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TRIM Enabler 2.0 for OS X Lion is now available

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Jan 23, 2012 2:23 AM CST

Originally, this was going to be my "Download of the Day", but I figure that this would only be applicable to a small percentage of users compared to what has now become Download of the Day. Think of this as "Download of the Day 1.5". TRIM Enabler 2.0 for OS X Lion is now available.

What makes this release special? Well, usually TRIM is reserved on Lion for Apple SSDs. Non-Apple SSDs don't get the TRIM goodness within OS X Lion. Older TRIM enablers required Terminal usage, and knowledge on how to use it. Oskar "Cindori" Groth developed an app called TRIM Enabler. The app has hit version 2.0 and is now compatible with OS X Lion. Version 1.x worked in Lion, but included an old kext from Snow Leopard that caused worse performance for some users.

TRIM Enabler 2.0 patches said kext file for you and repairs permissions, something that would normally require the user to do manually through a Terminal-based method. TRIM Enabler also supports S.M.A.R.T. monitoring on some SSDs, allowing the user to see lifetime reads, and the amount of retired blocks, for example.

Continue reading: TRIM Enabler 2.0 for OS X Lion is now available (full post)

Thecus Upgrades Its 32-bit Firmware to V5.02.02

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | Jan 22, 2012 10:49 PM CST

Network Attached Storage heroes, Thecus have released the new V5.02.02 firmware which adds new features, protocol updates, and of course, the usual tweaking. The new update is available for all V5-compatible models.

Quick access models gets a nice upgrade, where there is now the possibility to add an extra button on the login screen where you can choose the desired module and login with the proper user account. Third-party developers can now set their own icon if they wish.

A handy feature included in V5.02.02 firmware is the ability to back up all local users, groups and permissions. You can save them on a RAID volume and restore when required. There's also the ability to export them to another NAS if required. General upgrades and tweaks are below:

Continue reading: Thecus Upgrades Its 32-bit Firmware to V5.02.02 (full post)

28nm at TSMC and GlobalFoundries are going through teething issues, wakes up during the night screaming

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jan 22, 2012 9:27 PM CST

With my beautiful 10-month-old daughter getting multiple teeth at once, it felt right comparing the issues between 28nm and teething. Onto the news! We all know transitioning from an older fabrication to something newer, better, and more exciting can be, well, hard. It's being reported that both TSMC and GlobalFoundaries are both experiencing serious yield issues with their 28nm process nodes, according to Mike Bryant, technology analyst at Future Horizons.

This is reportedly causing a rash of non-working wafers, to the point of having nothing working with some chip designs submitted for production. The problem seems to stem from pressure of bringing these new products to the market, rather than a problem with the technology itself. It takes time, something they don't have, and without said time, they can't iron out all of the issues and they're getting stuck.

Bryant says:

Continue reading: 28nm at TSMC and GlobalFoundries are going through teething issues, wakes up during the night screaming (full post)

Google's Android App Inventor gets open sourced, code has been released

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Jan 22, 2012 8:25 PM CST

In 2011, Google shut down their Google Labs' doors, leaving many, disappointed. Popular app "Android App Inventor" was handed over to MIT, as well as a decently sized donation to help fund a new mobile learning initiative.

What has happened between now and then? Well, behind closed doors, a lot it seems. Google and MIT have just announced the Android App Inventor source code, with both Google and MIT both pleased to announce the initial free and open-source release of App Inventor.

In a blog post on the new MIT website, with app designer Hal Abelson writing:

Continue reading: Google's Android App Inventor gets open sourced, code has been released (full post)

Apple announce iBooks 2, set to make books magical again

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Jan 20, 2012 4:21 AM CST

Apple SVP Paul Schiller took the stage to unveil something Apple has been cooking up for a while, and a long-rumored "education-centric announcement", which has morphed into iBook 2, where Schiller calls it a "new textbook experience for the iPad".

Roger Rosner, Apple's VP of productivity software has explained how it will work. Textbooks appear on the shelf, you then tap to launch. The books occupy the full screen and can be paired with embedded video content and introductory movies. Multi-touch rears its head and can be used to navigate through the textbook pages and can manipulate integrated 3D models for biology books, for example.

Rotating books allows users to focus on text, and there are built-in, linked glossaries and tablets of content to make navigation simple and accessible, as well as everything is searchable. iBooks 2 also includes highlighting, note-taking and interactive Q&A sections at the end of each chapter, which also provide immediate feedback: no more hunting for a key in a separate book or appendix to see how you did it.

Continue reading: Apple announce iBooks 2, set to make books magical again (full post)

Intel reports record year, $54 billion in annual revenue

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jan 20, 2012 3:16 AM CST

Intel have today reported a full-year revenue of an astounding $54 billion, with an operating income of $17.5 billion, net income of $12.9 billion, and EPS of $2.39. The thing associated with all of those huge numbers? They're all records. Intel had an amazing year in 2011.

Intel generated approximately $21 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $4.1 billion and used $14.1 billion to repurchase 642 million shares of stock. Q4 2011 saw Intel post a revenue of $13.9 billion, operating revenue of $4.6 billion, net income of $3.4 billion and EPS of 64 cents. Q1 2012 has been good so far, with their business outlook mentioning revenue sitting at $12.8 billion, plus or minus $500 billion.

Full-year 2012 details are interesting, with stand-outs like Research & Development (R&D) expected to hit $10.1 billion. With Intel heading into the smartphone market, that $10.1 billion could go a very long way. With their lead bulldozing the CPU competition, Intel don't really even need to release something that much faster to stay on top. But, if they slow down, it might give AMD enough time to catch up.

Continue reading: Intel reports record year, $54 billion in annual revenue (full post)

iSuppli: Windows Phone to surpass iOS by 2015

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Jan 20, 2012 1:29 AM CST

In September 2011, IDC and Gartner predicted that Windows Phone would take second position, knocking Apple from their place by 2015. Windows Phone head of marketing Achim Berg called that prediction "conservative". iSuppli have chimed in, predicting that Windows Phone will have a 16.7-percent market share by 2015, while Apple's market share will decline from the current 18-percent to 16.6-percent by 2015.

Overtake generally means to catch up, look over, smile and wave as you go faster, get ahead of them and continue going... but, iSuppli predict by 2015 that Windows Phone will have a 16.7-percent share of the market, and iOS will have 16.6-percent, this is just .1-percentage different. 3 letters, starts with L, ends in L.

What I don't understand from these numbers, is that it doesn't account for the fact that there will be no new entries into the market. Before Apple introduced the iPhone, if you had told me that they'd be where they are today, five years ago, I would've thrown an orange at you and laughed. But now, they are the company to compare to, funnily enough. Right now, I just can't see Windows Phone taking that much market share, but I can see Google dominating the next few years if they continue the path they've taken.

Continue reading: iSuppli: Windows Phone to surpass iOS by 2015 (full post)

Kodak files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jan 20, 2012 12:29 AM CST

Eastman Kodak, the 133-year-old iconic American company that invented the handheld camera, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. After years of losing profits, and responding slowly to the ever-changing market, bankruptcy seems to be their only way out.

The move follows a long-term restructuring plan by chairman and CEO Antonio Perez, where since 2003, Kodak have closed 13 manufacturing plans, cut its worth force from 145,000 down to 17,000. 15 years ago, Kodak were valued at around $31 billion, its current value? Just $150 million.

Perez has said:

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Amazon makes more than $100 per Kindle Fire sold

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jan 19, 2012 11:23 PM CST

Amazon lose money on each Kindle Fire sold, as hardware and manufacturing costs of the Kindle Fire exceed its retail pricing, but somehow, Amazon aren't losing money on it. How does Amazon conduct this sorcery? Well, with every Kindle sold is another annuity revenue stream for the company, further strengthening its core retail business.

According to RBC, each Kindle Fire generates more than $100 in additional income, which makes up for the $2-$3 that Amazon make per device. RBC Capital analyst, Ross Sandler, said in research notes to clients:

Kindle Fire unit economics are likely to be more favorable than consensus expectations, based primarily on frequency of digital goods purchases. Our assumption is that Amazon could sell 3-4 million Kindle Fire units in Q4, and that those units are accretive to company-average operating margin within the first six months of ownership. Our analysis assigns a cumulative lifetime operating income per unit of $136, with a cumulative operating margin of over 20 percent.

Continue reading: Amazon makes more than $100 per Kindle Fire sold (full post)

Google pass $10 billion revenue for Q4 2011

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jan 19, 2012 8:18 PM CST

Google have released some financial results that might interest some, with Q4 011 and fiscal year ending December 31, 2011 being released. CEO of Google, Larry Page, says:

Google had a really strong quarter ending a great year. Full year revenue was up 29%, and our quarterly revenue blew past the $10 billion mark for the first time. I am super excited about the growth of Android, Gmail, and Google+, which now has 90 million users globally - well over double what I announced just three months ago. By building a meaningful relationship with our users through Google+ we will create amazing experiences across our services. I'm very excited about what we can do in 2012 - there are tremendous opportunities to help users and grow our business.

$10 billion revenue for Q4 is very impressive, up 29-percent. Google reported revenues of $10.58 billion for the quarter ending December 31, 2011, an increase of 25-percent when compared to the same quarter in 2010. Google-owned sites generated revenues of $7.29 billion, or 69-percent of total revenues. This is an increase of 15-percent year-over-year. Google's partner sites generated revenues of $2.88 billion, or 27-percent of revenues. This too is a 15-percent increase year-over-year.

Continue reading: Google pass $10 billion revenue for Q4 2011 (full post)

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