AUSTRALIA, Sydney – February 4, 2009 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), makers of Norton security software, today announced the availability of Norton Utilities, reintroducing a classic and fan-favorite Norton product with new and essential tools to optimise PC performance. The unique tools in today’s Norton Utilities help reclaim system memory, accelerate startup time, free up disk space and boost overall system performance.

Norton Utilities focuses on the growing problem of slow and sluggish PCs by delivering a suite of performance-boosting enhancements. By allowing users to prioritise startup applications and Microsoft Windows services, users will experience faster startup and increased availability for the applications they need.  In fact, third party test labs, PassMark Software recently concluded that Norton Utilities delivers a 24% increase in PC boot time on a sluggish Windows XP machine[1]. PassMark also found that everyday applications, such as Microsoft Word launched 16% faster on that same PC following the use of Norton Utilities.  Additionally, the product’s registry and disk management tools bring improved performance and stability to the PC. Norton Utilities also features a performance benchmarking application that lets users view, compare, and tweak their PC’s performance according to their needs. 

“In today’s economic climate, we’re all trying to do more with what we’ve already got,” said Rowan Trollope, senior vice president, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec. “Norton Utilities provides the tools to give your PC an instant tune-up and get it running like new again. Whether it’s a new PC that you want to maintain or an older one whose performance is dragging, Norton Utilities tunes-up, tweaks and maintains your PC to ensure you get the most mileage out of it.” 

Norton Utilities maintains and optimises PC performance through its suite of tools that include: 

Startup Manager and Services Manager – Manages programs configured to run at system startup.
Registry Cleaner – Cleans the registry of unnecessary entries created during the installation, de-installation and normal work on the PC.
Registry Defragmenter – Analyses the registry for errors and rebuilds it completely from scratch if needed. Defragments and corrects any structural errors.
Disk Cleaner – Scrubs the hard disk of temporary files, Internet cookies, and other junk data.
Performance Test – Benchmarks a PC using a variety of different speed tests and compares the results before and after changes.

Norton Utilities includes free 24×7 email, chat and web support to all customers. Additionally, phone support is available for a fee.

Pricing and Availability

Norton Utilities will be available for purchase in Australia through retail and the Symantec online store late February. The suggested retail price for Norton Utilities is AUD$69.95.

About Norton from Symantec

Symantec’s Norton products protect consumers from traditional threats with antivirus, anti-spam and spyware protection, as well as bots, drive-by downloads and identity theft– while also being light on system resources.  The company also provides services such as PC help from NortonLive™ and online backup, and is a trusted source for family online safety.

About Symantec

Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world.  Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com.

SYDNEY FEBRUARY 4, 2009 —Logitech has today announced it will begin shipping the Logitech® Harmony® 1100i advanced universal remote control to Australia in March 2009. Logitech’s newest remote provides a 3.5 inch, full-colour touch-screen interface, that lets you put the commands you want, where you want them. The Harmony remote received the CES 2009 Design and Engineering Award: Best of Innovations in the Home-Entertainment Accessories category in the US – the second consecutive year a Logitech Harmony remote has been honoured with this award.

“The Harmony 1100i is a natural extension of the Harmony promise – to simplify today’s complex home-entertainment systems,” said Ashish Arora, vice president and general manager of Logitech’s Harmony business unit. “As more and more people get the bulk of their entertainment at home, the Harmony 1100i will help people get more out of their home-entertainment experience – for a fraction of the price of traditional custom-installed remotes.”

With a single touch, the palm-sized Harmony 1100i remote puts the power to control your home-entertainment in your hands. With its fully redesigned software, the 3.5-inch touch-sensitive screen – which features QVGA resolution – gives you a brilliant base from which to control your system. Using the New Harmony software, you can select the commands you use most and put those features on the screen. If you love to watch movies, for example, and are always using the Play and Pause buttons, you can tell the Harmony 1100i to make those commands immediately available on the screen once you start your movie.

In addition to the customisable touch screen, the Harmony 1100i offers simple details that also make it easy to use, such as tactile guides, which are located around the touch screen and help position your fingers so that you choose the right command. The brushed-black aluminum top case and soft-touch bottom case make it comfortable to hold – as well as a stylish complement to your living room. And the Harmony 1100i is rechargeable, so you never have to replace the batteries.

One Touch to Your Entertainment

The Harmony 1100i delivers the renowned benefits common to the Harmony family of universal remotes, including its exclusive one-touch activity-based control system powered by the world’s largest A/V-control database of entertainment equipment, as well as its convenient online setup process. The Harmony 1100i remote simplifies your entertainment with one-touch activity-based control. The whole family, your friends, and even the babysitter can simply select what they want to do by choosing the appropriate on-screen icon – such as “Watch TV” – and the Harmony 1100i remote does the rest. The remote will turn on the TV, the DVD player, the A/V receiver and any other necessary devices. There is no need to control components individually – the Harmony 1100i remote manages everything.

Guided Online Setup
Logitech’s internet-based setup makes getting the Harmony 1100i up and running as easy as possible. With its intuitive setup wizard guiding the process, the Harmony 1100i online interface allows you to enter your components’ make and model numbers. Then, this information is automatically matched to the characteristics, discrete codes and infrared commands of the more than 225,000 devices from more than 5,000 manufacturers contained in Logitech’s online database. Any devices that are not in the database can be quickly added. When you want to add a device to your living room, you can be confident that the Harmony 1100i remote will work with the devices you own today, and the ones you will buy in the future.

Pricing and Availability

The Harmony 1100i is expected to be available in Australia in late March for a suggested retail price of $899.95 inc GST (AUD).

About Logitech

Logitech is a world leader in personal peripherals, driving innovation in PC navigation, internet communications, digital music, home-entertainment control, gaming and wireless devices. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

Description

Step into the shoes of the legendary hero, Indiana Jones, in an all new epic adventure!  Set in the year 1939, Indiana Jones® and the Staff of Kings™ follows the rogue archaeologist on an all-new globe-trotting quest.  

From San Francisco’s Chinatown to the lush jungles of Panama, Indy must use his whip, fists and wits to fight through ruthless opposition as he spars with his nemesis, Magnus Völler, in a race for a relic of biblical proportions – the Staff of Moses.

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings features completely interactive environments, where players need to call upon their wits and daring to make each spring-loaded environment a weapon in order to dispense of foes in clever and unexpected ways. Also, embark upon thrilling action sequences that remain true to the spirit established in scenes such as Indy’s pursuit of the motorcade in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the mine-cart scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the free-for-all aboard the tank in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. 

Product Information
– Wield your Wii Remote™ like Indy’s signature whip for a variety of uses – from combat to navigation to puzzle-solving.
– Use your highly interactive Hot Set™ environments and your wits to defeat your enemies.
– Explore exotic locations around the globe in an all-new story that puts you on an epic quest for the Staff of Moses.
– Apply your smarts to navigate Indy through challenging terrains with the many maneuvers Indy can do with his whip.
– Engage in burst gunplay moments and use careful aim and the environment to take out enemies.
– Face overwhelming odds and escape signature run-for-your-life moments, like a daring escape from a collapsing temple, by matching fast-paced onscreen gesture prompts.
– Experience thrilling chases and control vehicles – fly a biplane in a canyon trench, take the reigns of a wild elephant through the streets of Istanbul and navigate a raft down a raging river.
– Cooperative gameplay mode allows you and a friend to brave the challenges in a variety of game modes in an entirely new quest with a familiar character never playable before in an Indy game.
– Unlock four-player versus mode where you and your friends go head-to-head in a real biplane combat or take on three of your friends in a free for all tank battle!
– Whether you are brawling baddies or wielding your whip, use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk™ as nature intended with the intuitive gesture-based combat system.
– Discover more than 20 artifacts and rewarding unlockables throughout the game.
– For those old-school gamers there is nothing better than unlocking the classic Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis game!
– On the Nintendo DS, use the stylus as the whip to swing over pits, brawl with enemies and to explore the world.
– The PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system version features six robust types of burst gameplay including combat and physics challenges, puzzles and the trademark Indiana Jones chase sequences.

IMAX Melbourne Museum presents a limited re-release of graphic novel turned gore flick 300 in the lead up to the release of the blockbuster Watchmen on March 5.  

This February Friday the 13th is set to see the blockbuster 300 return to Melbourne’s biggest screen, transporting movie-goers to ancient Greece and into the ultimate battle as 300 Spartans fight for freedom and glory. 

Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and directed by Zach Synder (Watchmen), 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller’s (Sin City) acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of the ancient historic tale.

On March 5 the superhero mystery adventure Watchmen hits IMAX Melbourne Museum. An adaptation of Alan Moore’s landmark comic book series, Watchmen is set in an alternative 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society. An investigation into the murder of a government sponsored super-hero pulls them out of retirement and eventually leads them to confront a plot by one of their own to stave off nuclear war by killing millions of innocent people. 

To top off the graphic novel movie mania, IMAX Melbourne Museum has re-released box office smash hit and multi award winning The Dark Knight, which will run throughout February. 

Take advantage of the Free Friend in Feb deal for these releases and receive a Buy 1 Get 1 Free voucher for any session in February by subscribing to GET THE BIG NEWS at www.imaxmelbourne.com.au 

Where:                        IMAX Melbourne Museum, Carlton Gardens

Cost:                           Full length features: $20.00 adults, $16.50 concession, $15.00 child, $60.00 family (2 adults & 2 children)

Session times:          www.imaxmelbourne.com.au or 03 9663 5454

Films screen daily from 10.00am.

The Skaven Take to the Pitch in Today’s Blood Bowl Video Game Trailer!

Fast but fragile, the Skaven take on Lizardmen in today’s video.

Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide Studio are pleased to release the 3rd of four trailers for Blood Bowl — this one featuring the vicious half-man half-rat race known as the Skaven, born of the foul magics of Chaos. As we can see in today’s video, Skaven might not be the strongest of the Blood Bowl players, but boy are they fast! Skaven do what they do best – run around the pitch at blistering speed, the Gutter Runners moving the ball quickly with their inhuman agility, and avoiding the desperate attempts of the Lizardmen to stop them. As shown in the video, a running Skaven player is nearly impossible to capture, as he can dodge in and out of the defensive lines with ease, and if that fails, they can always call in a Rat Ogre for heavy support if needed!

An ultra-violent mix of Warhammer Fantasy and American football, Blood Bowl allows players to create the ultimate “fantasy” sports teams. Coaches can build bone-crushing teams of Orcs, Elves, Humans, Dwarfs and many more fantastic creatures – then throw them into the stadium for the ultimate blood sport! Blood Bowl is strategic, action-packed and violent, requiring coaches to use their best tactics, team design – and a dose of pure ruthless bloodlust always helps too!

Published by Focus Home Interactive and developed by Cyanide Studio, Blood Bowl is being developed for the PC and the Xbox 360™ as well as for the handheld systems Nintendo DS™ and Sony PSP™ and is set for release on Q2 2009.

Watch the video (Streaming)

Download the video (36,2 MB)

EA and Starbreeze Studios Working on All-New Jason Bourne Title 

Sydney, Australia – February 3, 2009 – Ludlum Entertainment has granted Electronic Arts, Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) the exclusive worldwide license to create video games based on the works of Robert Ludlum, including the blockbuster Jason Bourne series. The first game to be released as part of the multi-year agreement is based on Jason Bourne and is currently in development with Starbreeze Studios in Uppsala, Sweden.

“Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne is the most exciting action hero to emerge in decades, thrilling audiences around the world,” said Mike Quigley, group vice president of marketing, EA Games Label. “EA is excited to enter into a long-term relationship with Ludlum Entertainment, bringing the action, intrigue and intensity of Robert Ludlum’s fiction to life for casual and core gamers around the globe.”

“The continued global popularity of Robert Ludlum’s works is a testament to the care he lavished on his characters and storylines,” said Jeffrey Weiner, chairman and CEO of Ludlum Entertainment and executor of the Ludlum estate. “Robert Ludlum made thrilling stories accessible and real. EA has brought that same level of realism to the gaming world. We are confident EA‘s unparalleled production ability and marketing reach will establish the Jason Bourne Series in games as powerfully and successfully as it exists in books and film.”

Ludlum Entertainment recently entered into a production deal with Universal Studios to produce films based on the dozens of books in the Robert Ludlum library, as well as films outside the library. The company currently has films in development at Universal, MGM, Paramount and with Summit Entertainment.

Video game veteran Matt Wolf will work with EA to oversee the creative development, production and positioning of the Ludlum Entertainment games portfolio.  Ludlum entertainment was represented in the transaction by Keith Boesky of Boesky & Company.

For more information, please visit EA’s press Web site at http://info.ea.com

The first MADWORLD Sports Trailer is out now, you can download it here:  

WMV: http://basket.sega-press.com/PVZSega5836016536009.zip

OFLAC MOV: http://basket.sega-press.com/PVZSegaf825ea8336010.zip

Rock Legends Queen get their very own SingStar® title for PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2. Want it all? You’ve got it now!

SYDNEY, 3 February 2009 – This March, rock lovers can recreate the excitement and magic of Queen’s iconic stadium concerts in their own living rooms thanks to SingStar® Queen from Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCE Aust.) – an experience that lets you grab a microphone and belt out the greatest hits of the legendary group’s chart-topping, 30-year career with your friends. Exclusive to PlayStation® and hot on the heels of the hugely popular downloadable Queen SongPacks in SingStore, SingStar Queen will be available on both PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) and PlayStation®2 in Australia, giving every SingStar a shot at Queen home-stardom.

The Constellation family includes 2.5-inch nearline hard drive with lowest enterprise power consumption and record-setting 3.5-inch 7200-rpm 2TB hard drive for nearline Tier 2 enterprise applications

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — February 2, 2009 — Seagate (NASDAQ:STX) today introduced its Constellation™ family of new enterprise storage solutions for Tier 2 nearline storage applications. The two new drive models, the 2.5-inch Constellation and the 3.5-inch Constellation ES hard drives, include a combination of features that enable high capacities, increased power efficiency, enterprise-class reliability, and data security. Both drives also include PowerChoice™ from Seagate, which decreases power consumption by up to 54% for record power savings in enterprise environments.

“The need for greater storage capacity will continue to expand in multiple directions and dimensions, but there will be an increasing scrutiny of all storage system purchases, with an eye to decreasing power consumption, footprint, and cost per GB in unprecedented ways,” said John Monroe, a research vice president at Gartner. “Performance will not be ignored, but a flexible balance of capacity, cost per GB, power and speed will become more crucial in fulfilling end-user storage demands at varied price points.”

Constellation
The Constellation 2.5-inch hard drive is offered in capacities of 160GB and 500GB with both 3 Gbps SATA and new SAS 2.0 interface running at 6Gb/s speeds. As the first SAS 2.0 nearline drive, the Constellation hard drive enables larger external storage topologies, 100% faster data throughput and higher signal strength over greater distances – dramatically increasing storage scalability. The Constellation family will begin shipping this quarter.

“Dell recognizes that increased capacity and high-reliability are key to enabling further adoption of small form factor storage within the enterprise. With new capacities, small form factor drives afford customers performance and power gains within the same rack space,” said Praveen Asthana, director of Dell Storage.

“As an industry-leader in storage, Dell is pleased to partner with Seagate and be one of the first companies to offer the Constellation family of drives to our customers.”

Constellation ES
The 3.5-inch Constellation ES hard drive will be available in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities, and with an enterprise-class SAS interface as well as a SATA version, and provides best-in-class capacity and performance. As the world’s only 7200-rpm 3.5-inch hard drive providing up to 2TB of storage, the record-setting capacity of Constellation ES hard drives are ideal for 3.5-inch based external storage architectures. With Constellation ES hard drives, customers don’t have to sacrifice performance in order to gain the highest capacities. The Constellation ES hard drive will ship in calendar Q3.

“Xyratex continues to work closely with Seagate to advance storage system innovation to meet both the performance and capacity-based market requirements,” said Todd Gresham, executive vice president and general manager of the Networked Storage Solutions Division for Xyratex. The new Constellation family of products compliments Xyratex’s philosophy of delivering cost-effective enterprise-class, energy efficient storage solutions that help provide our customers the long-term investment protection they demand.”

With Seagate’s innovative PowerChoice technology, both Constellation hard drive models deliver the highest power-reduction savings ever offered in an enterprise-class HDD, and provide flexible, user-manageable options to deliver power savings without sacrificing performance, data integrity, or reliability. In addition, the Constellation family of drives are backed with field-proven, enterprise-grade reliability and rated at a full 1.2 million hours MTBF.

Delivering on Seagate’s commitment to add security features throughout its product portfolio, the Constellation family of drives are offered with optional self-encrypting drive (SED) technology and provide government-grade data security through the drive’s life cycle. SED technology makes drive retirement and disposal easy by eliminating the need for the numerous manual processes involved which are often incomplete, complex, expensive, or prone to error. For critical information that must remain secure, and because all systems are eventually retired, whether being relocated, re-purposed, or disposed of, the information on a Constellation SED hard drive remains AES-safe.

Seagate Unified Storage™ architecture delivers long-term business sustainability

Historically, the variety of drive interfaces, form factors and now, security solutions, can add complexity and increase costs for both IT professionals and OEMs. Making the wrong choice today creates storage

islands in the data center with no easy path for upgrades – further complicating an already complex environment. The Seagate Unified Storage architecture converges best-of-breed technologies (Serial

Attached SCSI, Small Form Factor and Self-Encrypting Drives) into a foundation for powerful yet simple storage that boosts business and operational efficiency while reducing cost and complexity.

The Seagate Unified Storage architecture delivers a storage foundation for companies that are proactively ensuring the long-term sustainability of their business through best-in-class IT practices. Companies will avoid the risk of impacting their own product quality, competitiveness, or profitability when their storage system infrastructure and data centre footprint is optimized across power, cooling and performance density. Because the role of small form factor drives are important to the long-term efficiency and sustainability of any data centre enterprise, Seagate will be extending this component into all tiers of its Unified Storage architecture in the future.

“With tightening IT budgets, Seagate is committed to delivering enterprise-class nearline storage solutions that ensure business sustainability by optimizing resources, reducing environment, energy or social impact and satisfying customer requirements without compromising performance,” said Sherman Black, senior vice president, Seagate Core Marketing and Strategy. “These new Constellation HDDs provide business continuity in the data centre by offering the highest capacities, the lowest power, and the latest in enterprise-class data integrity with SAS 2.0 and AES government-grade encryption.”

For more information about the Constellation family of drives, in addition to Seagate’s other enterprise storage solutions, visit www.seagate.com.

Tuesday 3rd February 2009 – SEGA Australia Pty Ltd today can reveal details on the SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection Limited Edition Vinyl Soundtrack now listed for auction on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=250367582769 .This is a truly unique and collectable item with only 3,500 available worldwide. Each record is individually numbered and the one up for grabs on Ebay is the first copy made of the collection!

Be the first and only person to own the ‘#1 Limited Edition Vinyl Soundtrack’ with SEGA donating all proceeds raised from the auction to the Cancer Council of Australia. The auction will run for seven days from today and will end at 6pm AEDST on 10th February 2009 with further details and money raised from the auction to be announced soon after. 

The Limited Edition Vinyl Soundtrack features six tracks from the SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection compilation including: Golden Axe – “Turtle Village 1”, Phantasy Star II – “Overworld: Restoration”, Virtua Fighter 2 – “Burning”, Space Harrier – “Main Theme”, Outrun – “Passing Breeze”, Outrun – “Magical Sound Shower”.  

The SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection is an all-in-one package of over 40 classic titles from the golden era of the SEGA Mega Drive. This is the most complete collection to date of SEGA first party games ever offered. Featured games include; Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2 and 3, Columns, Alien Storm, Ecco the Dolphin, Space Harrier, and cult classic, Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3. SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 is scheduled for release on 26th February 2009.