three times faster than previous generations of mobile broadband in Australia.

“We know there is a huge appetite for 4G-powered smartphones and tablets and Telstra is working with some of the world’s leading manufacturers to bring some of these devices to customers in the first half of 2012,” Mr Thodey said.

As well as supporting faster mobile speeds, Telstra 4G provides a more responsive internet connection. Network latency (the time it takes for data to travel from a PC to the internet and back) is around half that experienced on current 3G networks meaning real-time applications like video conferencing, internet gaming and cloud-hosted streaming services work better with less buffering and fewer interruptions.

Telstra also announced that it would launch 4G services in more than 50 additional locations by year’s end.

Today’s national launch follows Telstra’s switch-on of the first 4G base stations using Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in May and a commercial pilot of 4G services for business customers last month.

4G Plans and Pricing

The BigPond USB 4G can be purchased by consumer customers for $0 (after rebate) on a range of new 24 month plans – including on a $59.95 per month plan with 8GB of data included each month over 24 months (min cost $1,438.80).

The Telstra USB 4G can be purchased by business customers on a range of plans including $0 upfront on the $39 Telstra Mobile Broadband Standard Plan over 24 months (min total cost $936) with 4GB included data.

For more information on Telstra 4G visit www.telstra.com/4gfun. Business customers can visit: www.Telstra.com/business/4G.

* Speeds vary due to factors such as distance from base station, local conditions, user numbers, hardware and software configuration.

In this edition of First Look, Stewart Wilson TECHGEEK.com.au’s Senior Editor, takes a first look at the new version of Microsoft’s OS, Windows 8. It’s only a developer preview at the moment but it gives a great insight into what Windows will look like in the future. Check out the video after the jump.

With all of its Metro-looking goodness, does the tablet interface meet up with the desktop? Is the new “Start Screen” an easier way to get to things or just a hindrance for performance and usability? We answer all of these questions in the video below.

Also, feel free to share your thoughts about Windows 8 below!

HTC has said that it is considering buying a mobile operating system. HTC have noted that the company has discussed this internally but will not act “on impulse”.

Now that HP’s WebOS device production has been discontinued, HP have been seeking licensees to purchase the OS and use it on their own hardware. It is speculated that HTC and Samsung are concerned about Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility and may wish to seek over operating systems to keep their competitive edge.

HTC’s Cher Wang told reporters: “We can use any OS we want. We are able to make things different from our rivals on the second or third layer of a platform,” Wang said. “Our strength lies in understanding an OS, but it does not mean that we have to produce an OS.”

At this current time, the only available OS that HTC could purchase is HP’s WebOS, as HP are open to offers. Who knows, maybe HTC will buy Symbian?

Source: TheNextWeb

And here we are for another week. And Stewart is back after a few weeks of being away. In this episode we talk about the Nokia N9 not being released in the United States, Apple’s September media event and the death of Symbian.

This episode is only 40 minutes long as we all had other things to do and James discovered new Team Fortress sounds, so enjoy! Don’t forget to subscribe though.

Music: Caffeine by VCMG

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The new version of Apple’s operating system, Mac OS X Lion, has had 1 Million downloads in the first day of being released. This record is Apple’s fastest download record in the company’s history. Who knows? Maybe this is the “best OS we’ve ever made”. Currently 3.17% of our viewers are using the new version of Apple’s operating system. Check out the press release after the break.

James Wilson will have a full review of the operating system soon.

Lion Downloads Top One Million in First Day

CUPERTINO, California—July 21, 2011—Apple® today announced that in just one day, over one million users bought and downloaded Mac OS® X Lion, the eighth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system. Available through the Mac® App Store™ for $29.99 (US), users are buying Lion faster than any other OS release in Apple’s history.

“Lion is off to a great start, user reviews and industry reaction have been fantastic,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Lion is a huge step forward, it’s not only packed with innovative features but it’s incredibly easy for users to update their Macs to the best OS we’ve ever made.”

Lion introduces more than 250 new features to the Mac, including Multi-Touch® gestures; system-wide support for full screen apps; Mission Control, an innovative view of everything running on your Mac; the Mac App Store, the best place to find and explore great software; Launchpad, a new home for all your apps; and a completely redesigned Mail app.

Available in 123 countries, the Mac App Store brings the revolutionary App Store experience to the Mac so you can find great new apps, buy them using your iTunes® account, download and install them in just one step. The Mac App Store offers apps in Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, Utilities and other categories. Users can browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, see staff favorites, search categories and look up top charts for paid and free apps, as well as user ratings and reviews. The Mac App Store is built right into Lion and available for Snow Leopard® users through Software Update as part of Mac OS X version 10.6.8.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

In this edition of First Look, Stewart Wilson TECHGEEK.com.au’s Senior Editor, takes a first look at the AVerMedia DarkCrystal Capture Card. This capture card allows you to import 1080i video onto your computer aand also provide tools to edit it. Check out the video after the break.

Good news for Windows Phone 7 users. The apps on the Marketplace are now cheaper and almost on par with US pricing. This update comes after Apple’s decision to change their pricing also, so a bit of competition is in the air. Australian users will now see their $1.18 AUD apps, only 99c AUD. Other pricing tiers have also changed, check those out after the break.

The new pricing for the Australian WP7 Marketplace are:

US$0.99 apps now AU$0.99 (was AU$1.18)
US$1.29 apps still AU$1.49
US$1.99 apps now AU$2.49 (was AU$2.73)
US$2.99 apps now AU$3.49 (was AU$3.64)
US$4.99 apps now AU$5.49 (was AU$5.91)
US$9.99 apps still AU $10.49

[Gizmodo]

Today Dell has announced that they have acquired Force10 Networks who currently manufacture datacenter grade networking hardware. Dell’s main force behind the purchase is to start manufacturing networking hardware themselves. Additionally, Dell’s move into networking is to put pressure on Cisco, since they have announced that 6,500 jobs will be lost. So look out for Dell branded networking products. Check out the full press release after the break.

Dell today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Force10 Networks, Inc., a leader in high-performance datacenter networking. Force10’s networking capabilities complement Dell’s datacenter solutions portfolio, enabling it to offer customers a broader range of enterprise offerings.

Dell has taken significant steps over the past three years to expand its enterprise portfolio to offer customers a complete range of datacenter products and solutions. This includes developing an integrated stack of leading server, storage, networking and services resources to help customers streamline operations, reduce IT costs, manage data growth and simplify management. The acquisition of Force10 and investment in networking is a natural complement to Dell’s server strength. Dell is the leading x86 server provider in the United States and No. 2 worldwide, according to first quarter 2011 IDC data.

Force10 Networks Leadership

Force10 is a global technology leader in datacenter, service provider, and enterprise networking. It is nearly a $200-million company, based on trailing 12 months revenue, with approximately 80 percent of its business in North America and operating in over 60 countries worldwide. Force10’s Open Cloud Networking is based on open standards, automation and virtualization and is very consistent with Dell’s design philosophy. Force10’s technology allows customers to transform their network infrastructures into an open, reliable and scalable datacenter and cloud computing fabric.

Force10 provides global service and support capabilities around the world through a direct sales force and an extensive network of channel partners and systems integrators. Much like past acquisitions of Compellent and EqualLogic, Dell is committed to maintaining and growing Force10’s channel program. Force10’s customers include leading Web 2.0 and Fortune 100 companies, Internet portals, global carriers, leading research laboratories and government organizations with some of the world’s most demanding network environments.

Distinguishing characteristics of Force10 include:

• Flexible, open automation and management
• Massively scalable core datacenter network at a fraction of the cost
• Automated policy configuration and mobility

Dell Leadership in the ‘Virtual Era’

In the ‘Virtual Era,’ Dell delivers an open and integrated approach to datacenter solutions. As part of this approach, Dell’s networking philosophy drives performance that can radically reduce costs by significantly streamlining operations. Force10 solutions provide enterprise performance and resiliency while reducing overall total cost of ownership (TCO), simplifying network deployment, and supporting open, standards-based systems and management solutions. Dell and Force10 have had a successful partnership for more than six years, providing datacenter customers with open, capable and affordable networking solutions.

Dell’s intelligent infrastructure management vision enables orchestration of the underlying server, storage, and network resources in an open fashion, agnostic of whether they are physical or virtual, local or remote, Dell or ecosystem-provided, while ensuring that automated control of those resources is responsive, economical, secure, and resilient.

Force10 was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with research and development operations based in Silicon Valley. Dell also plans to keep Force10’s existing operations in Chennai, India as it continues to invest in additional engineering and sales capability to grow this business.

The transaction was approved by the board of directors of each company. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction remains subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in late summer.

Quotes

“Today’s datacenter networks are too complex and require too much manual intervention. What worked in the past is no longer viable in the virtual era,” said Brad Anderson, senior vice president, Enterprise Solutions Group, Dell. “Dell’s approach of offering customers open, capable and affordable solutions aligns with Force10’s approach to offering customers new levels of flexibility, performance, scale and automation which is fundamental to changing the economics of datacenter networking.”

“We are excited to work with Dell. Combining Dell’s global scale, reach and enterprise portfolio with our innovation in high-performance networking provides our customers the best end-to-end solution for today’s and tomorrow’s data centers,” said Henry Wasik, chief executive officer, Force10 Networks.

An analyst call with Dave Johnson, SVP, Corporate Strategy, Dell, Brad Anderson, SVP, Enterprise Product Group, Dell, Dario Zamarian, VP General Manager Networking, Dell, and Henry Wasik, CEO Force10 Networks, will be webcast live today at 8:45 a.m. CST and archived at www.dell.com/investor.

About Force10 Networks

Force10 Networks develops high-performance datacenter solutions powered by the industry’s most innovative line of open, standards-based, networking hardware and software. The company’s Open Cloud Networking framework grants Web 2.0/portal operators, cloud and hosting providers, enterprise and special-purpose datacenter customers new levels of flexibility, performance, scale and automation—fundamentally changing the economics of datacenter networking. Force10 Networks operates globally, providing 24×7 service and support to its customer base in more than 60 countries worldwide. 

About Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers worldwide innovative technology, business solutions and services they trust and value. For more information, visit www.dell.com.

Special Note: 
Statements in this press release that relate to future results and events are forward-looking statements based on Dell’s current expectations. Actual results and events in future periods may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements because of a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that projected benefits may not materialize as expected; that the transaction may not be timely completed, if at all; that Dell is unable to successfully implement the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations, including the execution of integration strategies; and other risks that are described in Dell’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports. Dell undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Dell is a trademark of Dell Inc. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.