MSI has pulled the wraps off a new notebook that uses tech to help extend the battery with dual GPUs inside. The tech is the same as what NVIDIA has been offering for a while with Optimus, but goes by MSIs own name in this iteration. MSI called the graphics switching tech GPU Boost technology. The tech allows the machine to change from a power sipping internal GPU to a discrete GPU for more power when needed.

The discrete GPU in this case is the NVIDIA GeForce 310M with 512MB of RAM. The notebook also has a special MSI exclusive anti-scratch, anti-smudge raised totem seal coating. I'm not sure what that means other than the thing has a raised embossed finish on the wrist rest and lid. The notebook also has Cinema Pro technology for the best graphics for movies and video content. The screen of the machine is a 15.6-inch LED backlit 720p resolution unit.

The CPU inside the machine can be an Intel Core i3 or a Core i5 depending on options. The OS is Windows 7 Home Premium, and the rig has up to 8GB of RAM. The video output of the machine includes HDMI out and VGA out and a DVD burner is built-in. Other features include an eSATA port, USB 2.0 ports, and a memory card reader. WiFi and Bluetooth are also integrated along with a HD resolution webcam and a 6-cell battery. Pricing and availability are unknown.

It has been a long-standing rumor - a Facebook branded phone... well, Facebook has invited press to it's Palo Alto HQ in the US on Wednesday to supposedly unveil some big mobile news. Speculation on this, is of course Facebook will finally release a Facebook-branded smartphone.

Even some previously top of the mountain mobile King's like Nokia and Sony Ericsson are struggling to keep customers, or release something that stays in the headlines like Apple, Google or Microsoft and their respective phones, or mobile OS's - Facebook is a name big enough in the world to actually do this.

Keep in mind, according to Australian telco's, in Australia alone Facebook could account for up to 80 percent of web traffic on Aussie networks. With Facebook saying they have 150 million of their users accessing their accounts through phones - this is a huge, huge deal.

For fans of a NAS server - if you haven't used one, you really should - 18 months with one myself and I'll never, ever go back, this will be something you will like to read.

Today, Thecus pulled the veil back on their new 4-bay NAS, the Thecus N4200Eco NAS Server which promises to deliver next-generation performance and functionality.

The N4200Eco delivers first-class performance at an economy-class price. The two Gigabit Ethernet ports provide high throughput, which is a perfect match for the N4200Eco's four hot-swappable SATA bays worth of storage potential. Users can install up to 8TBs of storage, and manage it all with multiple RAID modes including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 and JBOD. Changing a damaged hard disk is easy, thanks to a slew of useful capabilities including online RAID migration and expansion, hot spare and auto rebuild, and to further protect sensitive data, AES 128bit RAID volume encryption is included as well.

Google has confirmed that it's Street View program has stopped operations in Australia - in the wake of it's Wi-Fi data collection controversy earlier in the year.

Google revealed the news at a Senate inquiry into the practice of protecting the privacy of Australians online - with Google admitting it had indeed "mistakenly" collected data from home networks via it's Street View cars - noting that private emails, web addresses and even passwords were among the data collected.

Iarla Flynn, the head of Google's public policy and government affairs, told the Senate that it's Street View cars driving in Australia and overseas were primarily taking pictures for the service and collecting Wi-Fi information to help with it's location based services. Flynn added "When we discovered the mistake in collection of payload data we stopped all Street View driving and we've not resumed driving here at this time,"

Well! This is turning into quite the fight between the GPU titans, NVIDIA and AMD.

NVIDIA have had information slowly leaking out about their upcoming GF110-based GPU, the GeForce GTX580 for a few weeks now - but the specs and information are starting to get a bit more precise, instead of guesstimates.

For nearly 6 months now, the GTX480 has been the single fastest [single] GPU available - yes the Radeon 5970 is faster, but it's a dual GPU design. AMD had the market for Q4 2009 and Q1 2010, but NVIDIA have at least been able to claim that victory amongst the sour grapes of the card (power, heat, noise, delays, etc).

Bang & Olufsen makes some undeniably high-end gear for audiophiles and video fans. I have tested a few of their offerings over the years for the iPhone and iPods and the stuff looks very cool and sounds really good too. I have also had some of their headphones and speakers for computers in my hands and all around the gear has been top notch. B&O has a line of crazy expensive LED TVs for people with the loot to afford high-end hardware for the living room and the company has announced a new, smaller screen set to its line.

B&O have unveiled, the new 32-inch BeoVision 10 LED TV. The TV uses edge lit LED backlighting and the set measures in at 32" x 29.2" x 2.52" and weighs 59.4 pounds. It can be had in black or white cabinets and the frame of the TV is silver. Several fabric colors can be use do the front for accenting including black, blue, gray, silver, orange, and white. The screen can show 16.7 million colors.

The resolution of the set is 1080p and it has a 120Hz refresh rate. Inputs include a trio of HDMI ports and nothing else. The set has integrated stereo speakers and the set ships with a Beo4 remote with the option of getting a Beo5 remote. There are a number of accessories offered including a motorized floor stand, motorized table stand, and several wall brackets. The TV will ship in November for $4,707 on the low end and goes up to well over $5,000 depending on the options chosen.

I'm not sure why it is that in my area I can't seem to get a reliable 3G connection with AT&T on my iPhone. The connection drops in and out of 3G and will go from one bar to full bars depending on how I hold my head and what time of day it is. Anyone with a similar problem knows how frustrating it can be. My 3G connection might be spotty here in Texas and AT&T may drive me crazy, but folks at the top of Mount Everest can now get full 3G connectivity for voice and data.

A Swedish telecom company called TeliaSonera has wired up a nearby village called Gorakshep that is in the Everest region. The 3G base station near the city has the oomph it needs to shoot a signal to the 17,000-foot peak of Everest. The system has enough bandwidth that a video call was made from a base camp at Mount Everest.

Interestingly the same wireless carrier has the world's lowest 3G station at 4,595 feet below sea level inside a European mine. The 3G service reaches to the top of Everest so now people, can Tweet about their summit adventure or beg for help in an emergency. The new connectivity means that climbers won't have to depend on satellite phones in an emergency. The downside is sherpas will now have to deal with the constant ding of text messages during their climb.

Home theater in a box systems have been around for a long time and they tend to put all of the stuff you need in one package so you don't have to guess at what to buy for a nice home theater system. Not all home theater in a box systems are created equal though, some include cables, the Blu-ray player and speakers while others only have speakers.

Harman Kardon has announced a new home theater in a box system called the HKTS 60 that offers speakers only. The company is well known for its line of speakers and has been selling gear for a long time for computer users and audiophiles, plus it has sound systems in some cars and trucks as well. The HKTS 60 system features a powered 8-inch sub with 200W of power, four identical 2.5-inch dual-driver satellites, and matching center channel speaker.

This particular system lacks the amp and other things you will need to complete the system. The speakers are all you get for your $1199 making this high-end system for the folks with a larger budget. "We have always been committed to designing and engineering products that bring out the most immersive entertainment and music experiences for the home in the most convenient of ways," said Christopher M. Dragon, director of Consumer and Field Marketing, HARMAN Consumer, Inc. "The HKTS 60 - the newest of its kind in the HKTS family - is no different."

Earlier today we visited the BitFenix offices here in Taipei and got acquainted with some of its new case fans and accessories for its range of computer cases.

First up David introduced us to their full range of new Spectre case fans. The fluid dynamic bearing fans come in either black or white and in a range of sizes (12cm - 52 CFM and 18 dB-A, 14cm - 60 CFM and 18 dB-A, 20cm - 65 CFM and 19 dB-A and 23cm - 115 CFM and 20 dB-A) for your cooling needs. There is the standard Spectre that comes in black or white and then there is the Spectre LED that just comes in black with four LEDs if I recall correctly. LED fan colors up for grabs are green, blue, orange, white and red.

Next on the agenda and kind of linked in with the BitFenix fans is the Hydra, which is a LED fan controller. This nifty little black device allows you to hook in up to 9 Spectre LED fans and adjust the intensity of the LEDs on the fans.

Electronic paper screen are on the market in force with several different products being the same basic thing. We have ePaper and eInk for instance that are different flavors of the same tech that offers a black and white image on a screen that uses little power and lacks a backlight. These screens are very common today in devices like eReaders and you can find them on some watches even.

A company called EKING has unveiled a really cool new product called the S700 that claims to be the world's first E-notebook. The device is in a case that looks like a spiral notebook and inside that notebook is a 7-inch digital paper screen. The big difference between this digital paper screen and the ones on devices like the nook or Kindle is that the S700 has color. The screen also support two input methods with resistive touch and electromagnetic induction touch. That means the screen supports navigation with your finger and it recognizes handwriting from a stylus.

The S700 has 3G and WiFi connectivity and can surf the web and check email. Those emails can even be handwritten. When work is done, you can use the device to watch video and play games as well. Other features included a fingerprint security system and a 3MP camera. That camera can take photos of business cards and then put the contact information into the contacts list on the S700. The S700 sounds very interesting and the only issue is that we don't know the price or if the Chinese gadget will come to the US or other countries.