The VIA VB8002 Mini-ITX board continues VIA's drive into compact, power-efficient multimedia server markets and is designed to meet the needs of consumers who not only want to securely store, manage and share their media libraries, but also stream high quality content in their homes.

"The VIA Nano processor is ideally suited to server applications that require superb performance in tandem with great power efficiency," said Daniel Wu, Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "We are convinced that the VIA VB8002 board will be applauded by system integrators as the most well balanced, feature-rich media server platform available."

Equipped with the advanced 1.6GHz VIA Nano processor and unified VIA CX700M2 media system processor, the 17cm x 17cm Mini-ITX form factor VIA VB8002 brings superb multimedia performance to a comprehensive feature set, offering system integrators the ultimate media server solution.

With an onboard digital HDTV encoder for high-definition video resolutions, VIA Vinyl 7.1 channel HD audio for a rich audio experience and a range of consumer I/O options including composite and component RCA ports, DVI and S-Video ports, S/PDIF audio, and onboard connectors for LVDS and TV out, the VIA VB8002 is well equipped for today's digital media applications.

About the VIA Nano Processor
Building on the market-leading energy efficiency of the VIA C7 processor family, the new VIA Nano processor uses a 64-bit, out of order, superscalar architecture that has been specifically designed to deliver truly optimized performance for the most demanding multimedia and entertainment applications.

The VIA Nano processor places significant emphasis on high-performance floating-point execution, using a completely new algorithm for floating-point calculations that helps facilitate smooth playback of high resolution, advanced video codecs.

The excellent computational performance of the VIA Nano processor is coupled with aggressive thermal and power management, naturally resulting in a market leading performance-per-watt ratio. Thus the VIA Nano processor addresses the need for enhanced stability and lower energy consumption in consumer device design.

For more information about the VIA Nano processor please visit:http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/processors/nano/

U-Wars is a sci-fi tactical shooter for the PC and Xbox360 with the action taking place in the near future. The local conflicts are growing into larger ones, spreading the terrorist threat and tensions around the globe. NATO countries are combining efforts to destroy the most dangerous and powerful of terrorist organization, known as the Golden Hawk. Formed in the end of 20th century, Golden Hawk possesses huge resources that are coming out of drug distribution, slaves and weapon smuggling.

The player will take command of an elite Navy Seals squad, accomplishing covert operations both on land and underwater. The Navy Seals members are equipped with hi-tech weaponry and power armors. With NVIDIA PhysX technology, Biart Studio have designed a game with highly destructible environments, immersive storylines with expressive characters, and a huge choice of tactical equipment, including a variety of weapons, jetpack suits, and submarines. On the PC, the physics effects are also hardware accelerated by any CUDA-enabled CUDA general purpose parallel computing processor, including NVIDIA GeForce GPUs 8800 GTX or faster.

"Sega has been using PhysX technology for several years, but this new agreement enables our studios to take advantage of the full portfolio of cross-platform PhysX engines," said Takashi Shoji, Department Manager, Consumer Software R & D Support Dept., Consumer R&D Division, SEGA Corporation. "APEX was an important factor in our decision because it enables us to create high quality physics content in an easier and more productive manner.

NVIDIA PHYSX TECHNOLOGY BRIGHTENS DARKEST OF DAYS

Darkest of Days is a historically-based first-person shooter (FPS) where gamers will travel back and forth in time to experience some of history's "darkest days" and fight through some of the most epic battles in history. To ensure the battles are as realistic as possible, developer 8monkey Labs turned to NVIDIA PhysX technology in order to create environments that were interactive, expressive, and as natural as possible.

"It was critical to the success of Darkest of Days that these epic moments in world history are experienced in eerily accurate detail, and NVIDIA PhysX technology helped us achieve that goal," said Mark Doeden, Art Director at 8monkey Labs. "Our Marmoset Engine brings these battles to life with a completely unique look, and the PhysX technology was instrumental in making the game feel alive and real.

The game's jetpack allows players to fly with reckless abandon while performing hair-raising stunts, taking the 3D action to a whole new level. Airtight Games is utilizing both NVIDIA PhysX and APEX technologies to deliver an inspired, interactive experience, complete with a GPU-accelerated particle system that is used extensively for weapons and debris effects.

Without NVIDIA PhysX technology, John Connor and the rest of mankind battling the metallic armies of Skynet doesn't stand a chance. Luckily for all of us, GRIN - the Sweden-based developers of the upcoming video game Terminator Salvation - chose NVIDIA PhysX technology to help them deliver a compelling, interactive, action-packed, third-person shooter video game that will be released in conjunction with the highly-anticipated Halcyon film, which opens nationwide in the U.S. on May 21, 2009.

The game Terminator Salvation offers players the chance to assume the role of John Connor, a soldier in the resistance, battling for survival against the far superior forces of Skynet. Featuring third-person action adventure, with concentrated armed combat against all of the Skynet enemies from the film as well as new enemies designed specifically for the game, NVIDIA PhysX technology allowed GRIN designers and artists to bring the futuristic world of 2016 to life. From realistic weapon effects to destructible environments, Terminator Salvation will deliver wholly interactive and immersive gaming environments to satisfy even the most discriminating player.

Graphics chips (GPUs and IGPs) are the leading indicator of the PC market. The GPUs go into a system before it becomes a PC and gets into the hands of the customer.

In Q3 and Q4 of 2008 the channel stopped ordering GPUs and depleted inventory in anticipation of a long drawn out worldwide recession. But, no recession, no matter how severe results in zero sales. The world continued to turn and the consumers continued to buy, albeit they bought less.

So by Q1'09, inventories were depleted and the channel and OEMs had to start buying. The net result was Intel and Nvidia were the big winners, breaking an eight year seasonal trend that dictated negative sales from Q4 to Q1. This year Q1 shipments were up.

Things probably aren't going to get back to the normal seasonality till Q3 this year, and we won't hit the levels of 2008 until 2010, and people still need to buy things. Old computers will fail, new employees will be hired and need machines, and of course software upgrades like Windows 7 will be coming along..

We are still predicting an upturn in the PC market in Q3 and Q4 and in particular for the graphics market (which serves not just PCs but aerospace and automotive, industrial systems, medical systems, kiosks and POS). We are optimistic because these are seasonally the best quarters.

• New designs from ATI & Nvidia. Yes we expect ATI & Nvidia to introduce new products that will stimulate buyers' appetites
  
• GPUs will be based on 40nm which will be exciting and performance enhancing.
  
• Inventories depleted need to restock for back-to-school, and the holiday madness.
  
• Pent up demand.
  
• Effect of the stimulus programs worldwide
  
• New operating systems: Apple's Snow Leopard, and Windows 7 will help stimulate new purchases in the fall

In other words, the cleaning out of old inventory, both in the electronics, automotive, and real-estate markets should be pretty well completed by the end of the summer (and some amazing deals will be available if you are happy with 2008 technology).

We're just finalizing our Q1'09 Market Watch report and will have all the details on this quarter (and every other one back to Q1'04) for our subscribers first thing tomorrow.

"PC Power & Cooling has a rich history when it comes to highly efficient, maximum-performance power supplies," stated Ryan Edwards, Director of Product Management for OCZ Technology. "With the release of the newest member of our legendary Silencer series, we continue a long-standing commitment of building quality PSUs that began nearly a quarter century ago. Today's enthusiast and mission-critical market expects the highest efficiency possible while still maintaining reliable, cutting-edge performance, and the new PC&C Silencer 910 delivers on these requirements and more, offering the ultimate high-performance package retailing under $200."

Designed to offer consumers a combination of legendary PSU architecture and the ultimate in quiet power management, the Silencer 910 is the optimal power solution for gamers and enthusiasts with multiple power-hungry drives and video cards. The Silencer delivers 910 Watts of continuous power and 1KW at its peak, and offers a temperature rating of 50C, twice that of the industry standard. Garnering an 80+ Silver Certification, the Silencer 910 is one of the highest efficiency PSUs on the market for energy and cost savings at 88% efficiency typical load.

Next-generation platforms and high-performance graphics cards are essential components for modern gaming and enthusiast system builds. Tested and qualified under NVIDIA's renowned certification program, the rock solid Silencer 910 edition not only meets a high standard of quality, but guarantees superior compatibly with the latest graphic cards to provide sufficient output to even the most demanding GPUs and cutting-edge platforms. Featuring rock-solid, super-clean DC output, a powerful Single Rail +12VDC (74A), and complete array of connectors including quad PCI-Express, 24-pin, dual 8-pin, and 4/8-pin motherboard connectors, this PSU can power an array of high end components.

Supporting Mac OS X, Thecus NAS users can conveniently exchange and share files through Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), Server Message Block (SMB) and File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Under full supported design, Mac users can enjoy many more appealing features on Thecus NAS:

• Data Security : with RAID redundancy with numbers of hard disks on Thecus NAS, the fear of data loss due to hard disk damage is completely eliminated. Enjoy huge storage and perfect data protection on one device.
  
• Scheduled and Automatic Backup : leave the regular backup work to Thecus NAS and never have to worry about losing data.
  
• Versatile applications : Thecus NAS has got it all, storage, file sharing, multimedia, and surveillance center. All you need is Thecus NAS.
  
• Wireless Ready : with an USB wireless dongle, network service is not bounded by the limitation of wires and cables. Users are able to enjoy network resources anywhere at home or office.

Gigantic space for secured storage and backup plus all-around usages, what’s not to like about Thecus NAS? On top of all the fascinating features, Thecus NAS is affordable and extremely easy to use. Simply plug into your Mac system and you are set to enjoy quality digital network environment with cost remarkably below other manufacturers.