http://www.ascent.co.nz The latest news and announcements from Ascent (c) 2009 Ascent Technology Limited en-us Media/ui/logo.gif http://www.ascent.co.nz Western Digital has released new information about its first hybrid drive, revealing that it is using NAND flash technology from SanDisk. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9239061/Western_Digital_and_SanDisk_deliver_their_first_hybrid_drive Users can now watch full episodes of certain shows on the site, starting at $0.99 a month http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9239075/YouTube_rolls_out_paid_subscription_channels Seagate introduced a new portfolio of SSDs for the consumer and enterprise sectors. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/600-SSD-600-Pro-1200-SSD-X8-Accelerator-SATA-3,news-43911.html Sonyhas introduced the VAIO Fit series of laptops designed by the same people who engineer the company's portfolio of HDTVs. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/VAIO-Fit-Core-i7-Tap-20-T-Series-L-Series,news-43919.html A new type of camera is being developed that has a much higher field of view than was previously possible. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Camera-FOV-insect-hemispherical-180,news-43964.html New details have come to light regarding the flagship HD 9970 part from AMD. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/AMD-Radeon-Volcanic-Islands-7790,news-43943.html Microsoft has announced it will offer a preview version of its first major update to Windows 8 next month. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22446754 Sources indicate that Windows Blue will include a Start Button and the option to boot the desktop along with additional tweaks to make things easier on keyboard and mouse users. http://www.bit-tech.net/news/bits/2013/05/13/windows-blue-mouse/1 New tablet shipments will outnumber laptops for the first time in 2013. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9238939/Tablet_shipments_to_outpace_laptops_in_2013 Intel says the Silvermont architecture will break the myth that ARM is more power efficient http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9238951/Intel_39_s_new_Atom_chips_peak_on_performance_power_consumption Hewlett-Packard kicked off a series of upcoming PC announcements with new ProBook 400 series laptops. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9238925/HP_announces_new_ProBooks_including_touchscreen_model No good news from April's usage share numbers for Microsoft as Windows 8 continues to underwhelm and XP resists retirement http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9238826/Windows_8_grows_slow_XP_just_won_t_go Intel has started releasing some details about its upcoming fourth-generation Core processor ahead of its official announcement at Computex. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9238843/Intel_39_s_Haswell_gets_massive_graphics_performance_boost Intel 8-series Lynx Point motherboards have been spotted that will presumably launch alongside the Kingsley Thunderbolt flagship. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/8-Series-Z87-Lynx-Point,news-43829.html Lenovo has launched the Thinkpad S431, a touchscreen equipped “premium laptop PC” that offers up to nine hours of battery life. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Lenovo-Ivy-Bridge-Thinkpad-S431,news-43815.html Intel's Ivy Bridge-E CPUs are likely to launch in September 2013. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Intel-Ivy-Bridge-E-CPU-i7-4960X,news-43824.html Three of AMD's upcoming Richland desktop APUs have been pictured. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/AMD-Richland-Pictured-A10-6800K,news-43844.html Acer has introduced the Aspire P3 convertible Ultrabook and the Aspire R7 multi-mode notebook. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Aspire-R7-Aspire-P3-Ultrabook-Hybrid-Windows-8,news-43847.html QNAP’s new Turbo NAS TS-x21 and TS-x20 Series devices are aimed at being powered by the company’s new QTS 4.0 operating system and features one, two or four SATA drive bays. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/NAS-Turbo-QNAP,news-43731.html Intel has confirmed devices using "Bay Trail" Atom SoCs will mostly consist of notebooks based on Google's Android platform, not Windows 8. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Haswell-Bay-Trail-Dadi-Parlmutter-Windows-8-Atom,news-43736.html