Unicode 7.0 introduces 2,834 new characters, including 250 emoji

The Unicode Consortium has just announced the release of version 7.0 of the Unicode Standard, the list of characters "which specifies the representation of text in all modern software products and standards." Unicode 7.0 adds 2,834 new characters to the existing list of 110,187 characters defined by Unicode 6.3, including new symbols for currency, new "lesser-used and historic scripts," and extended support "for written languages of North America, China, India, other Asian countries, and Africa."

NVIDIA Maxwell GM107 GPU pictured and detailed

Worth a read as their table included doesn't give all the details. (and thus not re-posted here). Sounds like its worth skipping this revision and waiting for the 20nm parts, probably in Q3... 

http://videocardz.com/49517/nvidia-maxwell-gm107-gpu-pictured-detailed

Samsung boasts 800,000 Galaxy Gear smartwatch sales in two months

I'd like to get my hands on one but unless it was thrown in with a phone deal I'd probably give it a pass due to the battery life which I've heard is bad. Still it's a good start! 

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/19/samsung-800000-galaxy-gear-sales/

Xbox One controller to get PC support

Good to see they are making an effort with the PC support. Its a good platform in the later years of a control cycle for testing new graphics APIs and a fair amount of PC gamers are starting to use controllers with the likes of SteamPlay.

http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-xbox-one-controller-will-work-on-pcs--in-2014

A new major release of FreeNAS is out!

First link for the news, second for the user manual.

http://www.freenas.org/whats-new/2013/08/ixsystems-announces-revolutionary-freenas-9-1-0-release.html

http://www.freenas.org/images/resources/freenas9.1.0/freenas9.1.0_guide.pdf

The next Nexus 7 has been announced!

Nexus 7 tech specs:

SCREEN
7.02” 1920x1200 HD display (323 ppi)
1080p HD IPS
Scratch resistant Corning® glass

CAMERAS
1.2MP front facing, fixed focus
5MP rear facing, auto focus

DIMENSIONS
114 x 200 x 8.65 mm
0.64lbs (290g) Wi-Fi, 0.66lbs (299g) LTE

BATTERY
3950 mAh
Up to 9 hours active use
Wireless charging built-in (Qi compatible)

AUDIO
Stereo speakers
Surround sound, powered by Fraunhofer

PROCESSING
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, 1.5GHz
GPU: Adreno 320, 400MHz

WIRELESS
Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G) 802.11 a/b/g/n
NFC (Android Beam)
Bluetooth 4.0

NETWORKS
Optional 4G LTE

North America:
4G LTE: 700/750/850/1700/1900/2100 MHZ (Bands: 1/2/4/5/13/17)
HSPA+: 850/900/1900/2100/AWS MHz (Bands: 1/2/4/5/8/10)
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Europe:
4G LTE: 800/850/1700/1800/1900/2100/2600 MHz (Bands: 1/2/3/4/5/7/20)
HSPA+: 850/900/1900/2100/AWS MHz (Bands: 1/2/4/5/8/10)
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

MEMORY
Choose 16GB or 32GB internal storage
2GB RAM

PORTS & CONNECTORS
microUSB
SlimPort™ enabled
3.5mm audio
Microphone
Power and Volume buttons

SENSORS
GPS
Gyroscope
Accelerometer
Compass
Ambient Light
http://www.google.com/nexus/7/

Samsung reveals new Exynos smartphone and tablet chip

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23422822

Mac Pro design!

They really did go to town with the design.

It didn't specifically say the 2 x AMD FirePro cards were running in cross fire which I found interesting....

http://www.macrumors.com/2013/06/10/apple-offers-developers-a-closer-look-at-the-new-mac-pro/

Sorry Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin. BT 1up'ed you with their new home hub 4

It's dual band! (2.4 and 5GHz), has some Gigabit ethernet ports and a USB port...

Fits through a letterbox which is convenient.

No VDSL modem built in still..

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2013/05/uk-isp-bt-retail-reveals-new-smarter-hub-3-broadband-wireless-router.html

Onkyo Firmware Update TX-NR616 (18-05-2012)

TX-NR616
(Version 1070-5105-0200)

• Corrects problem of video output not working after unit has had the Network standby enabled, then the unit has been placed in standby for an extended time period;
• Improves update functionality.

http://www.uk.onkyo.com/en/articles/firmware-update-tx-nr616-18-05-2012-81061.html

The New Gmail

For all you Gmail users out there.

You might not have seen it yet but in the bottom right hand corner of your Gmail browser window will be a 'try the new Gmail' button. Give it ago, it's really cool and very user freindly!