Fujitsu MHZ2 BT: the latest 500GB 2.5-inch laptop drive

Solid state is still what gets our motors purring, but 500GB of storage in your laptop isn't anything to scoff at, either. Fujitsu's new MHZ2 BT is the second drive to hit the half-terabyte mark, but just like the Hitachi 500 gigger it's a non-standard height (12.5mm), meaning you won't be able to slap it in most laptops or enclosures -- unless you're willing to shave out an extra ~3mm of surrounding matter. Expect 'em out in May.

Nvidia releases their 9600 GPU

Nvidia has unveiled the first graphics processing unit (GPU) of its next-generation GeForce 9 Series that may offer the largest single-generation performance jump in the Company’s history. Introduced today, the NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT GPU delivers up to 116% more performance than its predecessor.
After going to all the GeForce LANs and seeing the rigs that gamers play on, we wanted to kick off the GeForce 9 with the perfect GPU for gamers,” said Ujesh Desai, general manager of GeForce desktop GPUs at NVIDIA. “The first product to be introduced in the GeForce 9 family gives gamers the horsepower to play cutting-edge DirectX 10 games at a price they will love and can afford.”

The new GeForce 9600 GT GPU shows an improved performance-per-watt ratio compared to its predecessor as well as improved compression efficiency. In addition to 64 stream processors — each individually clocked at a blazing-fast 1625 MHz — and a 256-bit memory interface running at 900 MHz, the GeForce 9600 GT GPU is designed for the new PCIe 2.0 bus standard and features backwards compatibility with the original PCIe standard.

Virtuity Backstopp Makes Laptops Self-Destruct

British company Virtuity, recently announced their new spy movie-like technology -- Backstopp. Backstopp has the capability of monitoring the "heartbeat" of your laptop. Simply said, you set a zone where you put your precious laptop. The moment it gets moved from that space, the software automatically starts disintegrating sensitive data. Nifty. There's also been some talks of putting a camera in to start snapping pics of the culprit. Just make sure your pet won't get to your laptop, lest you want to be blaming an innocent playful little animal for a false alarm. Backstopp is available for US$20 per laptop per month.

XiaoClef2 USB Stick with Fingerprint Security

Princeton Japan has recently released a USB stick design geared towards data security and protection. Others of the same aim take the password, data encryption, and physical security (by filling the USB stick with glue). Princeton took another route and went a notch higher. Called the XiaoClef2, this USB stick comes with integrated fingerprint reader. And since no two people on earth have the same print, you're sure to protect your data. The XiaoClef2 is available in Japan in various storage sizes: 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB.

Movies on a flash drive

Earlier this month, we disagreed that HD movie downloads would trump HD DVD / Blu-ray disc purchases in the not-too-distant future, and now we've got yet another clever alternative on deck that just doesn't have the makings of a winner. While it seems that consumers still prefer something tangible when purchasing movies, we can't help but agree that flicks on flash drives just wouldn't work. Aside from the prohibitive cost to pop out a standard DVD on a flash chip versus a disc, the idea of having customers flock to some sort of movie download kiosk to refill memory cards with new releases just seems absurd. Sure, we understand how this could sound marginally appealing from the sidelines, but we just can't imagine all those DVD cases at your favorite big box retailer getting swapped out with movie-filled SDHC cards anytime soon.