Street date, RRP confirmed for PlayStation Vita in Europe and Australia

Following confirmation that the PlayStation Vita will hit Japanese shelves in December, comes news that Sony's handheld gaming device will hit the UK, European and Australian shelves on February 22nd 2012.

The Wi-Fi model will retail for £229.99 in the UK, €249.99 in Europe and $349.95 in Australia, while the 3G/Wi-Fi model will set punters back £279.99, €299.99 in Europe and $449.95 in Australia.


Boasting 80 games currently in production, as well as impressive augmented reality technology, Australian SCEE Managing Director Michael Ephraim claimed in a statement that the Vita is "a revolutionary device, which will offer the best possible portable gaming experiences on the market."

Vita is set to launch first in Japan on December 17. If you do fancy importing one in time for Christmas though, Vita will be region free.

While we have to wait a little longer than Japan to get our hands on the portable, it should arrive over here with plenty of games. It's launching with 26 in Sony's home country, but the platform holder has said it expects 100 to be available within the console's launch window.

The Best Android Tablet Alternatives to the iPad 2

Apple revolutionized the technology industry with the release of the original iPad, but the tablet industry has come a long way since then; thanks to the birth of the Android tablet.

Since the release of the original iPad, modern consumers have been looking for worthy alternatives that match the collective features and price of Apple’s infamous iOS tablet.

But consumers aren’t the only ones looking for alternatives to the iPad. In fact, finding a worthy match is such an obsession for the tech world that the phrases “iPad killer” and “iPad competitor” have been coined, and used quite often.....read more at Thetechlabs

ICY Comment: Since the first iPad released in market, HTC, Samsung, Acer...started to develop new tablet in order to fight the tablet market. Different features different functions to appeal to users. Which one will you support?

The Intel SSD 710 (200GB) Review

When Intel entered the SSD market one of its declared goals was to bring the technology into the mainstream. The goal was so important to Intel that its consumer drive was branded X25-M, with the M standing for mainstream. Intel's desire for SSD ubiquity wasn't entirely altruistic however. Mechanical storage acted as a potential gate to increasing CPU performance. Eventually, without significant improvements in IO performance, CPU improvements would be less visible to most users. SSDs would help alleviate this bottleneck.


It wouldn't be untrue to say that Intel accomplished its mission. The client SSD market was in a state of disarray before Intel arrived on the scene. Although we still have problems today, there are a number of affordable options for end users and lots of competition. Samsung, Marvell, Indilinx, JMicron and even SanDisk are now vying for control of the market... read more at Anand Tech

ICY news: Apple co-founder, Chairman Steve Jobs dies



Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple.
1955-2011
(Photo from apple.com)

 Apple co-founder and Chairman Steve Jobs died today, Apple said. He was 56.

"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives," Apple said in a statement. "The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."

Jobs had been suffering from various health issues following the seventh anniversary of his surgery for a rare form of pancreatic cancer in August 2004. Apple announced in January that he would be taking an indeterminate medical leave of absence, with Jobs then stepping down from his role as CEO in late August.

Jobs had undergone a liver transplant in April 2009 during an earlier planned six-month leave of absence. He returned to work for a year and a half before his health forced him to take more time off. He told his employees in August, "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20116336-37/apple-co-founder-chairman-steve-jobs-dies/#ixzz1a01TjzI1

Your creativity and works always amaze whole the world, R.I.P.

ICY news: Facebook adds WebSense safe browsing to its defenses



This is the warning that will pop up if WebSense
determines that a web link is unsafe on Facebook
(Credit: Websense)

Facebook is adding a Websense Web link blacklist service to its arsenal of defenses designed to protect users from clicking on links that lead to sites hosting malware.
The social-networking site will be using Websense ThreatSeeker Cloud service, which warns people when they click on a link on Facebook that could be malicious, the companies announced today. Facebook will start rolling out the service today.

The partnership follows one that Facebook announced in May with the free Web of Trust safe surfing service. Facebook also has its own blacklist. The larger the pool of blacklists the better the chances users will be protected from malware, basically.

When users click on a link, the online blacklist databases are checked to see if the link is flagged. If the link is deemed unsafe, users will see a warning and be given the option of ignoring the alert, returning to the previous page, or getting more information.
Source: CNET NEWS

ICY Comment: I believe you must have a facebook account to contact your friends conveniently and play some webgames via it. Recently the news says Facebook still tracks your situation even though you have logged out. It is like a "Trueman show", and you are a actor/actress, it sounds terrible, doesn't it? Facebook bring not only users' conveniency to contact people in the world, but some private invasion issues... How do you think about it?