Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming WiFi Router (XR500) 

                                                       

HIGHLIGHTS

• Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming router is available for sale in India
• It comes with 256MB flash storage and 512MB of RAM
• It has been priced at Rs. 23,000

Netgear on Tuesday launched the new Nighthawk Pro Gaming WiFi Router (XR500) at an event in Bengaluru. The company had unveiled the gaming-oriented router in January, at CES 2018. The new product leverages its software to optimise network connections by stabilising ping, reducing lag spikes, and keeps users "always on" with it wired and wireless connectivity. The Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming WiFi Router (XR500) is available for sale via authorised Netgear partners, other reseller channels, as well as, e-commerce portals. It has been is priced at Rs. 23,000.

The Nighthawk Pro Gaming WiFi Router (XR500) features such as a dual-core 1.7GHz processor, Quad-stream Wave 2 Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO, and four external high-power antennas. Netgear claims that the MU-MIMO Wi-Fi streams simultaneously to multiple devices on the same network so users can get a smooth gameplay without affecting each other's performance. The company also claims that the processor supports more devices for better 4K streaming, VR gaming, and surfing.

Netgear has partnered with Netduma for the software. The DumaOS includes Gaming Dashboard, Geo Filter, Quality of Service (QoS), and Network Monitoring capabilities. In the Gaming Dashboard, users can view real-time bandwidth utilisation by the device, ping delays, and other parameters on a single screen. The Geo Filter helps in fixing gaming lags by limiting distance to servers or other players, getting a guaranteed local connection, and creating black/ white lists of preferred servers. Meanwhile, Quality of Service (QoS) enables users to prioritise gaming devices and allocate bandwidth by the device to eliminate lag due to queuing at the ISP network.

Additionally, Nighthawk Pro Gaming WiFi Router (XR500) comes with Gaming VPN that protects user's network identity, prevents DDoS attacks, and more. The Network Monitor lets users check on bandwidth-hogging devices and identify the applications that could be causing lag.

The new router features four-port Gigabit switch for making wired connections. It also sports two USB 3.0 ports which can be used to share USB storage over the network. In terms of storage, the Nighthawk Pro Gaming WiFi Router (XR500) sports 256MB flash storage and 512MB of RAM.

"At Netgear we have worked tirelessly to deliver best-in-class performance, customisation and ease-of-use for the ultimate gaming experience. The new Nighthawk Pro Gaming WiFi Router (XR500) is an extension of the customisation and development of modern technological solutions. It is designed to meet the specialised needs of the gamers, the LAN switch comes equipped with dedicated features designed to eliminate laggy gameplay." said Marthesh Nagendra, Country Manager, India & SAARC, Netgear.          

India Well Positioned for AI-Led Economic Transformation: Assocham
                           With over 36 percent of large financial establishments investing in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven technologies and 70 percent planning to embrace it, India is well poised for AI-led economic transformation, a PwC India and Assocham report said on Friday.

Yet, While AI, Machine Learning (ML) and robotics have a wide range of use cases in financial services sector, their potential has not been fully realised in India, said the joint report.

"Establishing data access frameworks and guidelines for open application interfaces from financial institutions will act as an enabler for increased adoption of AI in the sector," the findings showed.

AI can be leveraged to protect economic sectors and infrastructure such as airports and power plants that are vulnerable to attacks.

"Anomalous behaviour detection in individuals and infrastructure disruption prediction (natural/ man-made causes) powered by the use of distributed sensors and pattern recognition are examples of AI usage potential in the sector," the report added.

Along with AI applications in defence, robots can be used to perform jobs which are unsafe for humans - such as recovering explosives, detecting mines, space exploration, deep water probes, scouting for hostile territories, etc.

AI-enabled cybersecurity systems rely on historical data of cyber-attacks and apply ML to predict and detect similar threats likely to arise in the future. Having automated systems in place for monitoring and detecting risks helps to free up human agents from the time-consuming tasks of having to continually check and categorise these red flags based on their threat level, said the report.

AI-enabled assistive technology for differently abled individuals is an untapped market in India.

"AI, in combination with other emerging technologies like 3D printing and IoT, has great potential to fuel widespread availability, affordability and feasibility of innovations in smart prosthetics," said the report.

"Forming cooperative relationships with some of the front-runners in AI - such as Japan, the UK, Germany, Singapore, Israel, and China - to develop solutions that tackle social and economic challenges can aid and accelerate strategy formulation," it added.

Policy planning in AI must be aimed at creating an ecosystem that is supportive of research, innovation and commercialisation of applications.

The centre and state governments could look at providing fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for AI research/ deployment, the report advised, adding that setting up centres of excellence supporting inter-disciplinary research can further fuel AI adoption in India.

  

HP Z VR Backpack, ZBook 17, and EliteDesk 800 G3 Launched in India: Price, Specifications

HP India on Monday debuted its commercial Virtual Reality (VR) solutions and services - including the world's first professional wearable VR PC - for businesses in the country.

The PC and printing major launched HP ZBook 17 mobile workstation at a starting price of Rs. 1,65,000, HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Tower at Rs. 72,000 and the professional wearable HP Z VR backpack at Rs. 3,25,000.

"Making the most of VR technology requires a collaborative relationship between customers and partners. HP is uniting powerful commercial VR solutions to reinvent the future and create a unified portfolio of commercial VR devices," Vickram Bedi, Senior Director, Personal Systems, HP India, said in a statement.

HP Z VR Backpack solution lets users move and maintain total immersion with high-octane visual performance and docking capabilities that transform it into a manageable, powerful desktop PC experience.

Alienware 15 and 17 Gaming Laptops With Intel Core i9

Dell has revealed new upgrades to its Alienware 15 and 17 gaming laptops. The duo will now feature 8th generation Intel Core i5, i7, and i9 processors with upto 6 cores. Along with this, they will allow for overclocking for upto 5.0GHz, the first time ever on the company's most powerful laptops. In order to this, Dell claims it mechanically engineered Alienware Cryo-Tech v2.0, it's bespoke cooling solution with 50 percent thinner fan blades and a vapour chamber on the CPU to cool cores efficiently. Furthermore, users can overclock seamlessly with Alienware Command Center for laptops which also allow for 13 programmable lighting zones supAlthough an India price and release date for the Alienware 15 and 17 are yet to be announced, both the Alienware 15 and 17 ware available on Dell's website in US, China, and Europe. The Alienware 15 price is $2,400 (around Rs. 1.56 lacs) with additional configurations starting $1,450 (close to Rs. 95,000) from April 10 while the Alienware 17 price is $3,700 (approximately Rs. 2.40 lacs) with additional configurations starting $1600 (nearly Rs. 1 lac) also from April 10.porting full RGB on Alienware 15 and 17 keyboards.

Other additions include support for external desktop graphics via the Alienware Graphics Amplifier, optional 120Hz TN+WVA 400-nits display designed with Nvidia Gsync. GPU options include Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, 1070, and 1080 graphics or an AMD Radeon RX570 with 8GB DDR5.

Razer Basilisk Mouse, BlackWidow Ultimate Mechanical Keyboard Launched in India: Price, Features

Razer Basilisk customisable gaming mouse has been launched in India. The new mouse, targeted at gamers who are looking for a solution to enhance their experience for FPS gaming, is now available in the country with a price tag of Rs. 5,499. Bengaluru-based distributor Kaira Global has brought the Razer Basilisk to the Indian market with a one-year warranty. The distributor has also launched Razer BlackWidow Ultimate mechanical gaming keyboard with at a price of Rs. 9,999.

Equipped with a Razer 5G true 16,000 DPI optical sensor, the Razer Basilisk is designed to offer accuracy and precision for FPS gamers. It is also touted to have a lifespan of 50 million clicks, far more than what you can expect from a traditional optical mouse. There is up to 450 inches per second (IPS)/ 50 G acceleration and 1000Hz Ultrapolling. The mouse has a gaming-grade tactile scroll wheel with customisable resistance and includes two removable clutch (short/ long) buttons that are fully programmable and can be set for actions such as push-to-talk and item pick-up. A rubber thumb cap has also been included for players who don't want to opt for the clutch buttons. Coming back to the scroll wheel, it can be adjusted via a dial on its underside to let gamers increase or decrease its resistance. This majorly helps if a gamer wants to adjust the jump activation in a game to a preferred level of resistance.

Asus ZenBook Flip S UX370UA Ultra-Thin Convertible Laptop Launched in India: Price, Specifications

The Asus ZenBook Flip S UX370UA convertible laptop with ultra-thin and lightweight design has been launched in the Indian market. Priced at Rs. 1,30,990, the new ZenBook Flip S UX370UA laptop will be available at retail outlets across the country. It comes with Gen 8 Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB LPDDR3 RAM, weighs 1.1kg, and measures 11.2mm in thickness. The premium Asus laptop comes in metal finish and the company claims it is 50 percent stronger than standard aluminium alloy.

The new Asus ZenBook Flip S UX370UA laptop has a 13.3-inch anti-glare, touchscreen display with full-HD (1920x1080 pixels) resolution and 300 nits brightness. This Windows 10 laptop has 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-8550 processor (up to 4GHz), Intel UHD Graphics GPU, as well as 512GB SSD. There’s a VGA camera for video calls, fingerprint sensor, and a 2-cell Li-ion battery that delivers up to 11 hours of battery life. Connectivity suite of the new model consists of USB-Type C 3.1, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.1 (Dual Band).

Trackpad of the new ZenBook Flip S UX370UA is backlit, and travel between keys is 1mm, Asus claims. The dual Asus SonicMaster Premium stereo speakers are Harman Kardon certified, and the laptop has an amplifier for maximum audio performance. As for the design, the laptop is made from a single block of aluminium and features a spun metal finish that takes 40 steps to create. It comes in Royal Blue colour, with golden accents on the edges. The laptop has a hinge that can turn 360 degrees so that the display can be tilted to various angles conveniently.  

A DCIM Primer

What you need to know

 

CIOs who have their ear to the ground know that the right DCIM software can become a powerful tool for today’s data centers. There’s little doubt that these increasingly complex enterprises face huge challenges in maintaining and improving key deliverables to clients. Pressures from outside and from within are forcing data centers to become more efficient in space and power consumption, in profitability, and in ensuring security in the face of cyber threats.   

 

Situational Awareness to Fully Exploit Resources

 

The right DCIM can provide the situational awareness data centers need to run efficiently, to inventory and employ facilities, hardware, tools, software, and personnel in the most effective manner. No longer do centers have to be saddled with underutilized hardware and software resources (e.g. “zombie” servers). DCIM can provide the much-needed metrics for budgeting, service planning, and compliance audits. With increased situational awareness comes the agility to move with fluctuating business climates, a critically important factor in enhancing availability, reliability, overall quality and serviceability.

 

 

But many data centers increasingly find themselves in quicksand when it comes to updating their management systems, tools, and best practices. For whatever reason, they’re simply unable to plan, economically run or perform much-needed data analyses to improve workflow. 

 

Situational awareness allows CIOs to clearly identify their resources and the way they’re configured and employed. It reveals a data center’s availability (and vulnerability) when it comes to performance, capacity and cost-effectiveness in providing reliable service. 

 

Michael L. Ross, a data center management consultant who has over 10 years helping large data centers reduce their total cost of ownership underscores the importance of management tools like Tuangru’s RAMP DCIM in providing situational awareness.

 

“Ten years ago, data centers were focused on availability and performance. Today, data centers need to understand the total cost of ownership and its elements to deliver a service. You need to manage the cost of the data center plus the infrastructure supporting it as well as maintain high operating efficiencies,” he said