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Computex 2012 - We spent quite a bit of time with GIGABYTE yesterday on Day 0 of Computex in their VIP meeting rooms on the 36th floor of Taipei 101 where we got a good chance to look at some of their range of new Ultra Durable 5 based motherboards.

During our meeting we were told that GIGABYTE were the only motherboard maker to have a board that supports dual Thunderbolt ports. It turns out this is not true.

As we were walking around on our spy mission early in the Nangang Computex hall, we ran into ASRock who were showing off an upcoming Intel Z77 based motherboard that also supports dual Thunderbolt ports on the I/O panel.

Computex 2012 - Yesterday we managed to sneak into the Nangang hall at Computex and what follows is first of the many exclusives we managed to find during the Day 0 setup of Computex.

We walked around the hall as everyone was busy setting up for the show and our first stop we walked into the MSI booth where on display was their upcoming NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 Lightning video card. It features some wicked MSI workmanship including an unlocked BIOS to disable everything, that is all the protections that hinder overclocking and allow you to go for your life. Things such as disabling Over Current Protection, disabling Active Phase Switching and an increased power range limit is included.

Not only that but the GTX 680 Lightning features a digital PWM controller along with what MSI calls an enhanced power design which allows for "2X power output for maximum OC potential".

I got a chance to speak with the Director of Marketing over at Marvell and got the scoop on their new wireless chip. What can only be described as the way of the future, the new Avastar 88W8897 is an incredible chip. Marvell is often the wireless provider for smartphones, gaming consoles, and other embedded systems, but is targeting the PC market with this new chip.

The new chip is the world's first MIMO 802.11ac wireless solution. MIMO is used on products which feature multiple antennas. The 88W8897 features two antennas and two spatial streams which provide an incredible 867Mbps transfer rate. The new solution also provides Bluetooth support and near-field communication (NFC).

The Director of Marketing explained to me the usefulness of having NFC support in a wireless chip. In case you don't know, NFC is what is being used in those credit cards that don't have to be swiped or in phones that allow you to pay by waving them over a sensor. I won't bore you with how it works, but I will explain the usefulness in having it in a wireless chip.

Computex 2012 - We've just finished with the Ford press conference where they've unveiled their Evos concept car, which is fully Internet-connected and intertwined with the cloud. It's also powered by Microsoft's SYNC technology which can do more things than you can poke a stick at.

Ford is committed to be an electronic leader and working with Microsoft in the new Ford Focus. The new Focus features Sync powered by Microsoft, with better fuel economy, newer design safety features and interiors. Sync connects the car with the driver's personal devices and controls those devices via voice. So far Sync is powered in 4 million units all around the world now it will be available in Taiwan with traditional Chinese and Mandarin language support. Ford hope to see this number increase to 9 million by 2015.

Ford is also introducing App Link that controls apps in drivers personal devices and lets the driver control the device via voice.

Computex 2012 - Besides Thunderbolt, the other big thing for GIGABYTE at Computex 2012 is Ultra Durable 5. The Ultra Durable name has been going strong for the Taiwanese motherboard maker for many years now. Ultra Durable basically stands for the high quality parts that GIGABYTE decide to place on its motherboard that try to make their boards stand out from the competition in terms of stability, life, cooling and more.

The latest addition to the series Ultra Durable 5 adds single package "power stage". It's different from a regular and traditional MOSFET in that the solution from IR (the PowIRstage IR3550) combines all of the parts into a single package chip. Usually the driver IC, high side and low side MOFSETS are separate individually chips. The IR3550 is able to deliver 60 amps of power were power stage chip and is said to deliver and much cooler, cleaner and efficient power supply.

The results really do speak for themselves as you can see in the video above. GIGABYTE had some competitor boards on display that use a traditional 6 phase and 8 phase power design. All systems on display were configured with the exact same hardware and settings with all except the middle boards running the CPU at 100% load. The middle board had a 90% load. You can see from the results yourself that the new power stage feature on GIGABYTE's Ultra Durable 5 makes a really big difference when it comes to the operating temperature of the power area when under load.

Computex 2012 - Before I head out of the VIP Media Suite here at Taipei 101 for GIGABYTE we had a quick look at some of the upcoming motherboards that we'll see over the coming weeks and months. Three boards managed to really steal our attention with the first being a refresh of the high end X79 chipset. The new GA-X79S-UP5 WIFI comes in as part of the new UP series.

Along with that we've got 8 SAS Ports offering us support for a large amount of storage while 3-Way CrossFire and SLI support means that it's a great option for gamers as well who want some serious horsepower. In typical fashion we can also see that Black / Blue design that we've grown to love from Gigabyte over the years.

Along with this, we also saw the new GA-X79-UP4 which also is part of the new UP series from GIGABYTE. This is the first time we've seen a "4" based motherboard with us normally seeing a UD3 and then UD5. As you would assume it slides in between those two boards and when avaliable we'll organise a closer look at it.

Computex 2012 - Thunderbolt is going to be a big thing this year at Computex with Intel having one of the first press events showing off the technology. Over at the Gigabyte suite in Taipei 101 we got a chance to check out the upcoming GA-Z77X-UP5 TH Thunderbolt motherboard which brings with it two onboard Thunderbolt ports offering 10 Gbps transfer each.

What good is a Thunderbolt board without Thunderbolt devices. Alongside the upcoming motherboard we got a chance to look at a number of Thunderbolt

devices that Gigabyte are testing from Apple, Blackmagicdesign, Lacie and Promise to name just a few of the companies. You can also see that we had a chance to see some Thunderbolt cables from SUMITOMO including an upcoming 10m / 20m cable.

Computex 2012 - Hanging out at the VIP Media Room at Taipei 101 we've had a chance to check out a couple of new motherboards that Gigabyte has launch or are launching over the coming weeks and months. The first motherboard we got a chance to look at is the upcoming GA-F2A85X-UP4 which falls into the new UP series from Gigabyte

Supporting next generation FM2 A Series APUs from Intel the GA-F2A85X-UP4 brings with it support for Dual Channel DDR3 2400MHz DDR+, 8 SATA3 ports, 6 USB 3.0 ports and Lucid Virtu technology.

You can see we've got the same black color scheme we've grown to love from Gigabyte along with our quick access power button in the top right corner and our debug reader on the bottom right.

Computex 2012 - We're live here in Taipei and we've just sat in on the Acer press conference where a fair amount of exciting gear was unveiled. Without going into a tonne of details [just yet], what we can tell you is that Windows 8 is a central part of not just Acer's future, but the industry's future. We saw some devices being shown off in the form of a few Ultrabooks, and a 27-inch all-in-one Windows 8-based PC, the Acer Aspire 5600U.

I've got to admit, before this event, I didn't have much faith in Acer going forward into the future, say, 5 years from now, but what they showed off gives me the utmost confidence that they have what it takes to win not just confidence in the industry, but consumer confidence. The all-in-one desktop they displayed was pretty insane, being capable of going into portrait, and swivelling completely horizontal, so it would feel like a super big tablet.

Standing there with our competition winner Roshan (amazing guy btw!), we listened to the presence-bringing J.T. Wang take the stage, where he reiterated how much Windows 8 will change Acer. Normally this would be just press talk, but the room filled with applause when he talked, and his aura took the room into his world. Acer showed off the Aspire 5600U which was very, very impressive, sporting a Full HD display and the ability to tilt completely horizontal. While this may sound unimpressive in text form, it was very cool to see this happen on-stage. The ability to purchase an off-the-shelf desktop PC, and tilt it horizontally to play games, or just take in content is just so impressive. Kudos, Acer.

MCV is reporting that Sony could acquire high-profile cloud gaming firm, Gaikai. It was revealed to MCV exclusively that Sony were looking at acquiring either Gaikai, or OnLive. Either company would bolster Sony's efforts into the cloud gaming universe.

Just yesterday, Gaikai sent out invitations to journalists for what they're calling a game-changing announcement, it reads:

Intel is set to show off some new Ultrabooks powered by their third-generation Intel Core processors otherwise known as Ivy Bridge. Intel took to their blog to state this, and have announced there are now 21 Ultrabooks on the market today, and this list will continue to grow with more than 110 designs currently being worked on.

Intel have said to anyone outside of the company, this may look effortless, but it has been anything but. Intel have knuckled down with customers, partners and suppliers all around the world to "re-think and re-design virtually every major component that makes up an Ultrabook". Intel says they can't wait for everyone to see the next wave of Ultrabooks that sport the Ivy Bridge-based processors that are set to be unveiled next week at Computex in Taipei.

The new Ultrabooks are said to deliver "impressive 3D graphics" that will have "2X the performance gains in media and graphics" on Intel's 17W Ultra processors (gen over gen). Intel have also increased the specifications that they use to define a third-generation Intel Core-based Ultrabook device:

Valve today announced through a press release that the upcoming DOTA 2 will be a free-to-play title, and in preparation for the DOTA 2's release, also announced the DOTA Store. When the DOTA 2 Store's doors open, it will offer items created by Valve, and members of the community.

These items can be used immediately, and will be carrier over after the public launch of DOTA 2. Early access to the game isn't required in order to purchase items before the launch. Gamers may, however, get into the game now by purchasing the DOTA 2 Early Access Bundle of items. IceFrog, design lead on DOTA 2 says:

I imagine most of you are sick of the spam floating around on Facebook; I know I am. Part of the problem is due to OpenGraph and the ability to auto-share. This auto-sharing is the source of many of the annoying, spammy posts that keep showing up in my already crowded news feed. And they crowd out the really important things, such as TweakTown posts.

Facebook has come up with a solution to this problem: the "10 second rule." What this rule does is require a user to read a post or watch a video for at least 10 seconds before it can auto-share it out with the rest of your friends. According to a developer blog post, "Built-in watch and read actions can only be published after someone engages with the content for 10 or more seconds. If a video is shorter than 10 seconds, the viewer must watch the entire video."

The frictionless sharing that Facebook introduced a year ago was helpful in gaining views for integrated services, but it has been taken advantage of since then. Thankfully, Facebook has decided to try curbing it with this new rule. Facebook is also requiring developers to allow access to app content without auto-sharing it. It will be interesting to see if the amount of spam is cut down due to these new changes.

Think your home internet connection is fast? How about your work connection? How about you try 4700Mbps on for size. That's the new speed that has been reached by a German ISP using existing cable network infrastructure. This speed is incredible considering that most PCs only feature Gigabit Ethernet and this would manage to flood that.

Kabel Deutschland, a German cable operator, is claiming to have created a real-world download speed of 4,700Mbps. This ins't theoretical either as they are claiming this speed in a real-world test. Let's see just how fast that is. Four Gigabit connected computers would be unable to max the bandwidth available.

More incredibly, a connection of that speed, if you were able to use it all, could download a full 4.7GB DVD in just a mere 8 seconds. This title isn't the fastest real-world connection, as someone already provided a 40Gbps fiber connection to a residence, but this does use the existing cable networks. The test was carried out to test an upgraded network using the 862MHz spectrum, channel bonding, and the EuroDocsis 3.0 standard.

Not only are the browser wars heating up again, but apparently a new mapping war is heating up. The mapping world used to be just a few key players: Microsoft, Google, and a few other smaller ones. But with Apple now rumored to release its own solution at WWDC, the market is about to become a lot more complex.

It would appear that Google would like to steal some of Apple's thunder before its rumored release of a new mapping service. Google is hosting an invite-only press event in San Francisco to unveil "the next dimension of Google Maps." Considering Apple's new mapping service is expected to be 3D, does the mention of "dimension" in the invitation indicate Google is going to be adding more 3D features?

Google will also offer attendees "a behind-the-scenes look at Google Maps and share our vision. We'll also demo some of the newest technology and provide a sneak peek at upcoming features that will help people get where they want to go - both physically and virtually." Of course, Google already has the 3D Earth, but it requires a plug-in. Could this event be releasing one that runs without a plug-in?

AMD still has yet to release the desktop version of Trinity, but that hasn't stopped ECS from showing off its latest creation. ECS has released pictures and a bit of information about its upcoming motherboard designed for the AMD desktop Trinity APUs. The full-size ATX board is called the A85F2-A Deluxe and looks pretty good.

About all we know about the chipset is that it is an A85X chipset, which is one that AMD has yet to announce. We have a few more details available about the board such as it features six USB 3.0 ports, four of them near the I/O section. The board sports 7 SATA III 6Gbps ports just in case you have that many SSDs. That number also includes an external eSATA port.

The board also features two PCIe-x16 sots for graphics cards. ECS has also said that there are four more FM2 sockets in the works: the A75F2-A2, A75F2-M2, A55F2-A2, and A55F2-M3. Furthermore, the announcement says nothing about backwards compatibility, so for now, I would assume that it is not. And of course, a release date is missing as AMD has yet to release the Trinity APUs.

In a move that should help to keep innovation from being stifled, Judge Alsup, the judge presiding over the Oracle v Google trial, has ruled that sequence, structure, and organization (SSO) is not covered by today's copyright law. This, in turn, allowed him to dismiss the claims by Oracle of Google infringing on their copyright.

Instead of creating a massive precedent by making a wide ruling, Judge Alsup focused very narrowly on specific factors in the case which lead to the decision. This way he didn't create a massive precedent. He has also been very careful throughout the trial. So even though appeals are possible, it is likely his decision will be upheld.

From the judge's ruling:

It has been confirmed that Activision and Jason West and Vincent Zampella have settled their lawsuit out of court after a brief meeting on Thursday. This settlement brings to an end the two year lawsuit stemming from the termination of their employment. There was a lot of he said she said, but in the end, it seems to boil down to the fact Activision didn't want to pay them royalties.

The settlement terms, as par for the course, were not discussed and are highly secretive. This settlement also settles another lawsuit Activision was involved with. This other lawsuit was over royalties as well. When West and Zampella left, 40 or more developers left shortly after. They too filed a lawsuit saying they didn't get their royalty checks.

"All parties have reached a settlement in the dispute, the terms of which are strictly confidential," said Robert Schwartz, an attorney representing West and Zampella. West was in the courtroom, but only grinned widely as he left. Others in the game industry watched closely as it could produce some new case law that would affect somehow.

Apple's next-generation mobile operating system, iOS 6, is expected sometime in the coming months, but BGR is reporting about their Maps app which will support 3D mapping. Apple aren't using Google's mapping data this time around.

BGR has sourced some exclusive information, and photos, of Apple's new Mapps app, with the app featuring an updated user interface as well as a brand new navigation bar. This bar is said to be silver instead of blue. The current Maps app follows the normal blue iOS color scheme, but it looks like Apple could move toward a silver theme for iOS 6, like the iPad.

The iPhone Maps app has a floating 'locate me' button in the bottom left corner. In order to access 3D mode, you'll have to peel back the lower right corner of Maps. Once 3D has been enabled, you can switch in and out of 3D mode by tapping a 3D icon in the lower left hand corner. Apple's acquisition of C3 Technologies has helped them back 3D mapping into their Maps app, which should be a great feature in the new iPhone and iOS.

Ahead of Computex next week, Intel have released details on 14 new dual-core Ivy Bridge-based processors. Core i5 and i7 processors will be among the first to drop, with Core i3 variants arriving later this year.

The Core i3 processors will also be joined with new Pentiums and Celerons, too. Out of the 14 new dual-core processors, six of them are desktop-grade, which means the remaining 8 of them are destined to mobile and ultra-low voltage. Ultra-low voltage chips sport a "U" in their name, which gives their identity away.

With Computex happening next week, we should expect to see a slew of Ultrabooks sporting the new ultra-low voltage Core processors. We should have a bunch of hands-on talk with various models, chips, Ultrabooks and so forth, so check back each and everyday next week for our coverage of Computex!