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Ubisoft to Publish Black Bean Games title NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer outside of AU, NZ, and Italy

Milan, Italy – 28th July 2009 – Black Bean Games and Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. sign an important agreement on the release of the groundbreaking complete fitness title NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer.

According to the agreement, Ubisoft will publish and distribute this title across all PAL territories excluding Italy, New Zealand and Australia.  Black Bean Games maintains its publishing rights for Australia and New Zealand where well established partner All Interactive Entertainment will ensure a successful launch.

The first release in the NewU Family of products is due for launch in September on WiiTM.

NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer, developed by Lightning Fish in collaboration with Fitness First and You Are What You EatTM, is an interactive training solution focused on well-being as a perfect balance between professionally developed and expertly taught fitness workouts and healthy balanced  nutrition plans based on personal eating preferences.

 
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SEAGATE INTRODUCES BLACKARMOR FAMILY OF STORAGE SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS

New Products include BlackArmor NAS 440 and BlackArmor NAS 420 storage servers with up to 8TB of capacity
 

Sydney -July 29, 2009 — Demonstrating its ongoing commitment to provide small businesses with solutions that meet both current and future storage needs, Seagate (NASDAQ: STX), the world’s leading provider of storage solutions, today announced a complete portfolio of products designed to protect data for sustained business continuity and optimum uptime. First introduced in 2008 as a portable Full Disk Encryption drive, the new Seagate® BlackArmor® product line is the family name for a suite of network-attached, workstation and portable storage solutions designed to meet the digital asset management needs of small business professionals.

 

Designed as a simple, easy-to-install and easy-to-manage solution for businesses with little or no IT support, BlackArmor storage solutions are perfect for small office environments with up to 50 employees as well as self-employed professionals. Additionally, the BlackArmor line of solutions provides software management tools that are compatible across the family, providing a consistent user experience and future growth path with minimal training or the need for additional support.

 

The first two products to be announced for this new family of small business storage solutions are the Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 and BlackArmor NAS 420 servers, which are designed to provide organizations with a centralized, secure way to manage their business-critical information. Each is a four-bay NAS device, populated with Seagate disk drives. In the case of the BlackArmor NAS 420, it comes with two drives in a four drive chassis. The BlackArmor NAS 440 comes fully populated with four drives. Capacities vary from 2TB in the BlackArmor NAS 420, to a maximum capacity of 6TB in the BlackArmor NAS 440.

 

Unparalleled Security, Accessibility and Peace of Mind

For companies of any size, keeping business data accessible and secure is vital to maintaining the confidence of their customers, partners and employees. Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 and Seagate BlackArmor NAS 420 network storage servers help companies ensure they operate efficiently, while keeping their business data secure, available, accessible and protected. Seagate’s years of experience developing robust, secure storage solutions offers customers the right blend of features to meet immediate and future business needs:

 

Ease of Use:  Self-contained, out-of-the box solutions with on-board LCD Screen, displaying settings and status information – including event alerts – and intuitive management utility for easy configuration and data access;
 

Protection:  Delivers continuous and automatic backup of business-critical data on up to 50 networked computers[1] with full-system backup and RAID options to help provide data protection and redundancy;
 

Security:  Individual file to entire volume encryption with intuitive software management for access control at file and folder level with password protection and encryption; included bare metal restore and recovery CD to protect against hardware failure.
 

Flexibility:  Offers the ability to scale from two to four drive configuration with two, four, six and eight terabytes of storage so companies can pick the right solution to meet their business requirements;
 

Accessibility:  When away from the office, customers can access and share business content securely from the road with an Internet browser without any extra installs or software. Companies can invite colleagues and clients to access select files and folders without needing an FTP site, while keeping their firewall intact and maintaining the security of their network;
 

Continuity:  Designed with hot swappable, user-serviceable drives and RAID options to enhance performance and scalability, the BlackArmor 440 and 420 network storage servers help ensure business continuity. The four USB ports can be can be used to attach external USB drives for offsite rotation in order to guard against the consequences of natural disasters; BlackArmor network storage servers also ship with an external power supply and user-serviceable fan to cover foreseeable failure points and thus minimize downtime.
 

Investment Protection:  Part of an all-inclusive small business storage portfolio, which offers interoperability amongst all products and strategic storage growth path. Each customer’s purchase has a three-year limited warranty and the peace of mind of knowing their business is backed by a storage industry leader.
 

 

 

Technical Specifications and Pricing

Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 and BlackArmor NAS 420 network servers support Windows® XP, Windows® Vista and Mac OS® X 10.4.11 or later. Both network servers can be purchased through channel partners and select retailers at the following manufacturers’ suggested retail prices (MSRP):

 

Seagate BlackArmor NAS 420 network servers – four-bay, two drive configuration

$1,399 AUD / $ 1,699 NZD for 2TB available from August.

Seagate BlackArmor NAS 440 network servers – four-bay, four drive configuration

$1,899 AUD / $ 2,399 NZD for 4TB and  $2,599 AUD / $ 3,399 NZD for 6TB, availabilities to be confirmed.

 

For Additional Product Information and Related Multimedia Content:

http://www.seagate.com

http://media.seagate.com/ seagate-blackarmor-media-kit

http://seagate.mediaseed.tv/

 
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WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF WATCHMEN: THE END IS NIGH PART 2

Episodic Street Brawler Based on ‘Watchmen’ Film Available Now 

Sydney, Australia– July 29, 2009 – Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2, the second of two episodic action videogames based on the Watchmen film, launches today on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 Computer Entertainment System

 

Providing Watchmen fans with a variety of purchase options, the game will be offered in the following formats.

 

Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 is available today for the first time as a single game on Xbox 360 for $49.95.
 

Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2 will be available for download on PC on July 30 and PlayStation®Network on July 31 for a retail price of $19.95, and on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360 on August 27 for 1200 Microsoft Points.
 

Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2 is a hardcore mature action brawler featuring bloody visceral combat in settings which are reminiscent of the film. Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 1 takes place more than a decade before the film’s main story, delving into the partnership of urban vigilantes Rorschach and Nite Owl before the hero-banning Keene Act. In Part 2 the duo teams up again as Rorschach contacts Nite Owl to help solve the case of a missing girl, Violet Greene.

 

The game features a split screen co-op multiplayer option in addition to a single-player experience with an A.I. partner. Staying true to the tone of the Watchmen world, Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2 features stunning graphics in gritty settings. Players can battle as many as twenty enemies at the same time in bloody, intense street-fighting action. Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 feature nine chapters of gut-wrenching action, including locales from the film, allowing for hours of intense gameplay and a fully developed storyline.

# # #

 

About WATCHMEN

Released nationwide in March, 2009, Watchmen is a complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the Doomsday Clock—which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union—moves closer to midnight.  When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the outlawed but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach uncovers a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with catastrophic consequences for the future. 

 

Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures present, in Association with Legendary Pictures, a Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin Production, a Zack Snyder Film, Watchmen. The film stars Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson. Watchmen is directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Deborah Snyder.  The screenplay is by David Hayter and Alex Tse, based upon the graphic novel co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published by DC Comics.  Herbert W. Gains and Thomas Tull are the executive producers, with Wesley Coller serving as co-producer.

 
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What’s On at Melbourne Museum August to October 2009

Message Sticks Film Festival
Message Sticks Film Festival returns to Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum with its biggest and best program to date. This year’s line-up includes the latest short films and documentaries from emerging and established Indigenous film-makers, The New Black, plus a special Warwick Thornton retrospective and his Camera d’Or winning film, Samson & Delilah, and Fire Talker, a new documentary by Ivan Sen about the life and times of Charles Perkins, Aboriginal activist and bureaucrat.
Date: 30 August to 1 September
All films are FREE. Check the website for program details.

Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award Exhibition
This is an annual award-based exhibition showcasing the 10 best Australian contemporary functional designs in lighting, furniture, accessories and homewares. Victorian finalists featured in the exhibition include Bridget Bodenham, Stuart McFarlane and John Hoogendoorn.
The Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award Exhibition is an Object Gallery touring exhibition with the support of Major Sponsor Bombay Sapphire.
Date: 14 August to 25 October 2009

Design Now
Do you ever wonder what the next big thing in design will be? What are the best emerging ideas and trends? See the designs of Australia’s young design graduates who have competed with fellow students to exhibit their work in Design Now The group of finalists represent the best and freshest upcoming designers in Australia.
Design Now is an Object Gallery touring exhibition.
Date: 14 August to 25 October 2009

National Science Week
Museum Victoria will be celebrating National Science Week with special lectures and events. Meet inspiring scientists and experts and learn about exciting new work and research. Go on a behind the scenes tour and see fascinating objects from Museum Victoria’s science collection. And watch out for roaming dinosaurs in the galleries of Melbourne Museum!
Date: 15 – 23 August. Check the website for program details.

A Day in Pompeii: Melbourne Winter Masterpieces Exhibition
The drama and tragedy of ancient Pompeii will be showcased in the Melbourne Winter Masterpiece exhibition A Day
in Pompeii, on display at Melbourne Museum from 26 June to 25 October 2009.  Exclusive to Melbourne, A Day in Pompeii is developed by Museum Victoria in partnership with the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei (SAP), and will feature over 250 objects from daily life in Pompeii and surrounds, as well as a number of body casts.
Melbourne Winter Masterpieces is a Victorian Government initiative and is exclusive to Melbourne, Australia. A Day in Pompeii is presented in association with the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei (SANP).
Date: Until 11 October 2009
Cost: $20 adult, $14 concession, $12 child, $54 family (includes Museum entry)

Ngarjun and Nakun: Our eyes, our footprints
This exhibition explores the powerful collective story of the Mullet family, a Victorian Aboriginal family. Featuring paintings, textiles and objects from four generations of family members, the exhibition demonstrates the knowledge of culture and family connections that have been instilled through the generations by grandparents Albert and Rachel Mullett.
Date: Until 10 October 2009

Melbourne Museum, Nicholson Street, Carlton. Open daily 10.00am – 5.00pm. Admission: Adult $8, children and concession FREE. For further details phone 13 11 02 or visit museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum

 
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‘World first’ energy saving devices – PC TrickleSaver and TV TrickleSaver – hit the shelves at Officeworks!

‘World first’ energy saving devices – PC TrickleSaver and TV TrickleSaver – hit the shelves at Officeworks!

Australians can now save ‘trickling’ power, save $$ AND save Earth
by using PC and TV TrickleSaver devices to manage energy use
at home and in the office.
AUSTRALIA / HONG KONG – Wednesday 29 July, 2009 – TrickleStar, manufacturer of the world’s leading energy saving devices, is pleased to announce that its unique energy saving devices – the PC TrickleSaver and TV TrickleSaver – will be available for Australians to purchase from Officeworks stores around the country as of Monday 3 August.

“We are thrilled to have our TrickleSaver products on the market in Australia. It’s wonderful to have the support of Officeworks, our first Australian retailer, to bring these energy efficient and environmentally friendly products to Australians,” commented TrickleStar founder, Bernard Emby.

“Given the economic and environmental issues we all face today, we feel sure that the launch of the TrickleSaver range to the Australian market will provide Australians with an easy to use, affordable way in which they can take an active role in saving money by saving power, while at the same time helping to save the planet.”
 
Shane Patterson, National Merchandise Manager of Officeworks said of the new partnership with TrickleStar and distributor Amber Technology, “Officeworks is pleased to facilitate the launch of the TrickleSaver products to the Australian market and to be able to offer customers the opportunity to save their pennies – and the planet – by reducing the amount of electricity they use.”

“The TrickleSaver range offers a great solution for Australians who are looking for simple and effective ways to reduce their spending – as well as their carbon emissions – and is a valuable addition to Officeworks’ comprehensive product range,” he added.

Research has indicated that standby power typically accounts for between 5-10% of residential electricity use in most developed countries and a rising fraction in the developing countries (particularly in cities). Standby power in commercial buildings is smaller but still significant. Altogether, standby power use is roughly responsible for 1% of global CO2 emissions.

Moreover, this equates to a lot of wasted power, wasted money and unnecessary impact to the planet.

The TrickleSaver products are designed to stop the drain of the standby power that is consumed by PC peripheral and TV accessory devices when they are not use.

“You can actually notice the real difference to your electricity bills when you add TrickleSaver units to your home entertainment and computing setup,” Mr Emby noted.

The TV TrickleSaver product has inbuilt current sensing circuitry that senses when a TV is on or off. So, when the TV is ‘on’ the TV TrickleSaver switches power to all accessory devices. Conversely, when the TV is ‘off’, it switches off all accessory devices, so there is no continuing flow of ‘standby power’.

The TV TrickleSaver’s ‘sister product’ the PC TrickleSaver reduces the standby power that is consumed by PC peripheral devices. When a PC is on the PC TrickleSaver switches power to all PC peripherals and switches off all peripherals when the PC is shut down.

Both the TV and PC TrickleSavers are typically connected to a standard electrical powerboard in order to power a number of connected devices.

The TV TrickleSaver and PC TrickleSaver are reliable, cost-effective, easy to use, environmentally friendly and offer superior technology to anything else on the market today.

Want to find out how much electricity you consume?

TrickleStar has also developed an online power standby calculator which can be accessed via the TrickleStar website (www.tricklestar.com). The calculator enables users to configure their own PC or entertainment system, the hours they use the equipment and the cost of their electricity.

The calculator can then provide data specifying the amount of electricity saved, CO2 saved and the ‘environmental payback’ period. The calculator uses independent data sourced from AMEE and DEFRA.

The tool also allows users to configure the cost of their power according to power ‘type’. In Australia, as with many other countries, users can purchase different types of power – either standard power or renewable power. The calculator can work with different power ‘types’ to calculate kW usage.

To find out more about TrickleStar’s range of TrickleSaver products, visit your closest Officeworks store or go to www.tricklestar.com.au

TV TrickleSaver RRP $99.95

PC TrickleSaver RRP $69.95
About TrickleStar
TrickleStar Pty Ltd was founded in 2007 by Thomas Joergensen and Bernard Emby. A privately held company, TrickleStar is based in Hong Kong and has offices in Singapore, China, UK, Denmark and Malaysia.

TrickleStar has developed a unique suite of products which address the issue of standby power used by both general appliances and PC peripherals and stop the flow of standby power when appliances are in ‘standby’ mode.

TrickleStar’s ‘TrickleSaver’ products – designed for PCs and TV accessories and other electrically powered products – will help to reduce individual and family ‘environmental footprints’ AND electricity bills!

In mid 2009, TrickleStar will launch its world’s latest ‘truly green’ power saving devices to the USA, , Denmark and Australia – countries where there is greater awareness of the need to reduce carbon emissions.

TrickleStar will then launch its products into the markets in Germany, UK, Italy and Japan later in 2009. For more information, visit www.tricklestar.com

About Amber Technology Limited – Australian distributor for TrickleStar
Formed in 1987, Amber Technology handles some of the world’s most innovative and smartest electronics products and provides the bridge between state-of-the-art manufacturers and customers.

Today, Amber Technology is acknowledged as a leader in the identification, supply and distribution of advanced technologies for the professional and consumer audio / video markets across the Oceania region.
Amber has a national network of offices in major capital cities in Australia and New Zealand, enabling it to provide its customers with an efficient distribution and support system across the region.
Amber’s expertise encompasses both the production and the delivery of today’s rich audio visual experience. For further information visit www.ambertech.com.au

About Standby Power
Measurements in many countries have estimated that standby power may be as high as 12% of residential electricity consumption in some economies. 

Many standby products are designed to draw standby power 24 hours per day, seven days a week, every month of the year in order that the appliances can act more quickly when the user turns the appliance ‘on’.

As such, standby power is both a constant drain on people’s hip pockets, the electrical grid and has a negative impact on the environment… and our planet.

TrickleStar’s products – designed for PCs, PC accessories and other electrically powered products – will help to reduce individual and family ‘environmental footprints’ AND electricity bills!

 
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DJ JAZZY JEFF BRINGS THE DJ HERO™ PARTY TO LIFE WITH HIS TURNTABLE SKILLS AND LIKENESS

Sydney, Australia – July 28, 2009 – DJ Jazzy Jeff, GRAMMY™ Award winning hip-hop and R&B record producer, actor and world famous turntablist will ascend to the virtual stage this fall in Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Guitar Hero’s  highly anticipated video game DJ Hero™.  In addition to joining the distinguished rank of playable characters that will appear in the game, including DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip, Grandmaster Flash, DJ AM and others, DJ Jazzy Jeff will shake the room and bring the party to life with his own set list featuring two exclusive mixes hand created by the legend himself – Tears for Fears “Shout” vs. Eric B. & Rakim “Eric B. Is President” and LL Cool J “Rock the Bells” vs. The Aranbee Pop Symphony Orchestra “Bittersweet Symphony.”

 

“I am very, very excited DJ culture is finally getting its due.  To have a song in DJ Hero is a dream come true; to be a character someone can pick up the controller and select you and play is probably the biggest thing to happen to me in my career,” said DJ Jazzy Jeff.  “Music is so much a part of everyone’s life, DJ Hero is going to appeal to almost everybody.”

 

Expanding upon the revolutionary easy to pick up/challenging to master gameplay mechanics developed and refined in Guitar Hero®, DJ Hero delivers an all-new interactive music experience that allows players to rule the party and not only experience, but to hear music in an all-new way. With over 100 individual songs, highlighted in over 80 unique never-before-released mixes that blend genres of music, including hip-hop, R&B, pop, rock and electronica, DJ Hero delivers the most diverse and international collection of music ever assembled in a music game by incorporating anthems from legendary artists.  Created exclusively for DJ Hero, the turntable controller immerses fans into DJ culture and a sea of music as they utilize and master various DJ techniques including scratching, blending, cross fading and sampling, while leaving room for creative expression with a variety of effects and player chosen samples and scratches, transforming a face in the crowd into the life of the party.

 

DJ Hero is being developed by FreeStyleGames for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems and the Wii™ system from Nintendo.  The game is rated PG.  For more information about DJ Hero, please visit djhero.com.

 

For more information on DJ Jazzy Jeff, please visit djjazzyjeff.com.

 

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

 

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

 
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Forza Motorsport 3 Limited Collector’s Edition Details Revealed

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 28, 2009 – October 23, 2009 will mark the launch of “Forza Motorsport 3” in Australia and New Zealand, exclusively on Xbox 360. With more than 400 cars on over 100 tracks, the next game in the heralded series will be the biggest and most vividly realistic console racing title launching this year. And while all “Forza Motorsport 3” players will get to experience the bone-jarring physics, unparalleled levels of customisation, and epic car and track list, fans who purchase the Limited Collector’s Edition will find even more goodies under the hood.

 

The “Forza Motorsport 3” Limited Collector’s Edition (LCE) gives aspiring drivers, tuners and painters instant VIP Membership status within the Forza community including special recognition in the new Storefront feature as well as the online Auction House, scoreboards, ForzaMotorsport.net and more.  As a VIP member, consumers gain exclusive access to five of the world’s hottest cars:

·         2009 Aston Martin DBS

·         2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

·         2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia

·         2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera

·         2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)

 

If you crave cars, you won’t want to miss another perk of the “Forza Motorsport 3” LCE – an Exclusive Collector’s Car Pack, personally hand-picked, tuned and painted by the team at Turn 10:

·         Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro (Forza Motorsport 3 Cover Car)

·         Acura NSX (Forza Motorsport Cover Car)

·         Nissan Fairlady (Forza Motorsport 2 Cover Car)

·         Aston Martin DB9 (Forza Motorsport 2 European Cover Car)

·         2008 Dodge Charger Stock Car (with Xbox 360 livery)

 

In addition to the exclusive cars, Turn 10 also plans to create a series of new and exclusive designs and tuning kits exclusively for VIPs.  To show off your true “Forza Motorsport” pride and prowess, consumers also receive a “Forza Motorsport 3” collector’s keychain and a 2GB USB thumbdrive in which you can store your favourite “Forza” videos, photos and designs to easily share them with friends.

 

“Forza Motorsport 3” is rated G.  For more information, media are invited to visit http://www.xbox.com/en-AU/games/f/forzamotorsport3/.

 
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Ashes Cricket 2009 playable demo takes to the crease on Xbox LIVE Marketplace today.

Bat and bowl your country to Ashes glory in Ashes Cricket 2009

 – Tuesday, 28th July 2009– Cricket fans can now experience the tension, drama and atmosphere of the npower Ashes Series as the Ashes Cricket 2009 playable demo hits Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® today. The demo enables gamers to bat and bowl in a six over sample of a Test match between England and Australia at Lords.

Ashes Cricket 2009 delivers all the exciting, athletic, skilful and technical elements that gamers expect from a Codemasters’ cricket title. The game’s comprehensive ‘Ashes’ mode features all five Tests played out at detailed recreations of each official venue. In addition, gamers will also be able to play Test matches, One Day Internationals, 20 over games and a series of challenge modes.

Ashes Cricket 2009 is fully licensed by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board), the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club, the world’s most famous cricket club and owner of the Ashes urn) and Cricket Australia, providing the game with all the official players, kit, stadia – including Lords and The Brit Oval – and equipment from this year’s npower Ashes Series.

Available to Gold members today, the demo will be available to Silver members on 30th July 2009, to coincide with the beginning of the Third npower Ashes Test at Edgbaston. Ashes Cricket 2009, the full game, is set to launch on 7th August 2009 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, PC. The Wii version will be relasing in Spring 2009.

 
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AMD Set to Enable Ultimate Visual Experience for Consumer PCs with Windows 7

– AMD Congratulates Microsoft on the RTM Milestone of Windows 7-

Sydney,AustraliaJuly 28, 2009 

•AMD (NYSE: AMD) today congratulates Microsoft Corp. on the Release-to-Manufacturing of the Windows 7 operating system.

•Working with Microsoft, AMD has focused on addressing customers’ top computing priorities such as superior visual experience, better PC entertainment, a stable platform and great power management technology to help Microsoft deliver an outstanding, dynamic Windows 7 environment for consumers and businesses alike.

•Benefitting from a six-year collaboration between Microsoft and AMD, Windows 7 is designed to exploit the power of AMD mainstream multi-core and 64-bit microprocessor technology along with advanced 3D and video processing solutions to deliver a more visual, more entertaining, more powerful and richer computing experience on a stable and consistent platform.

•The compute shader, a feature of DirectX 11, will enable upcoming AMD DirectX 11 graphics cards used in Windows-7 capable systems to speed up a wide number of Windows 7 applications in a manner that’s completely transparent to users. For example, in seamlessly accelerating the conversion of video for playback on portable media players through a drag-and-drop interface.1

•AMD Business Class Technology and Windows 7 help drive business productivity with exceptional experience on visual applications such as Microsoft Office PowerPoint, video conferencing, and 3-D productivity. Additionally, AMD-V™, a feature on all AMD Phenom™, AMD Phenom™ II, AMD Turion™, AMD Athlon™ and AMD Athlon™ II processors, provides hardware virtualization support to help streamline PC management through Windows 7 Virtual PC and Windows XP mode. The reduction in overall power consumption enabled by AMD Business Class and Windows 7 helps extend battery and system life.

Quote Support:

“Microsoft is a valued AMD technology partner and we are confident that our outstanding collaboration in the development of Windows 7 will provide a dynamic, visually rich computing experience and superior value, both for business needs and for consumers,” said Bob Grim, director, client product marketing, AMD. “The AMD-Microsoft collaboration is resulting in the development of unprecedentedly tight integration of hardware and software solutions in Windows 7. This results in a superior and simple user experience for customers.” 


“AMD continues to be a great industry partner and we are very happy to work with them to deliver great premium experiences for our mutual customers.   With technology such as DirectX 11 graphics cards, AMD understands PC users needs by providing a dynamic entertainment experience,” said Mike Ybarra, General Manager, Windows Product Management, Microsoft Corp.  “Because we worked closely with AMD in the development and test process of Windows 7, users running Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional on an AMD-based platform can experience a rich, fast computing experience.”


Resources
AMD Virtualization Blog
Ready.Set.7 Videos
•AMD Ready with Unified, WHQL-Certified Graphics Drivers for Windows 7 RTM press release
AMD Supports Windows 7 in ATI Catalyst™ 9.3 Unified Driver press release
Download the ATI Catalyst driver
Download the Windows 7 WHQL certified driver for ATI Radeon graphics
AMD and Microsoft
AMD CMO blog post on Windows 7 RC
Download Windows 7 RC


About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit
http://www.amd.com.


1 Video conversion requires ATI Stream-enabled software and may be subject to digital rights management restrictions. Faster Windows 7 applications were demonstrated at Computex 2009 where drag-and-drop transcoding using ATI Stream technology encoded an HD media file in 82 seconds vs. an encoding time of 160 seconds without ATI Stream acceleration. System specifications: Windows 7 Ultimate – Build 7077, MSI DKA790GX Platinum motherboard, 1 x 2GB Corsair CM2X2048-8500C5D memory (5-5-5-15 timings), Athlon 64 X2 5000+ processor, ATI Radeon HD 4890 graphics card and Sony NWZ-A726 Portable Media Player.

 
formats

A Night in Fantasia to return in 2009 – bigger, bolder and more spectacular than ever!

SYDNEY – Tuesday 28 July, 2009 – Are you ready for the most sensational Eminence concert to date? The ‘A Night in Fantasia’ concert series has been recognised around the world as the most popular brand of video game / anime concerts, so you will be pleased to hear that The Eminence Symphony Orchestra is warming up to present ‘A Night in Fantasia 2009’ at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Saturday 26 September, 2009.

Featuring a full Symphony Orchestra, a mind blowing choir, special guest performers and boasting a score of popular tracks from the worlds of video games and anime, ‘A Night in Fantasia 2009’ is being billed as the biggest, boldest and best concert in the ‘A Night in Fantasia’ series to ever be held.

A Night in Fantasia 2009 will feature a host of special guest stars who will fly in from the USA and Japan specially to be involved in this epic event.

“We are really looking forward to presenting A Night in Fantasia 2009 as it’s going to be such a huge event, featuring so many wonderful pieces of music, musicians, world class composers and other special guests,” commented Hiroaki Yura, Founder and Director of Eminence Artists.

The concert will feature a score of arrangements – many of them as originally done by the composers – spanning the games and anime genres, with a focus on western music not before seen in the ‘A Night in Fantasia’ series.

The score of tracks to be performed include AFRIKA, Ace Combat V, Darksiders: Wrath of War, Dragon Age: Origins, Metal Gear Solid, Prince of Persia, Red Alert 3, Shadow of the Colossus and a wide range of anime titles, including Astro Boy (which will hit cinemas in September), Studio Ghibli, Totora, Laputa, Princess Monoke, Deathnote, Steamboy and many, many more…

“Not only will fans be blown away by the musical extravaganza of A Night in Fantasia 2009, they will also love the impressive array of images that will be shown on the big screen,. We’re not holding back” Mr Yura added.

-ends-

 ‘A Night in Fantasia 2009’ is a ‘don’t miss’ event – make sure you don’t miss out!

Date:    Saturday 26 September, 2009

Time(s):   6.00pm (doors open at 5.00pm)

Venue:   Sydney Entertainment Centre
35 Harbour Street
Darling Harbour

Ticket prices:    
                                               Adult                
     
A Reserve                   $95.00   

B Reserve   $85.00   

C Reserve   $75.00   

                                              
Bookings through:             Tickets can only be booked via Ticketmaster.
Phone 1300 883 662, visit  www.ticketmaster.com.au or go to a Ticketmaster outlet.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Tuesday 4 August.
 
All attendees will receive a full colour program booklet.