Latest News

Western Digital launches 2.5-inch, portable 2TB portable hard drive

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 03:08:00 GMT

As more consumers look for storage devices to fill with high definition movies and vast quantities of music, Western Digital has updated the My Passport line with a 2TB hard drive.

Western Digital has shipped the first, portable 2.5-inch hard drive that has a storage capacity of two terabytes. Western Digital was also the first hard drive manufacturer to create a 2TB, 3.5-inch portable hard drive during 2009. The small, My Passport 2TB model comes with USB 3.0 connectivity allowing users to transfer data at speeds up to 5 gigabits per second. The drive also ships with WD SmartWare for backing up software or data files as well as WD Security to utilize hardware encryption and password protection for blocking access to the drive, ideal since the small size may make the drive more prone to misplacing within the workplace or even public places.

While the 2TB model retails for $249.99, Western Digital also offers a 1.5TB for $199.99, a 1TB model for $179.99, a 750 GB model for $149.99 and a 500 GB model for $129.99. The cheaper models are available in black, gray, silver, red and blue. However, the 2TB model is only available in black at the moment. While definitely thicker than a typical smartphone, the small form factor of the drive allows the user to easily slip it into a pocket, handbag or briefcase. If looking to make the jump to Thunderbolt instead of USB 3.0, Western Digital also recently released the MyBook Thunderbolt Duo in 4 TB and 6 TB configurations starting around $600.

Via: http://www.digitaltrends.com/

Thailand floods to impact PC component pricing and availability

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:28:00 GMT

The shocking flooding in Thailand has not only affected families and citizens of Thailand, but some giant IT companies have factories there such as Western Digital. We've all heard, seen or read about the recent hard disk drive pricing hikes the world over, with prices ballooning to sometimes over 50-percent (or more) and stock levels should be getting quite thin over the following weeks toward the holiday season.

Thanks to Bright Side of News, we have some pictures that show the epic flooding that has hit Thailand. The waters near the WD factory were between 1 and 1.4m deep (4-5 feet) and were an average of about 1m (4 feet) through most of the factory and its surroundings. As you can see in the above shot, the water isn't just in some parts, it's everywhere.

Western Digital is also not the only company that is directly affected by the floods, with HDD production hitting all major players with expected 28-percent of quarter-on-quarter drop in HDD production. Other companies affected are not even in the HDD industry, the digital camera industry was also hit with companies such as Canon, Nikon and Sony all being affected, so expect digital camera prices to jump.

Thanks: Tweaktown, NEWS SOURCE #1

Lenovo's ThinkPad® Tablet in the news

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 03:32:00 GMT

THINKPAD^® TABLET IN THE NEWS:

Lenovo's ThinkPad^® Tablet has again hit all the right headlines this month, gaining some fantastic reviews in CNET and ZDNET publications. Both these publications gave it a score of 8.5/10, while offering it the Editor's Choice Award.

A testament to the power and functionality of the ThinkPad Tablet, the review states, "If you have to buy a tablet this year, the ThinkPad should be on your list."

Check out the full review on CNET here.

Check out the full review on ZDNET here.

The ThinkPad^® Tablet has also been reviewed by Business Spectator Magazine. Among much praise, the review stated that the ThinkPad Tablet had "a typical ThinkPad solid reliable feeling to its hardware."

It then continued, saying, "The software was stable and well aimed at satisfying the requirements of business users and their IT departments."

Read the full review on Business Spectator by clicking here.

Rounding off an impressive collection of reviews, the ThinkPad Tablet also received exceptional praise from The Australia This highly positive full-page review compared the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet with the Fujitsu Stylistic Q550, the BlackBerry^® Playbook™, and the Acer 3G W501 Iconia Tab, with Lenovo rating the highest on a score of 8.5/10.

Praised for the way it was tailored for businesses, particularly IT Managers, the ThinkPad tablet was summarised nicely as “One of the best Honeycomb devices out there.”

Read the full review from The Australian here.

Windows 7 overtakes XP with biggest market share worldwide

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 03:28:00 GMT

Right from the get go Windows 7 was looking strong out the gate and allowed Microsoft to take a quick U-turn away from the rocky road they travelled down with Vista, but it's been Windows XP that has retained the biggest impact in the OS world for MS all this time.

However, if the latest consolidation of data from StatCounter is accurate, the first half of this October has seen Windows 7 actually overtake XP in becoming the primary operating system of choice worldwide. The data was collected from over 3 million sites in total and it was discovered that Windows 7 now has a market share of over 40%, which is up from 39.04% last month.

Windows XP is still going super strong, though, with a 38.62% market share. Meanwhile, Vista continues to dwindle in third place at a far distant 11.18% market share. Trailing behind Vista in fourth is Apple with Mac OS X at 7.3%, then in fifth sits iOS at 1.1%.

With Windows 7 now making it into pole position as the leading OS of choice, it's not hard to believe that it will remain in that position for quite a long time; especially due to Windows 8 still being a ways off and needing to prove itself as the OS of choice well after its release.

Thanks: NEWS SOURCE #1

Microsoft is promising far speedier boot times with Windows 8

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 03:56:00 GMT

A new episode of Microsoft's "Building Windows 8" details significant efforts made to give considerable improvements in boot time with its next-gen consumer level OS. A new 'fast startup' mode being worked on combines elements of typical cold booting with resume from hibernate.

Where Windows 7 and earlier OS' shut down both the user sessions and kernel session, Windows 8 will hibernate the kernel session which will allow it to kick back into action much faster than usual. Microsoft promises that between 30 to 70% faster boot times will be seen using this method, depending on the system's hardware characteristics.

A newly added multi-phase resume capability will also be made use of by the fast startup mode, allowing it to use all cores in multi-core PCs in parallel sequence for the reading of the hiberfile and decompression of contents. There will be the option to bypass the fast startup mode and shut down in traditional, full fashion, but assuming this fast startup method works as well as Microsoft says and that we all seek faster everything in this day and age, there should be little to no reason not to use it.

Via: NEWS SOURCE #1

Introducing the new and improved JGB Support Structure

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:43:00 GMT

For JGB Computers the end of the 10/11 financial year brings with it some changes to our business structure. After conducting an audit of our core competencies and our customer’s needs, we have repackaged our service structure by introducing the JGB “Managed Service Platform” backed by service level agreements as the core product of our business.

By focusing on Service Level Agreements at JGB Computers we will be able to ensure computer systems are maintained regularly to avoid major problems that can sometimes slip through the cracks with casual servicing. Gold and Platinum agreements are based on the estimated time, on average, required to maintain your IT systems per month; paid monthly in advance.

Under a “Service Level Agreement” if any problems do arise in your system our team will continue to provide prompt and effective service. JGB have very carefully calculated the amount of time required to proactively manage business networks and this time is included in our Gold and Platinum packages. This means that you will be able to budget your IT systems maintenance costs with a greater degree of accuracy.

We realise that, for some customers, Service Level Agreements may not be the solution you wish to employ for your computer systems. Therefore JGB Computers will still be providing a casual service under a new fee. This higher rate will enable us to continue to provide quality support to customers that wish to continue with us on a casual basis.

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For more information of the JGB Managed Service Platform to download a copy of our brochure and contact our friendly sales staff to arrange a meeting.

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The new 2011 HP ProBook range ships this month

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:45:00 GMT

In July HP revamp its business notebook PC lineup with new technology aimed at boosting performance and productivity, while offering an enriched and sophisticated industrial design that improves notebook quality and reliability.

The company’s new “FORGE” design framework ensures HP business notebooks embody a timeless construction, with precision-engineered durability features that are designed for maximum reliability and with the environment in mind. Precision aluminum-alloy hinges, cast titanium-alloy display latches and the HP DisplaySafe frame are a few of the design highlights behind the approach.

The already popular Probook 4520s and 4720s have now been updated. The HP ProBook s-series 4230s, 4330s, 4530s and 4730s notebook PCs are available in an array of sizes – from ultra-light to desktop replacement – making them an excellent, affordable choice for small and midsize businesses.

For pricing and availability please contact our sales staff.