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DOLLHOUSE SEASON ONE CHARACTER GUIDE: ECHO (ELIZA DUSHKU)

To celebrate the release of Dollhouse: The Complete First Season on DVD and Blu-Ray we thought we would take a look at the stunningly beautiful and talented Eliza Dushku and her Dollhouse character Echo. 

Eliza Dushku

Eliza Dushku is an American actress well known for her TV roles including Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel and now Dollhouse.

  • Dushku also starred alongside the likes of Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Arnold Schwarzenegger as a child.
  • Eliza’s character, Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was so popular she stayed on for three seasons.
  • Following Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Eliza starred in the hit cheerleader comedy Bring It On.
  • Having worked together on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku came up with the idea for Dollhouse over lunch.

Echo

In Dollhouse Eliza Dusku plays the character of Echo, a ‘doll’ or ‘Active’ for the LA Dollhouse, a corporation which hires out human beings to wealthy clients.

  • Dolls are given skills and personalities through brain hacking which can be tailored to meet clients’ needs.
  • Before having her brain wiped, Echo went by the name of Caroline Farrell, a student and political activist
  • Echo develops a love interest with Paul Ballard, an FBI agent assigned to the Dollhouse case
  • As Echo’s love interest develops and she becomes able to push the limits of each temporary personality, Echo risks being sent to the ‘Attic’ a permanent resting place for ‘broken’ dolls.

Will Echo’s love prevail or will she be sent to the ‘Attic’? Find out by ordering your copy of Dollhouse: The Complete First Season (out October 24th) on DVD and Blu-Ray here.

 
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A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO DOLLHOUSE – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW…AND MORE!

Dollhouse: The Complete First Season is finally coming to Australia!

With the release of Dollhouse Season One on Blu-ray and DVD fast approaching (October 24th) we thought we’d share all we know about the hit science-fiction series.

So, we’ve compiled a top list of the ‘need-to-know’ facts about Dollhouse Season One.

How many do you know already? Check out the list below to find out.

Dollhouse: The Complete First Season

  • Dollhouse was created by writer/director Joss Whedon, who directed the Avengers movie and created the TV series ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • The show stars Eliza Dushku, as Echo, who has starred in films such as True Lies, Bring it On and Wrong Turn
  • The idea for the show came about when Eliza and Joss went for lunch
  • The show is based on the idea of a corporation running several underground organisations (known as Dollhouses) which program individual people (Dolls) with temporary skills and personalities
  • Brain hacking is the process through which Dolls are given their temporary skills/personalities. Each week the creators devise new methods for the characters to be brain hacked, treating them like machines that can be endlessly rewired
  • After each scenario Echo returns to the mysterious Dollhouse where her thoughts, feelings, experiences and knowledge are erased by Topher, the Dollhouse’s genius programmer
  • During the show Echo takes on various personalities including; a backup singer, a midwife, and a hacker
  • The character of Whiskey, played by Amy Acker, was the number one Doll until her face was scarred by Alpha, a rogue Active, so that Echo could take the top spot
  • The theme tune to the show ‘What You Don’t Know’ that features in the opening and closing credits is from American folk rock singer Jonatha Brooke
  • In 2010 Joss Whedon announced that he and Maurissa Tancaroen had written a comic book entitled ‘Dollhouse Epitaphs

Dollhouse: The Complete First Season on DVD and Blu-ray is available to buy from October 24, and you can order your copy now here

Trailer

‘Making Dollhouse’ Featurette

Episode Clip – ‘Ghost’

 
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IT’S ARRIVED! Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse Season 1

Available on Blu-ray Hi-Def and DVD 24 October 2012

Immerse yourself in this adrenaline-charged brainchild of sci-fi genius Joss Whedon, soon available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia.  DOLLHOUSE, The Complete First Season will be released on 24 October 2012 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

FROM JOSS WHEDON, CREATIVE MASTERMIND BEHIND Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, comes the provocative Dollhouse, a sexy, suspenseful thriller starring the stunningly talented Eliza Dushku.

As an “Active”, the mysterious Echo (Dushku) serves as an unwitting agent of Dollhouse, an illegal underground organization that provides its elite clientele with programmable human beings. Actives receive personality imprints, allowing them to temporarily become anyone or anything—the perfect burglar, lover, spy, or assassin. Now, with the FBI and her own shadowy past closing in, Echo must face a rogue Active who will stop at nothing to bring Dollhouse down—forever.

Blu-ray and DVD includes exclusive bonus comic book for a limited time only.

OVER 3 HOURS OF SPECIAL FEATURES:

  • Original unaired Pilot Episode Echo
  • Audio Commentary on Selected Episodes
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Featurettes: Making Dollhouse, Coming Home, Finding Echo, A Private Engagement, Designing The Perfect Dollhouse
 
formats

Apple Introduces iPad mini

Unveils New Fourth Generation iPad with Retina Display, Faster A6X Chip, FaceTime HD Camera & Ultrafast Wireless

SAN JOSE, California – 24 October, 2012 – Apple® today introduced iPad® mini, a completely new iPad design that is 23 per cent thinner and 53 per cent lighter than the third generation iPad. The new iPad mini features a stunning 7.9-inch Multi-Touch™ display, FaceTime® HD and iSight® cameras, ultrafast wireless performance¹ and an incredible 10 hours of battery life²?every inch an iPad, yet in a revolutionary design you can hold in one hand. Apple today also announced the fourth generation iPad featuring a gorgeous 9.7-inch Retina™ display, new Apple-designed A6X chip, FaceTime HD camera and ultrafast wireless performance. Both iPad mini and fourth generation iPad come with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features.

“iPad mini is every inch an iPad. With its gorgeous 7.9-inch display, iPad mini features the same number of pixels as the original iPad and iPad 2, so you can run more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPad mini is as thin as a pencil and as light as a pad of paper, yet packs a fast A5 chip, FaceTime HD and 5 megapixel iSight cameras and ultrafast wireless?all while delivering up to 10 hours of battery life.”

iPad mini comes in a beautiful new aluminium and glass design that is just 7.2 mm thin and weighs only 308 grams. The 7.9-inch Multi-Touch display delivers the same iPad experience users have come to expect, in a design that has 35 per cent more screen real estate than 7-inch tablets and up to an astonishing 67 per cent more usable viewing area when browsing the web. The dual-core A5 chip delivers responsive graphics and a fast, fluid Multi-Touch experience, while still providing all-day battery life.

iPad mini features a front-facing FaceTime HD camera and a 5 megapixel iSight camera on the back with advanced optics for taking sharp still pictures and recording full 1080p HD video. The iSight camera includes video image stabilisation and both cameras feature backside illumination to let users capture great pictures in low light. iPad mini also allows easy sharing of photos with friends and family using iCloud’s Shared Photo Streams.

iPad mini features dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi support for speeds up to 150 Mbps,³ which is twice the Wi-Fi performance compared to previous iPad models. iPad mini is available in Wi-Fi + Cellular models which are world-ready with built-in support for ultrafast wireless standards, including LTE¹ and DC-HSDPA, so you can browse, download and stream content fast from wherever you are. iPad mini data plans will be available with no contract so you can simply sign up and activate service directly from your iPad.? The Personal Hotspot feature means you can share a fast cellular data connection via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB with up to five other devices such as MacBook® Pro, iPod touch® or another iPad.?

The new fourth generation iPad features the amazing 9.7-inch Retina display and includes a new Apple-designed A6X chip that delivers up to twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of the A5X chip, all while delivering an incredible 10 hours of battery life in the same thin and light iPad design. Other new features include a FaceTime HD camera, twice the Wi-Fi performance when compared to previous iPad models and support for additional LTE carriers worldwide.?

iPad mini and fourth generation iPad both feature support for the Lightning™ connector that is smaller, smarter and more durable than the 30-pin connector. Lightning connector accessories are available to support cameras, SD cards and VGA or HDMI digital video.? Existing iPad Smart Covers and the iPad Smart Case are compatible with fourth generation iPad, and new polyurethane Smart Covers custom-designed for iPad mini are available in pink, green, blue, light gray, dark gray and (PRODUCT) RED for a recommended retail price of AUD$45 inc. GST.

iPad runs over 700,000 apps available on the App Store?, including more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad, from a wide range of categories including books, games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. iPad also supports newspapers and magazines offered in Newsstand and books available on the iBookstore?. The iTunes Store® puts the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store at your fingertips with a catalogue of over 26 million songs and thousands of TV episodes and films. The new iBooks® app for iPad lets users read ebooks in over 40 languages. iBooks also lets users experience an entirely new kind of ebook that’s dynamic, engaging and truly interactive. Ebooks created with Apple’s new iBooks Author offer gorgeous, fullscreen ebooks with interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, custom fonts, mathematical expressions and much more.

Pricing & Availability
iPad mini with Wi-Fi models will be available in black & slate or white & silver on Friday, 2 November for a recommended retail price of AUD$369 inc. GST for the 16GB model, AUD$479 inc. GST for the 32GB model and AUD$589 inc. GST for the 64GB model. The fourth generation iPad with Wi-Fi models will also be available on Friday, 2 November, in black or white for a recommended retail price of AUD$539 inc. GST for the 16GB model, AUD$649 inc. GST for the 32GB model and AUD$759 inc. GST for the 64GB model. iPad mini and the fourth generation iPad will be sold through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com/au), Apple’s retail stores, and select Apple Authorised Resellers in the US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

iPad mini with Wi-Fi + Cellular and fourth generation iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular will start shipping a couple of weeks after the Wi-Fi models. iPad mini with Wi-Fi + Cellular will be offered for a recommended retail price of AUD$509 inc. GST for the 16GB model, AUD$619 inc. GST for the 32GB model and AUD$729 inc. GST for the 64GB model. Fourth generation iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular will be offered at a recommended retail price of AUD$679 inc. GST for the 16GB model, AUD$789 inc. GST for the 32GB model and AUD$899 inc. GST for the 64GB model. Additionally, iPad 2 is available for a recommended retail price of AUD$429 inc. GST for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and just AUD$569 inc. GST for the 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G model where they are sold now.

Customers can begin pre-ordering all models of iPad mini and all models of the fourth generation iPad on Friday, 26 October (PST) through the Apple Online Store in the US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

¹LTE is available through select carriers. Network speeds are dependent on carrier networks. Check with your carrier for details.
²Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.
³Based on theoretical speeds, actual speeds may vary.
?Only available on some carriers.
?Personal Hotspot requires supporting data plan. Customers should check with their carrier for availability.
?LTE is available through select carriers.
?Sold separately.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

 
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All-New iMac Features Stunning Design, Brilliant Display & Faster Performance

SAN JOSE, California – 24 October, 2012—Apple® today unveiled a completely new iMac® with a stunning design, brilliant display with reduced reflection and faster processors.* With third generation Intel quad-core processors, powerful NVIDIA graphics and an innovative new storage option called Fusion Drive, the new iMac is the most advanced desktop Apple has ever made.

“With a stunning design, brilliant display and faster performance, we’ve made the world’s leading all-in-one desktop computer better in every way,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The all-new iMac is unbelievably thin, yet packs an incredible amount of performance and technology into our most innovative desktop.”

Redesigned from the inside out, the new iMac packs high-performance technology into an aluminium and glass enclosure with up to 40 per cent less volume than its predecessor and an edge that measures just 5mm thin. Built with an unprecedented level of fit and finish, the new iMac delivers an amazing desktop experience in a gorgeous design. The new iMac also features a completely re-engineered display that reduces reflection by 75 per cent while maintaining brilliant colour and contrast. In the new design, the cover glass is fully laminated to the LCD and an anti-reflective coating is applied using a high-precision plasma deposition process. Every iMac display is individually calibrated using an advanced spectroradiometer.

The new iMac features third generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processors that can be upgraded to Core i7. The latest NVIDIA GeForce processors deliver up to 60 per cent faster performance for advanced gaming and graphics intensive apps. Every new iMac now comes standard with 8GB of 1600 MHz memory and a 1TB hard drive, and customers can choose to configure their iMac with up to 32GB of memory and a new 3TB hard drive, or 768GB of flash storage for ultimate performance. With two Thunderbolt and four USB 3.0 ports, the new iMac delivers even greater expandability and support for high-performance peripherals.

Fusion Drive is an innovative new storage option that gives customers the performance of flash storage and the capacity of a hard drive. It combines 128GB of flash with a standard 1TB or 3TB hard drive to create a single storage volume that intelligently manages files to optimise read and write performance. Fusion Drive adapts to the way you use your iMac and automatically moves the files and apps you use most often to flash storage to enable faster performance and quicker access.

Apple also updated the Mac® mini with third generation dual-core Intel Core i5 and quad-core Intel Core i7 processors that are up to twice as fast and have integrated graphics that are up to 65 per cent faster.** Mac mini comes standard with 4GB of 1600 MHz memory with support for up to 16GB. Retaining its amazingly compact aluminium design, the new Mac mini now includes four USB 3.0 ports in addition to its Thunderbolt, HDMI, SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet and FireWire® 800 ports.

Both iMac and Mac mini meet stringent Energy Star 5.2 requirements and achieve an EPEAT Gold rating.*** iMac uses up to 50 per cent less energy than the previous generation when idle, and features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac mini retains its status as the world’s most energy efficient desktop computer, using only 11W when idle. Both the iMac and Mac mini contain no brominated flame retardants and use highly recyclable materials and material-efficient packaging designs.

iMac and Mac mini ship with OS X® Mountain Lion, bringing Messages, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, AirPlay® Mirroring, Dictation, Game Center and the enhanced security of Gatekeeper to your Mac. With iCloud® built into the foundation of OS X, Mountain Lion makes it easier than ever to keep your content up to date across your Mac, iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®.

Pricing & Availability
The 21.5-inch iMac is available with a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.2 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M for a recommended retail price of AUD$1429 inc. GST; and with a 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M for a recommended retail price of AUD$1698 inc. GST. The 21.5-inch iMac will be available in November through the Apple Online Store (http://store.apple.com/au), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers.
The 27-inch iMac is available with a 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M for a recommended retail price of AUD$1999 inc. GST; and with a 3.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX for a recommended retail price of AUD$2199 inc. GST. The 27-inch iMac will be available in December through the Apple Online Store (http://store.apple.com/au), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers.
The Mac mini is available with a 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive for a recommended retail price of AUD$699 inc. GST; a 2.3 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, 4GB of memory and a 1TB hard drive for a recommended retail price of AUD$899 inc. GST; and a 2.3 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, OS X Server, 4GB of memory and two 1TB hard drives for a recommended retail price of AUD$1099 inc. GST. The Mac mini is available today through the Apple Online Store (http://store.apple.com/au), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers.

Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at apple.com/au/imac or apple.com/au/mac-mini.
*Testing conducted by Apple in October 2012 using preproduction iMac configurations. For more information visit apple.com/imac/features/.
**Testing conducted by Apple in October 2012 using preproduction Mac mini configurations. For more information visit apple.com/mac-mini/features.html.
***Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 5.2 energy database as of October 2012. EPEAT is an independent organisation that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the required criteria and at least 75 per cent of the optional criteria are recognised as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

 
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Apple Introduces 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display

SAN JOSE, California – 24 October, 2012—Apple® today introduced an all-new version of its popular 13-inch MacBook® Pro featuring a stunning Retina™ display and all flash storage in a new compact design. At a mere 1.9cm and 1.62kg, the remarkably portable 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is 20 per cent thinner and almost half a kilogram lighter than the current 13-inch MacBook Pro.

“The 13-inch MacBook Pro is our most popular Mac, and today it gets completely reinvented with a new thin and light design, fast flash storage and a gorgeous Retina display,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With vivid colours, razor sharp text and more pixels than anyone else’s 15 or 17-inch notebooks, the Retina display completely changes what you expect from a notebook.”

The new MacBook Pro packs more than 4 million pixels into its 13-inch Retina display, nearly twice the number of pixels in an HD television. At 227 pixels per inch, the Retina display’s pixel density is so high the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels at a normal viewing distance, so images look sharp and text looks like it does on the printed page. With four times the pixels of the current 13-inch MacBook Pro, you can view and edit video in pixel-accurate HD and see a new level of detail in high resolution images. The 13-inch Retina display uses IPS technology for a 178-degree wide viewing angle, and has 75 per cent less reflection and 29 per cent higher contrast than the current generation.

Featuring flash storage that is up to four times faster than traditional notebook hard drives, the all-new MacBook Pro is extremely responsive, whether it’s waking from sleep or launching your favourite apps.* Fast flash storage combined with the latest Intel dual-core processors gives the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display plenty of power to run your most demanding apps with ease.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display features 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 processors with the option to choose faster 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7 processors, Intel HD Graphics 4000, 8GB of 1600 MHz memory, and up to 768GB of flash storage. Two Thunderbolt and two USB 3.0 ports allow users to connect to multiple displays and high-performance devices, and a new HDMI port offers quick connectivity to an HDTV. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display also features a FaceTime® HD camera, dual microphones, improved speakers, three-stream 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a MagSafe® 2 power port.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro battery delivers up to 7 hours of wireless productivity and can remain in standby for up to 30 days.** With the all new Power Nap feature in OS X® Mountain Lion, your MacBook Pro with Retina display stays up to date while it sleeps. Power Nap automatically refreshes Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Reminders and Photo Stream, and when the notebook is plugged in, downloads software updates and backs up your Mac® using Time Machine®.

Continuing Apple’s commitment to energy efficiency and the environment, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display meets stringent Energy Star 5.2 requirements and achieves an EPEAT Gold rating.*** Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminium and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Apple notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants and are constructed of highly recyclable materials.

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display ships with OS X Mountain Lion, bringing Messages, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, AirPlay® Mirroring, Dictation, Game Center and the enhanced security of Gatekeeper to your Mac. With iCloud® built into the foundation of OS X, Mountain Lion makes it easier than ever to keep your content up to date across your Mac, iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®.

Pricing & Availability
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available with a 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starting at a recommended retail price of AUD$1899 inc. GST; and with 256GB of flash storage starting at a recommended retail price of AUD$2199 inc. GST. Configure-to-order options include faster dual-core Intel Core i7 processors and flash storage up to 768GB. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at apple.com/au/macbook-pro. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available today through the Apple Online Store (http://store.apple.com/au), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers.
*Testing conducted by Apple in October 2012 using preproduction MacBook Pro with Retina display configurations. For more information visit apple.com/macbook-pro/features-retina/.
**The Wireless Web protocol testing was conducted by Apple in October 2012 using preproduction MacBook Pro with Retina display configurations. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit apple.com/macbook-pro/features-retina/.
***Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 5.2 energy database as of October 2012. EPEAT is an independent organisation that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the required criteria and at least 75 per cent of the optional criteria are recognised as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

 
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FUSE UPDATE TRAILER!

 
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New AMD FX Line-Up Brings Faster Speeds and Higher Performance Core over Previous Generation to PC Enthusiasts and Gamers

New AMD FX Line-Up Brings Faster Speeds and Higher Performance Core over Previous Generation to PC Enthusiasts and Gamers

The Guinness World Record-holding AMD FX Series Delivers a Stunning PC Experience with up to Eight Unlocked “Piledriver” Cores Running up to 4.2 GHz

Sydney Australia — Oct. 23, 2012 — AMD announced an update to the Guinness World Record-setting AMD FX family of central processing units (CPUs) that continues the brand’s history of delivering a fully unlocked and customizable experience for performance desktop PC users. At the heart of the latest AMD FX processor is the new “Piledriver” multi-core architecture that offers up to a 15 percent increase in performance at a lower price than the previous generation  – with the highest-performing AMD FX processors starting at less than $200. The increased performance from the latest architecture is designed for multi-threaded applications like content creation, video and audio encoding, and games, allowing users extreme responsiveness and mega-tasking performance.

“Gamers and PC enthusiasts who buy AMD FX processors have even more to cheer about with the increased speeds and value we are delivering starting today,” said Leslie Sobon, vice president of Desktop and Component Products, AMD.  “After introducing the industry’s first and only eight-core desktop processor last year, we now have even faster stock frequencies and an all-new, high-performance x86 core architecture to satisfy power-users.”

The AMD FX opens the door to a world of possibilities when combined with other AMD technologies, like an AMD 9-Series chipset motherboard and AMD Radeon™ HD 7000 Series graphics cards with AMD Eyefinity technology multi-monitor support.  AMD also provides downloadable software upgrades that free the creative user to push performance with the AMD OverDrive™ utility, manage their gaming with AMD Catalyst™ Control Center, or harness the power of multiple graphic cards working in parallel with AMD CrossFire™ technology.

“After what we’ve seen of the previous generation of AMD FX Series, the overclockers at HWBOT are very eager to find out what the new AMD FX Series will bring to the game,” said Frederik Colardyn, founder and CEO of the competitive overclocking site, HWBOT.org.  “As the previous generation shattered the frequency world record, pushing it to a new high, we hope to see the new AMD FX Series raise the bar even further.”

Starting today, the new AMD FX CPUs will be available from global retailers.

Pricing and Availability

Manufacturer:   AMD
Product Name: AMD FX Series
RRP:

Specifications  

 FX-8350  

 FX-8320  

 FX-6300  

 FX-4300

Suggested   Retail Price

 AU$215

 AU$185

 AU$145

AU   $135

 #   of CPU Cores

 8

 8

 6

 4

 Max   Frequency

 4.2

 4.0

 4.1

 4.0

 L2   cache (KB per core)

 1024

 1024

 1024

 1024

 L3   cache (Total MBs)

 8

 8

 8

 4

 External   Memory

 1866   MHz DDR3

 1866   MHz DDR3

 1866   MHz DDR3

 1866   MHz DDR3

 Unlocked

 ?

 ?

 ?

 ?

 AVX   Instructions

 ?

 ?

 ?

 ?

AES   Support

 ?

 ?

 ?

 ?

 FMA

 ?

 ?

 ?

 ?

Website:          http://www.amd.com
Distributors:     Avnet and Ingram Micro
Availability:      Now

Industry Support

ASRock: “The new AMD FX Series is perfect for performance-driven PC enthusiasts,” said James Lee, ASRock vice president of Sales and Marketing. “We are beyond thrilled to inform users that our new ASRock motherboards work seamlessly and give full play to the AMD FX Series.”

Asus: “A year ago, the FX Series broke records and we’re excited about the 15 percent increased performance this year,” said Joe Hsieh, general manager of Asus’ Motherboard Business Unit.  “We produce a large number of motherboards each month and are always committed to providing customers with an unmatched PC experience. The update to the FX Series allows us to continue to outfit our motherboards with leading processor performance.”

GIGABYTE: “The latest AMD FX Series CPUs provide PC builders eight power cores, great for multi-threaded applications and extreme multitasking,” commented Henry Kao, vice president of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. “GIGABYTE’s AM3+ series motherboards together with the latest AMD’s second generation AMD FX Series CPUs will ensure our customers are getting unparalleled features and processor performance from their AMD platform.”

MSI: “The increased speeds and value offered by the latest AMD FX Series gives overclockers and performance enthusiasts the responsiveness needed for any task,” said Ted Hung, MSI vice president of Mainboard Department. “When the FX Series is paired with an MSI AM3+ mainboard, not only do users get maximum performance, but they’re also taking advantage of our OC Genie II technology providing military-class stability and intelligent overclocking within just one second.”

Supporting Resources

  • Read      a new AMD Game Blog recognizing FX enthusiasts
  • Follow      AMD on Twitter at @AMD Unprocessed for AMD FX CPU updates
  • Like      AMD on Facebook

About AMD
AMD (NYSE: AMD) is a semiconductor design innovator leading the next era of vivid digital experiences with its groundbreaking AMD Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) that power a wide range of computing devices. AMD’s server computing products are focused on driving industry-leading cloud computing and virtualization environments. AMD’s superior graphics technologies are found in a variety of solutions ranging from game consoles, PCs to supercomputers. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

 
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Paranormal Activity 4 – New Clip (In Cinemas Now)

‘Behind You’ Clip

 
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Malware uses trending celebrities to drag new victims into Botnets

Singers Madonna and Rihanna, vectors of success for aggressive spam campaigns 

SYDNEY & AUCKLAND October 23, 2012 – A new illicit email campaign using celebrity names such as Madonna and Rihanna, that is also spreading in Australia, infects computers with malware and recruits users into rapidly growing botnets, according to Bitdefender, the award-winning provider of innovative antivirus solutions.

Rihanna, the 7th  most popular celebrity in Australia this year with 301.000 local monthly searches according to a Google search tool, and Madonna, who ranks 19th with 135.000 searches a month, are used as baits to make users click on malicious websites hosted on Russian domains.

Opening the link infects vulnerable users with malware that steals their private data and places their computers in the hands of the attackers. Users then spread malware themselves as their computers are taken over by a command-and-control server, and become zombies in a botnet, or illegal collection of infected computers controlled by cyber-criminals.

“Clicking on an email that contains names such as Pink, Justin Bieber or Rihanna definitely poses a degree of risk,” said Bitdefender Chief Security Strategist, Catalin Cosoi. “The risk is even greater when the celebrities named in the email are the subject of a recent scandal or some other big news. Scammers are constantly following stars and trends to figure out what people most want to read about, then they serve it to them, laced with malware.”

In the latest malware campaign using celebrity names, subjects such as ‘FWD: Best of Madonna’ and ‘Justin Bieber fan’s suicide’ lure users to malicious Russian domains or fake Canadian pharmacy sites. To make the Rihanna scam seem like a commercial for one of her famous hits, cyber-crooks included the word “Umbrella” in spam messages. They also used her name in emails allegedly coming from LinkedIn. The same campaign takes advantage of other celebrities such as English singer Adele, ranked 8th in the most popular Australian celebrity searches.

For more information on the latest social media scams using celebrities, see HotForSecurity.