Do you want a really small PC that fits in the palm of your hand? Well, if you do, then VIA Technology have got you covered with their new ARTiGO A1150. As you can see from the pictures, it has a high 'cuteness' factor, due to its diminutive size of just 5.7" x 3.9" x 2". For processing, it sports a 64-bit VIA 1.0 GHz dual core Eden X2 CPU and a VX900H media system processor supporting the latest HD video codecs including H.264, VC-1 and MPEG-2/4 at up to 1080p. Interfaces include HDMI and VGA ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, five USB ports including one USB device port, three audio jacks with optional wireless IEEE 802.11 b/g/n and SD card reader modules.

Target uses include the usual home/office environments, use as a super space-saving desktop PC, a home server, media streaming and surveillance applications. Of course, the real question is what kind of performance can one expect out if it, given that it's targeted at the desktop PC market, so one hopes that it can run Windows 7 at a decent performance level. Oddly, the VIA press release doesn't say anything about the RAM, so it's not clear how much can be fitted, which type and what speed grades are supported.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX Mainboard, immediately available worldwide at incredibly competitive pricing. The VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX provides the ideal platform for DIY enthusiasts to custom build stylish home desktop and media center PCs.

Featuring a high-performance 1.4GHz VIA Nano X2 dual core processor and the VIA VX900 unified all-in-one media system processor, the VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX Mainboard delivers a highly optimized platform that boasts stunning HD video performance of the most demanding video formats at resolutions of up to 1080p. The VIA VE-900 Mini-ITX also supports high fidelity surround sound through the VIA VT1708S HD audio codec which delivers amazing stereo 24-bit resolution and up to 192kHz sample rates and adds HDMI support in a compact, power-efficient package.

ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today launches the latest addition to the ZBOX nano product lineup with the new ZBOX nano VD01 series - an affordable palm-sized mini-PC powered by a VIA Nano X2 processor.

The ZOTAC ZBOX nano VD01 series combines the latest VIA Nano X2 U4025 CPU and VX900H media system processor for outstanding energy-efficiency and performance. VIA Chrome9 graphics with ChromotionHD 2.0 processing enables the ZOTAC ZBOX nano VD01 series to deliver silky-smooth playback of popular high-definition video formats, including Blu-ray, MPEG2, H.264, VC-1 and streaming Internet video.

In early October, content technology major Adobe will release Flash Player 11, the next major release of the Adobe Flash client-end software. The new browser plugin promises a platform that allows 1,000 times faster 2D/3D rendering performance over Flash Player 10, using full hardware-acceleration. Right here we see Adobe waking up to the HTML5 threat. Angry Birds on Google Chrome, anyone? The next key area addressed by Flash Player 11, is full native 64-bit (x86-64) web-browser support. This move will potentially cause the long-overdue decline of 32-bit web-browsers on 64-bit operating systems, since you already have HTML5 and Java on 64-bit browsers.

Next up, Adobe will pack its AIR platform, a Flash-based application runtime environment that uses the "superior user-interface" plank. AIR 3, which accompanies Flash Player 11, will support native extensions, that gives AIR applications added functionality. These include hardware capabilities including access to device data, vibration control, magnetometers, light sensors, dual screens, near field communications (NFC) and more. You know what adobe is getting at, future portable devices that are extremely powerful and functional.

SAPPHIRE Technology - the world leading supplier of graphics solutions, mainboards and other PC products - has just announced the SAPPHIRE HD 6950 TOXIC Edition, the fastest production card in its class.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6950 TOXIC Edition ships with clock speeds of 880MHz for the core and 1300Mhz (5.2 Gb/sec effective) for the memory making it the fastest production HD 6950 on the market. This has been achieved by building the card on a high specification PCB with digital VRMs for excellent power regulation and 8 + 6 pin power connectors. It has a high performance cooler featuring a Vapor Chamber, blower fan and a new perforated backplate to increase airflow out of the system case.

Matrox Graphics Inc. today introduces the Matrox SMD-2 streaming media decoder, a second-generation universal IP video decode solution designed to decode - in parallel - large numbers of network video streams in different resolutions and formats. The ideal building block for large-scale IP video decode applications, each SMD-2 board can simultaneously decode up to 64 QCIF, 16 D1, or 2 HD 1080 streams. By combining multiple SMD-2 boards within a single system, users can decode and display hundreds of IP streams on any video display wall.

In light of their newly announced partnership, Matrox Graphics and Trenton are currently working together to engineer a validated system capable of supporting multiple SMD-2 cards within a single chassis, to be available later in the year. SMD-2 is fully integrated with the Matrox PPX Series and will be compatible with the Mura MPX Series later in the summer. With its capacity to cost-effectively support large-scale, high-density IP stream decoding, the Matrox SMD-2 is ideal for use in security surveillance, public security, and critical infrastructure sectors.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) announced PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) (PCH-1000 series) as the official platform name for the next generation portable entertainment system at E3 2011. With an RRP of €249 for the Wireless model and €299 for the Wireless/3G version, PS Vita will launch in the global market starting at the end of 2011.

"Vita", which means "Life" in Latin, was chosen as the most appropriate name for the next generation portable entertainment system as it enables a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context as SCE aims to transform every aspect of a user's daily life into an entertainment experience and an opportunity to play.

Club 3D B.V. announces the introduction of the Radeon HD 6750 video card based on the Juniper LE chipset, AMD' second generation DirectX 11 cards. Play the latest games in amazing detail with Club 3D Radeon HD 6750 Graphics. With winning performance, advanced technologies and full second generation DirectX 11 support, you're ready to dominate the competition. Now with AMD APP acceleration you can enable smoother video playback, improve your video image quality and enhance your applications performance.

With the latest UVD hardware on board, it considerably reduces the CPU load delivering and decoding stunning Blu-Ray and H.264 content. HDMI has been upgraded to 1.4a for 3D content making it the perfect choice for a HTPC.

AMD was a little too early in May with its monthly Catalyst driver release, with the Catalyst 11.5 WHQL reaching the web as early as 9th May (typically monthly Catalyst updates are released after the 24th). On the same date, AMD also released its first hotfix update for the Catalyst 11.5, the 11.5a Hotfix Update, which packed a number of game-specific performance improvements. Today, the company released its second such update for the month, with Catalyst 11.5b Hotfix.

The update is rushed in to fix a number of issues found with the recently-released game, Brink. It also fixes a number of non-gaming application issues, particularly related to media decoding. In the process, the driver also brings with it a number of game-specific performance improvements, games including Civilization 5, Dead Rising 2, Fallout 3, Mafia 2, NBA 2010, ShenGuiChuanQi, Starcraft 2, Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, and Dirt 3.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 11.5b Hotfix Update.

A complete list of changes follows:

Club 3D B.V. announces the introduction of the Radeon HD 6750 CoolStream Edition video card based on the Juniper LE chipset, AMD' second generation DirectX 11. Club 3D has built a good reputation on silent cooled video cards with the award winning CoolStream series. This card is no exception, with speeds of 700 Mhz core and 4600 Mhz for the memory with a totally silent heatpipe cooler, it makes one of the fastest silent graphics card available today.

With the latest UVD hardware on board, it considerably reduces the CPU load delivering and decoding stunning Blu-Ray and H.264 content. HDMI has been upgrated to 1.4a for 3D content making it the perfect choice for a HTPC.

SAPPHIRE Technology, the largest manufacturer and supplier worldwide of graphics solutions based on AMD technology has just announced a new graphics card delivering all the key features demanded by the latest games and applications - but at an exciting new price point.

The new SAPPHIRE HD 6790 shares many all the capabilities of the successful SAPPHIRE HD 6800 series, including multi-screen gaming with AMD Eyefinity, support for all the advanced graphical features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and delivering spectacular video clarity, speed and visual effects, including 3D stereoscopic displays.

SAPPHIRE Technology has just announced the SAPPHIRE HD 6950 Flex Edition, bringing a new level of gaming performance to the company's unique solution for multi-screen gaming. Most graphics cards based on AMD technology require the third monitor in an Eyefinity set-up to be a DisplayPort monitor, or connected with an active DisplayPort Adapter. The SAPPHIRE FleX family can support three DVI monitors in Eyefinity mode and deliver a true SLS (Single Large Surface) work area without the need for costly active adapters. The first two monitors are connected to the two DVI ports and the third to an HDMI to DVI cable (supplied) with no extra hardware required.

Leading graphics card supplier, SAPPHIRE Technology has just launched a new TV tuner card with a difference - the SAPPHIRE HD 5570 XtendTV card. The SAPPHIRE HD 5570 XtendTV card is a single slot PCI-Express graphics card with 1GB of GDDR5 memory and HDMI and DVI outputs - and a built in programmable TV tuner. Connected to a standard TV antenna signal, it will receive and decode all of the local free to air TV and radio stations*. Just as with a regular TV tuner, the user can watch TV on the host PC using Media Center - record, save and playback programs at will.

But XtendTV does more. Installing the FlexiStream software on the PC in which the card is installed enables the PC as a streaming server and users can watch all of their home TV programmes anywhere in the world using the XtendTV client on a remote PC or laptop.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the world's first graphics card designed specifically for the embedded market with the VIA eH1, a DX10.1 compliant, multi-display card that thrusts any system with a PCI Express slot into a new realm of graphics and video capability.

The VIA eH1 comes with a three year product longevity guarantee and is the most power-efficient discrete graphics and video solution on the market today. The VIA eH1 AIB features an advanced DirectX 10.1, OpenGL 3.1, OpenGL ES 2.0 compatible 64-bit architecture and offers multi-stream 1080p HD video decoding and Stereoscopic 3D rendering capability. This makes it the ideal solution for a range of embedded applications that require advanced graphics and video on multiple displays.

Sony Optiarc America today announced its first slim, portable and external Blu-ray Disc (BD) rewritable drive to compliment notebooks, netbooks or desktop PCs. The new BDX-S500U model writes single BD-R media at up to 6X and dual layer BD-R media at up to 4X speeds, recording a full 25GB disc in about 20 minutes. The 6X recording speed is achieved using 6X compatible BD-R media, and one 25GB Sony BD-R blank disc comes included in the retail box. Also included with the drive is CyberLink's Media Suite 8 for capturing, authoring, editing, backing up, viewing high-definition personal content and playing back Blu-ray Disc movies including 3D Blu-ray movies.

During keynote presentations today at the Intel Developer Forum, Intel Corporation executives outlined several software- and hardware-related efforts as the company intensifies its System-on-a-Chip (SoC) product plans based on the Intel Atom processor family.

Amid predictions of billions of additional Internet-connected devices going online, Renée James, senior vice president and general manager, Intel Software and Services Group, and Doug Davis, vice president and general manager, Embedded and Communications Group, discussed the expansion of these processors into high-growth areas including netbooks, tablets, CE, embedded, and smart phones.

Shuttle Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of multi-form-factor solutions such as the world-famous XPC Mini-PC Barebones, today announces the official European sales launch of the XS35 series. There are in total eleven versions of the new model available, which all boast a compact format of just 38 mm in width, high connectivity and a completely passive (fanless) cooling system.

As the smallest-ever Mini-PC from Shuttle (25.2 x 3.85 x 16.2 [cm, DWH]) the XS35 offers particularly low energy consumption. The series is based on efficient technologies and uses the Intel Atom D510 dual-core processor (2x 1.66 GHz), SO-DIMM memory, 2.5 inch hard disks and slim-line drives. Since no fans are used at all, any models work virtually silently even under heavy load. Using no fans also means less maintenance is required.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA-M850 Mini-ITX board, the first board to feature the latest VIA VX900 media system processor, creating the ideal solution for today's HD-intensive, commercial multimedia-centric devices.

The VIA EPIA-M850 is targeted at OEM and ODM manufacturers of commercial multimedia embedded devices. Featuring a 64-bit, high performance VIA Nano E-Series processor and the VIA VX900 unified all-in-one media system processor, the VIA EPIA-M850 delivers a highly optimized platform that boasts comprehensive HD video performance, HD audio and HDMI support in a compact, power-efficient package.

Leadtek has decided to make its SpursEngine video processor more palatable to production houses and studios, by multiplying its performance by four. SpursEngine accelerates video encoding/decoding performance of full HD MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 videos many times over compared to the CPU, it uses the CELL Broadband Engine architecture, the same which is used in supercomputers, PlayStation 3, and HDTVs in various forms. The WinFast HPCC1111 from Leadtek uses four SpursEngine chips on a single board, that connects to the system over a PCIe bridge chip, through PCI-Express x4. With the new HPCC1111, one can encode full HD MPEG-2, or MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 in real time, or even faster than real time, if the rest of the hardware permits. SpursEngine has already made its way to single-chip cards and mobile workstations. Scheduled to release in Japan this September, the HPCC1111 is expected to cost JP ¥99,000 (US $1,175).

AMD released the final iteration of Catalyst 10.4 graphics driver suite. The WHQL-signed drivers keep up with the company's one month update cycle, and introduce a wide range of changes. To begin with, game-specific performance improvements in this release are confined to STALKER - Clear Sky, with up to 6% improvement in frame-rates for the Radeon HD 5970, and up to 3% for HD 5800 and HD 5700 series GPUs. There are changes to the video-decoding features, namely addition of H.264 Level 5.1 support, and a fix that reduces the "mosquito noise" seen in highly-compressed video.

Improvements to the video-transcoding capabilities are also a highlight of this release, with enhanced support for Windows 7 drag-and-drop video converter, namely performance increment, support for new H.264 formats such as MTS and WMV9 Complex profile interlaced content, and the ability to toggle GPU-acceleration from Catalyst Control Center. Support for the ATI Video converter is now available in the advanced view of the ATI Catalyst Control Center.

DOWNLOAD: ATI Catalyst 10.4 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit

A list of minor fixes follows.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the new VIA VX900 media system processor, a full featured single chip solution that will be coupled with the latest VIA Nano-3000 Series processors to bring truly stunning video playback to the latest HD online video services.

"VIA's trail-blazing VX900 will bring welcome relief to those pining for the best view of HD video online," said Richard Brown, Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "The VIA VX900 represents the most complete solution for HD digital content consumption on the market today."

SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, today unveils the SPARKLE GeForce 210/GT220/GT240 Low Profile Silent Series Graphics Cards with low profile design, addressing, fulfilling and exceeding the HTPC users' demand on silent working, power consumption and HD video in small HTPC cases.

The SPARKLE GeForce 210/GT220/GT240 Silent Series Graphics Cards are a half-height video cards suitable for small form-factor, book size and home theatre PCs users that desperately want a dedicated HDMI jack on the cheap.The SPARKLE GeForce 210/GT220/GT240 Silent Series Graphics Cards can be easily installed in narrow space HTPC chassis. So the SPARKLE GeForce 210/GT220/GT240 Silent Series Graphics Cards not only can easily meet the HD video playback and DX10.1 gaming demand from HTPC users, but also can easily satisfy the requirements from SSF, mini-chassis and industry PCs which demand compact and practical graphics cards.

AMD and its motherboard partners today unleashed ATI Radeon HD 4290 Graphics with the AMD 890GX Chipset, a versatile, affordable and exceptionally energy efficient solution for an incredible, high definition visual computing experience.

The AMD 890GX chipset redefines the way you play with versatile graphics configurations, including DirectX 10.1 graphics on the motherboard and support for up to two high-performance ATI Radeon Premium Graphics cards with ATI CrossFireX technology. The same AMD 890GX motherboard which can be used to build an efficient and slim home theater PC using the integrated ATI Radeon HD 4290 Graphics, can be augmented with ATI Radeon HD 5450 Graphics for a dual-graphics performance preview, or upgraded to a gaming powerhouse with ATI Radeon HD 5870 Graphics and the visual realism of DirectX 11.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA-P820, the first Pico-ITX form factor board to feature the high performance, 64-bit VIA Nano processor, bringing industry-leading digital multimedia performance and virtualization capabilities to the smallest of spaces with the VIA AMOS-3001 chassis system.

The choice of VIA Nano processor means that the VIA EPIA-P820 offers a range of advantages over competitor offerings, including full 64-bit software support, a high-performance superscalar architecture and full support of the latest virtualization technologies for next generation server and virtual machine applications. Paired with the VIA VX855 media system processor, the VIA EPIA-P820 is well equipped to handle smooth playback of the most demanding codecs at resolutions up to 1080p.

Broadcom Corporation, a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that its Crystal HD technology will be available to OEMs wanting to deliver best-in-class video playback on the new Intel Atom processor platform for netbooks. The Broadcom BCM70015 Crystal HD solution will be offered as an option for OEMs designing netbooks using the Intel Atom processor N450 and Intel NM10 Express chipset platform. Crystal HD technology provides netbook users with a rich multimedia experience by enabling cost effective, quality playback of multi-format, high definition (HD) video and will be featured on select 2010 netbook platforms from top-tier OEMs including ASUS, Dell and Samsung.