Microsoft Corp. today announced the return of its successful student offer that allows students buying a qualifying Windows 7-based PC to also get a free Xbox 360 4GB console. The offer is available for current students while supplies last, starting May 20 at participating retailers in the U.S.; a similar offer will be available starting May 18 at participating retailers in Canada. Terms and conditions will vary by participating retailer.

Together, a Windows 7-based PC and an Xbox 360 console provide students the functionality they need for school while also helping them stay connected to friends and family far away. To take advantage of this offer, students or their parents must provide valid student identification as defined by the participating retailer. Participating retailers may change over the course of the promotion, but will include Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, Dell.com, HPDirect.com, Microsoft Stores and NewEgg.com in the U.S., and Best Buy, Dell.ca, Future Shop, Staples and The Source in Canada.

As a world-renowned market leader, Gainward officially introduces Gainward GeForce GT 600 series graphics accelerators for the mainstream discrete VGA market -- Gainward GeForce GT 630, GeForce GT 620 & GeForce GT 610. The new GeForce GT 600 series offer better productivity and efficiency, provides smooth graphics in your games and multimedia contents while staying cool and power efficient. It is with the full support of latest DirectX 11 multimedia gaming standard and is supplied with Gainward components for greatest stability. Gainward GeForce GT 600 series are the ideal solution for price-performance conscience users with high demands.

Lenovo today at its Accelerate Channel Partner Conference in Las Vegas previewed the upcoming ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptop, the lightest 14-inch Ultrabook in the industry.1 With an amazingly thin and extremely powerful design, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon shatters the mold of traditional laptops. Also today, Lenovo announced a new portfolio of ThinkPad laptops in the T, X, L and W Series built to power small businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and large corporations. The laptops range from models designed for extreme portability to mobile workstation performance.

Created for those who demand the highest levels of performance, mobility, entertainment and design, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon exceeds Ultrabook specifications by using a premium carbon fiber rollcage to create a durable Ultrabook weighing less than three pounds. Other premium features include 3G connectivity for anywhere anytime access, Lenovo RapidCharge for a near-full battery charge in 30 minutes, and Intel vPro technology for manageability.

Officially unveiled last month, Samsung's sleek and powerful 17-inch Series 7 CHRONOS Notebook has now begun to hit stores in the US. Priced at $1,500, this new mobile offering comes enclosed in a one inch thick brushed aluminum shell, and features a slim bezel Full HD (1920 x 1080) 300nit display, a Core i7-3615QM processor, 8 GB of RAM, a GeForce GT 650M 2 GB graphics card and a storage system made up of a 1 TB hard drive and 8 GB of ExpressCache NAND Flash memory.

The Series 7 laptop also has JBL stereo speakers, a subwoofer, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Intel WiDi (Wireless Display) support, and a battery enabling up to 8 hours of operation. The 17-inch Series 7 CHRONOS runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

In addition to the UX21A and UX31A models exposed a couple of months ago, the next wave of ASUS Zenbooks is set to include another unit, one called UX32VD which packs an Intel Ivy Bridge (3rd generation Core) processor, an NVIDIA GeForce GT 620M discrete graphics card, and a 13.3-inch IPS screen with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

Showcased in Taiwan, this upcoming ultrabook also has up to 4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hybrid drive, three USB 3.0 ports, an SD card slot, and both HDMI and mini DisplayPort outputs. The Zenbook UX32VD will run Windows 7. Its price tag and release date are still unknown.

HP today expanded its industry-leading computing portfolio with more than 30 new products engineered to address the design, reliability, security and performance demands of end users and IT departments across businesses of all sizes.

HP today expanded its award-winning notebook portfolio with thin and light Ultrabook systems and Sleekbooks packed with the latest technologies for both consumer and business demands. "Building on the success of the HP Folio13 and HP ENVY14 Spectre, we are now offering the most comprehensive Ultrabook portfolio in the industry," said James Mouton, senior vice president and general manager, Personal Computer Global Business Unit, HP. "Our expanded portfolio of HP Ultrabook systems and HP Sleekbooks for both consumers and businesses delivers uncompromised performance, quality and entertainment experiences within distinctive designs."

Lenovo today announced its new ThinkCentre M92p "tiny" desktop PC, the industry's first Intel vPro enabled one-litre desktop measuring just the width of a golf ball (34.5 mm). The ThinkCentre M92p, along with the new M72e tiny desktops, exhibits an innovative tiny form factor allowing it to fit in practically any space while maintaining first-class productivity with up to 3rd Generation Intel Core Processors.

The ThinkCentre tiny form factor is equipped with the latest desktop power manager for optimal energy efficiency and enhanced reliability and manageability features. It's the perfect desktop for users who need uncompromised computing power in a small package. Lenovo today also announced the new ThinkCentre M92z all-in-one (AIO) and the ThinkVision LT2323z wide monitor offering an improved VoIP experience.

With many years of experience in the industrial SSD sector, Apacer has been a customized product manufacturer trusted by industrial computer and server corporations in the U.S. and Japan for a long time. To provide customers with a more diverse product range, Apacer has revealed three models of the new-generation of modular SATA SSDs; the SDM4 MP (SATA Disk Module, Middle Profile), with 7-pin SATA connectors available in three orientations of 90°, 180° and 270°, along with a patented built-in power supply design. These are designed to meet user-specific needs for various form factors and industrial designs.

Compared to that of its predecessor, the reading speed of these next-generation SSDs has been boosted to 85MB/sec. In terms of the chip, in addition to SLC storage solutions, MLC chip product lines can also support operating at industry-level extended-temperatures (-40°C ~ 85°C), and are especially suitable for stable operation under rigorous industrial environments.

Earlier this morning, Mannheim Regional Court in Germany granted Motorola a sales injunction against Microsoft's Xbox 360, Windows 7, Internet Explorer, and Windows Media Player. It's no more a question of "if", but "when" the judgement will be enforced. When that happens, Motorola can insist on pulling those products off the German market. Motorola holds two technology patents this case is built around: EP0538667 and EP0615384, which are key to getting the H.264 video compression format to work. Motorola is obliged to license these patents to other under "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" (FRAND) terms, however, it demanded royalties from Microsoft that would amount to an excess of US $4 billion annually. Microsoft did not accept Motorola's terms, and knocked the doors of regulators claiming Motorola was being unfair and unreasonable with its patents. A case of patent infringement by Motorola is pending against Microsoft, but it is held up as authorities in the US are yet to ascertain Microsoft's allegations (of Motorola being anti-competitive).

Connectivity and optical drives are some of the first casualties of Intel's notebook slimming operation to come up with the Ultrabook specification. As a result, a new market is created for external connectivity solutions such as docking stations, which give users additional connectivity when at their desk, while maintaining the added mobility of Ultrabook, when on the move. Japan's Apricorn introduced one such product. Called the NetDock, the device holds a slimline DVD writer drive (included), provision for a 2.5-inch SATA HDD/SSD, and a 4-port USB 2.0 hub.

The NetDock draws power from an AC adapter, and connects to your Ultrabook over a USB 2.0 connection. Its DVD writer is capable of writing discs at speeds of up to 8X. One of the four downstream USB 2.0 ports is a high-current port for charging other portable devices (such as smartphones, media players, tablets, cameras, etc.). Both drives (the DVD writer, and the added 2.5-inch HDD/SSD) are visible to the host as USB mass storage devices. The NetDock measures 158.8 x 146.1 x 54.0 mm (WxDxH), and supports Windows 7/Vista/XP, and Mac OS X. It will be priced at 7,980 JPY (US $99.99).

PNY worldwide leader in USB flash drives, PNY technologies, the leading manufacturer in memory products have released a new and exciting Key attaché USB Flash drive, the latest addition to their popular Attaché range. The Key attaché drive delivers convenient and portable access to your important files and documents. Its compact size and one of a kind design sets it apart from the rest. It also aims to be the lowest priced USB drive ever offering the ultimate in data storage without burning a hole in your pocket.

Just days after the monthly release of AMD Catalyst, Catalyst 12.4 WHQL, a beta built (version 8.97) of the driver, included in Catalyst 12.5 Beta, has been leaked to the web. This build updates both the display driver and Catalyst Control Center. There is no word on exactly what the new version brings to the table, and it's a very early version in the build up to Catalyst 12.5 WHQL slated for late May, so tread with extreme caution.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 12.5 Beta (ver. 8.97 display driver) for Windows 7/Vista

Lenovo today launched its latest effort to eliminate slow boot up times with Lenovo Enhanced Experience 3 (EE3) for Windows 7. As the third version of an exclusive certification only available on Lenovo Think and Idea-branded PCs, EE3 certified products feature supreme Windows start-up performance and other optimization features. Lenovo EE3 will come standard on a wide range of Think and Idea-branded PCs shipping beginning in April.

Customers using traditional spinning disk hard drive (HDD) Lenovo PCs can start their PC on average 40 percent faster than typical Windows 7 PC1 users, thanks to Lenovo's RapidBoot technology, featured on all EE3 certified Lenovo PCs. RapidBoot uses optimized processes and hardware settings to allow Lenovo PCs to boot up faster.

AMD has today let loose the newest Catalyst release, the WHQL-certified Catalyst 12.4 which includes the 8.961 graphics driver and features support for the Radeon HD 2000, HD 3000, HD 4000, HD 5000, HD 6000 and HD 7000 Series desktop cards.

Download links Windows 7/Vista (32-bit) | Windows 7/Vista (64-bit) | Windows XP (32-bit) | Windows XP (64-bit)

Catalyst 12.4 Release Highlights

New Features

Windows XP support for the AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series, AMD Radeon HD 7800, and AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series
- In addition to Windows 7 and Windows Vista support, Catalyst 12.4 now also introduces Windows XP (64-bit/32-bit) support for the AMD Radeon HD 7900, AMD Radeon HD 7800, and AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series

Super Sampling Anti-Aliasing: Level of Detail (LOD) Image Quality enhancements
- Supported on the AMD Radeon HD 7900, AMD Radeon HD 7800, and AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series
- LOD Image quality enhancements have been improved when enabling Super Sample Anti-Aliasing and Adaptive Anti-Aliasing through the AMD Catalyst Control Center for DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 applications.
- Applications must support in game Anti-Aliasing for the feature to work (Forced on Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center is not supported for DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 applications)

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced its new Notebook Series 7 CHRONOS 17-inch model.

Encased in a premium compact and light aluminum chassis, the high-performance multimedia-ready Series 7 CHRONOS 17 with Intel's 3rd generation Core i7 and ExpressCache represents the perfect desktop replacement. The innovative ExpressCache technology developed by Diskeeper provides 8 GB of flash memory on the motherboard, enabling a faster start-up as well as increasing the PC's overall performance; web browsing is two times faster (based on Microsoft Internet Explorer) while the device takes just two seconds to wake up.

Eurocom Corporation, a developer of long lifespan, fully upgradable notebooks is adding the newest AMD Radeon HD 7970M GPU to their extensive options list of Ivy Bridge powered, high performance notebooks. The addition of the AMD Radeon HD 7970M offers users a new level of high performance GPU computing. Eurocom will also offer the AMD Radeon HD 6990M GPUs separately to existing customers as an upgrade option.

The addition of the AMD Radeon HD 7970M, the highest performing mobile solution from AMD, gives Eurocom customers a superior choice of video processor options to configure into their new Eurocom system or upgrade into their existing system. The addition of the AMD Radeon 7970M GPUs in single and CrossFireX offers customers a greater selection of video processor options to fit any preference or performance level.

Fujitsu today introduced the LIFEBOOK AH532 desktop alternative notebook and the LIFEBOOK LH532 thin and light notebook, which are among the first systems to incorporate the new mobile Intel platform.

Powered by the next-generation mobile Intel HM76 Express chipsets and the Intel Core i3-2350M Processor, the 15.6" LIFEBOOK AH532 and the 14" LIFEBOOK LH532 notebooks with Microsoft Windows 7 are enhanced with a performance boost, improved multitasking, stunning visuals, the latest Intel WiDi (Wireless Display), and better energy efficiency.

A-Tech Fabrication, a company that specializes in hand-crafted HTPCs, unveiled the HeatSync 1200 fanless HTPC. The part that makes it fanless is the chassis itself, which is made of aluminum, with fins on the sides, that dissipate heat. Copper heat pipes transfer heat from key components such as the CPU and chipset to the sides of the chassis, which takes care of the rest. Although most of the chassis is anodized black, with its front-panel, you can choose between silver and black options.

The HeatSync 1200 internally packs an Intel DH61AG thin mini-ITX motherboard, which seats an Intel Core i3-2100T dual-core 35W processor, clocked at 2.50 GHz. 4 GB Corsair Vengeance SO-DIMM memory comes standard. Also standard is the Intel SSD 310 40 GB mSATA SSD. Considering there are no mechanical hard drives, or a PSU with active-cooling (a 160W power-brick does the job), the HeatSync 1200 is literally silent. A consumer IR (CIR) receiver with Windows Media Center remote, and Windows 7 Home Premium make for the rest of it.

MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, today announced availability of its MT7650, the world's first and only 802.11ac plus Bluetooth 4.0+HS combo chip designed for mobile consumer platforms. The MediaTek MT7650 combines the latest IEEE 802.11ac technology, Bluetooth 4.0 LE functionality, and the company's unprecedented Wi-Fi/Bluetooth coexistence algorithm onto a single die to support high quality voice, data and video transmissions up to 433 Mbps, while enabling ultra low power Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity with health, fitness and other sensors. Moreover, with the complete 802.11ac system (MAC/Baseband/Radio) integrated, customers adopting the MediaTek MT7650 also benefit from easier implementation, faster time to market and reduced manufacturing costs.

The MediaTek MT7650 is compliant with the new 802.11ac standard and leverages the strengths of MediaTek's industry leading Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth combo chip technologies that are currently shipping in laptops and smartphones. It dramatically improves user experience with 2.8x data rate increase from 150Mbps of single stream 802.11n. This highly integrated chip supports dual band 2.4/5GHz configuration with 80 MHz channel bandwidth, 256-QAM modulation scheme for increased data transfer efficiency, receive beam forming for extended range and capacity, and Space-Time Block Codes (STBC) coding technologies for better wireless coverage. This chip also supports Wi-Fi Display, Wi-Fi Direct and TDLS for full peer-to-peer functionalities between mobile and home consumer products.

Japanese PC peripherals webstore Kuroutoshikou unveiled a new 2-bay HDD dock, the KURO-DACHI/CLONE/U3. Built in the top-loading "toaster-dock" form-factor, it measures 108 x 62 x 149 mm (LxHxW). The dock takes in two SATA hard drives and solid-state drives in the 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch form-factors. It can connect the two drives to a PC over fast USB 3.0 interface, as USB mass-storage volumes, and can also clone drives 1:1, without needing a PC. Windows 7, Vista, and XP; 32-bit and 64-bit, are supported. Slated for early-April, the dock is priced at 4,000 JPY (US $48.7).

AMD has now made available this month's WHQL-certified set of Catalyst graphics drivers. The Catalyst 12.3 comes with support for the 28 nm-flavored Radeon HD 7900, HD 7800 and HD 7700 Series, as well as for the Radeon HD 6000, HD 5000, HD 4000, HD 3000 and HD 2000 models.

Download: Windows 7/Vista (32-bit) | Windows 7/Vista (64-bit) | Windows XP (32-bit) | Windows XP (64-bit)

Since the GTX 680 will be launched later today, NVIDIA has decided to go ahead and publish the first (official) driver that supports its Kepler-powered card. Known as 301.10, this driver is WHQL certified, it only knows the GeForce GTX 680 (you'll need a modified inf file for 'expanded' support), and is bundled with the PhysX System Software v9.12.0213 (plus HD Audio v1.3.12.0).

GeForce 301.10 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 32-bit) / GeForce 301.10 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 64-bit)

ASUS has now officially announced the European release of its latest K-Series laptop, the 18.4-inch K93SM. This new model weights 4.1 kg, and features an LED-backlit Full HD (1920 x 1080) display, a chiclet keyboard, a Core i5-2450M or i7-2670QM processor, up to 8 GB of RAM, a GeForce GT 630M 1 GB graphics card, and a 500 GB or 1 TB hard drive.

ASUS' laptop also boasts an 8x DVD writer or 6x Blu-ray combo drive, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a 3-in-1 card reader, one USB 3.0 port, a 6-cell (5200 mAh) battery, and makes use of the IceCool technology to ensure the palm rest stays cool and comfortable.

The K93SM runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and goes from 849 Euro to 1,149 Euro, depending on configuration.

This summer Lenovo is going to roll out a new line of all-in-one desktops, the Ivy Bridge-powered ThinkCentre M92z. Set to arrive in July, the M92z PCs will have a slim design (that makes them resemble regular monitors), 20-inch or 23-inch touchscreens, discrete graphics (Nvidia or AMD, it's still uncertain), and will run Windows 7 while being Windows 8 Ready.

In addition to the M92z, Lenovo is also expected to release in July the M72z and an Edge 92z All-in-Ones.