Asus' EEE Slate EP121 1A011M Poked and Prodded
- Category: Pro Systems
- Created: 13 April 2011
With every new product that hits the market there are going to be winners and losers. This is true from CPUs to GPU s and everything in between. There is one place where this is more true than any other segment of the market; this is the mobile market. Now the mobile market does not just mean phones (smart or dumb). This market includes everything from portable power sources to fully fledged desktop replacement notebooks. Currently the most competitive market is in the Tablet world. To most people Apple is king. They have the most successful tablet device out and are well into the second generation of the iPad. But first does not always mean best nor does popularity alone indicate complete success (although it certainly helps). Today we have the chance to take a look at one of the competitors to Apple. Not necessarily the iPad, although it will challenge that device in a major way, this is more of a direct threat to the Apple fan base and their tablet/ultra-portable devices. This is the EEE Slate EP121 (also called the EEE Pad) from Asus; a product launched at CES and one that packs quite a bit of hardware including an Intel Core i5 Dual Core CPU and up to 4GB of RAM. So sit back for a good read and decide for yourself if this one falls into the winner’s group or the losers.
We try Windows 8 on the Asus EEE Slate EP 121... Again * Updated
- Category: Mobile Computing
- Created: 29 February 2012
Today marked the day that Microsoft released Windows 8 to the general public. We have tinkered with several builds of Windows 8, but so far we have not been all that impressed with what the guys in Redmond have come up with. Our big issue has been the lack of functionality and usability in the new MetroUI. In our last public coverage we had to switch back to Windows 7 after only three days or testing. So now let’s take another stab at getting Windows 8 running on current hardware, namely our Asus EEE Slate EP121.
More fun with Windows 8 on our EEE Slate EP 121... The Metro UI
- Category: Mobile Computing
- Created: 01 March 2012
So after our look at the installation of Windows 8 on our Asus EEE Slate EP 121 we have gotten through the mess of installing drivers that are not meant for our device and getting some basic applications installed. We are now ready to take a look at the Metro UI and some of the features built into the Windows 8 platform. Let’s kick off with how fast this new OS starts up from a cold boot.
Linux version of Steam beta expands
- Category: News
- Created: 24 November 2012
About a day ago we brought you good news about Steam sales and today we bring you more; especially if you are a Linux user. Valve has announced on their official website that they will drastically increase the number of beta testers for the Ubuntu Linux version of Steam's client. So far there are about 1000 Linux users that testing the platform which was launched with 12 Steam titles and the Big Picture mode, running on Ubuntu 12.04.
Windows 8 Gaming Part II; nVidia takes its turn
- Category: Games
- Created: 14 March 2012
Yesterday the internet had an unexpected (by some) show of nVidia’s Mobile 28nm Kepler GPU. This was done through the review of an Acer Ultrabook. Although the desktop flavor is still some time away (maybe end of April or early May) we now can start to make guesses about how kepler might compare. Of course the real performance of Kepler is anyone’s guess. We decided to continue on with our coverage of Windows 8 x64. This time we dive into the nVidia side of gaming with an nVidia GTX 470 dropped into our testing rig. We used the same games and, of course, we shot some video of how well it worked out.
Windows 8 and RT Security; The Good the Bad and What It All Means
- Category: Editorials
- Created: 06 September 2012
As we have been working with Windows 8 and Windows 2012 server we have become increasingly concerned about security. Although Microsoft has claimed that they have improved security through items like the locked UEFI boot process there are still glaring omissions in security that keep popping up very recently it was noted that despite the claims from Microsoft of a more secure login process the password hint is exposed in the SID database and easily recovered remotely. We also found that users’ contact lists are also left in the open (and in plain text) and available to anyone that can gain remote elevated privileges; which is what almost all Viruses and Malware try to do.
Windows RT ARM Driver Issues May Cause Problems With Manufacturing; Microsoft’s Surface Not Helping
- Category: Editorials
- Created: 07 July 2012
Microsoft’s Windows 8 (both Windows RT and Windows 8 for x86-64) is due to hit the market around November of this year and it has already caused a ton of controversy. But there is one that did not get a ton of press when it was announced that highlights a few issues with Windows that many are not anticipating. Around the first of July it was announced that HP would not be making an ARM based tablet for the next OS and we also know that Acer will probably not as well.
Windows 8 RTM Leaked; Again...
- Category: News
- Created: 05 August 2012
Russian leaker WZOR confirmed yesterday that he is in possesion of both x86 and x 64 Windows 8 Enterprise RTM. He stated that they will leak these to the web anytime and that the "Pro" versions (both x64 and x86) can also be expected in near future. This version differs from the earlier "N" editions by not having Windows Media Player stripped out. Windows Server 2012 was also leaked yesterday via the same source, and will probably be available together with Windows 8 RTM leaked versions on popular torrent sites, and similar sources.
We Check Out Internet Explorer 10 for Metro and The Desktop, Plus a few other Metro Apps
- Category: Consumer Software
- Created: 15 March 2012
Microsoft is doing the hard sell on Windows 8 features and in particular they have made a valiant effort to push past some of the bad press (and consumer grumbling) about Metro UI and the way many of the apps are locked down. We have talked a little about this and even touched on it during some of our gaming coverage. Although you can launch “desktop” applications from the Start Screen (The Metro UI interface) you are not actually running them there. The only apps that will run in Metro UI Mode are ones that are downloaded from the Microsoft Store. This limits the functionality of the OS in many ways. Sure you can get some applications to interact with each other, but even then there are limitations.
Nokia's Lumia 920 hot in China
- Category: News
- Created: 03 January 2013
It seems that the Nokia Lumia 920 is selling like crazy in China. Although it has been said that the number of available devices based on Microsoft operating systems is relatively small, still orders for Windows Phones are not a normal occurance. That is until the Lumia 920.
