magma
Latest
Thunderbolt accessories at IDF 2011: Belkin's Express dock, Seagate drives and PCIe expansion cards (video)
Seeing as Wintel fans will soon join in on the Thunderbolt fun, how about a smorgasbord of devices toting the interconnect, conveniently laid out in a two pane vitrine here at IDF? Alongside the usual suspects -- such as LaCie's Little Big Disk, Promise's Pegasus and Sonnet's Echo -- are a few devices we've never seen before, namely Belkin's Express dock, some unnamed Seagate drives and two PCIe expansion chassis from Sonnet and Magma. We're particularly smitten with the latter two -- you know, dreams about extending our future Ultrabooks with some serious external graphics horsepower. Check out the entire spread in our gallery below and the video after the break. Myriam Joire contributed to this report. %Gallery-133792%
Magma announces three-slot Thunderbolt expansion chassis
For those of you who need more expansion than what comes on the latest iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or Mac mini, you might want to check out Magma's new ExpressBox 3T. The ExpressBox 3T is a Thunderbolt expansion chassis that allows you to connect up to three PCIe cards to any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac. PCIe expansion cards are typically used by those that do high-end audio, graphics, or video editing. Many professionals will typically buy a MacPro for its expansion slots, but now with Magma's ExpressBox 3T expansion chassis, user can get the same amount of expansion, and throughput, on any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac. No word yet on what the ExpressBox 3T might cost, but Magma has set up web page with a form interested buyers can fill out to be notified of further details when they become available.
Magma ExpressBox 3T gives you 3 external PCIe slots over Thunderbolt
Laptops aren't exactly renowned for their expandability, especially those beautiful slivers of aluminum from Apple. (Simply upgrading the RAM on your Air requires you break out the soldering iron.) Magma has a solution, the ExpressBox 3T. This silver case houses its own 220w power supply and a trio of PCIe 2.0 slots. Two of those slots are of the x8 variety (though one can hold an x16 card) while the third is scaled back to x4. And they all talk to your notebook via that wonderful little port known as Thunderbolt. It even comes with a carrying case which, we suppose, makes this hunk of metal "portable," but we certainly wouldn't want to lug it around very often. Sadly there's no info just yet about price or release date, but we do have a gallery of images below and the complete PR after the break. %Gallery-132908%
Inhabitat's Week in Green: SunPower supplants Ford, lava power, and the airlifted eco shelter
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. This week Inhabitat saw geothermal power projects pick up steam around the world as Iceland eyed liquid magma as an energy source and the UK sought to tap geothermal reserves under Newcastle. We also saw scientists develop a stretchable solar-powered sensor that can detect the drop of a pin, and we were impressed by a brilliant system that uses algae to treat wastewater and generate fuel in one fell swoop. We also showcased several innovative examples of high-tech architecture - Wales' futuristic newport transit station and a massive green-roofed innovation hub that is set to become Botswana's first LEED-certified building. Solar-powered structures were a hot topic as well as we took a look inside SunPower's incredible renovated headquarters, learned about the new location of the 2011 Solar Decathlon, and showcased a photovoltaic-powered alpine eco shelter. Finally, this week we got set for the start of spring by sharing our five favorite green gadget gardening tools and a rainwater recycling system that comes complete with a solar pump. We also spotted a chic cradle-to-cradle raincoat that will fend off impending showers and a natty wool iPad cover that will keep your tablet cozy in blustery weather.
NAT Audio's Magma is one beastly tube amplifier
We've seen all sorts of fanciful tube amplifiers over the years, but none have intimidated us quite like NAT Audio's Magma. This brute is the self-proclaimed "most powerful single-ended tube amplifier on the market," and it can churn out 160-watts at 4- and 8-ohms with a frequency response of 10Hz to 100kHz. Additionally, this thing weighs in at 88-pounds, measures 11.8- x 25.2- x 14.2-inches and relies on a 6N1P-EV, a 6N30P-DR and a Eimac 450TH tube to get the job done. If you're craving more specs on this Class A monster, we've got 'em: an input impedance of 100-kohms, input sensitivity of 2.7V RMS for full power output, gain of 22.5 dB at 8-ohms and a pricetag of $55,000 per pair. Check out a few more angles after the jump, won'tcha?[Via AudioJunkies, thanks Lukas]
Magma ExpressBox mates PCI Express with ExpressCard
Desktop users longing to take advantage of ExpressCards on their machines have long since been quieted, but for laptopers looking to somehow stuff a PCI Express card into that diminutive slot, your prayer has been answered. Magma's ExpressBox / Express Box Pro allows users to operate a PCIe card up to 6.604- / 12.283-inches in length by handling up to 250MB/sec, providing dedicated power and cooling solutions, and playing nice with Windows XP, Vista, and OS X. The breakout box sports a fliptop lid for quickly changing out PCIe cards, and after installing the appropriate drivers, users will have full functionality of a PCI Express card right on their portable machine. Notably, these iterations only support cards that require 55-watts of power or less, and the company notes that gamers wishing to cram power-sucking GPUs into these boxes need to wait for the next revision before giving it a whirl. Even still, you better need the PCIe portability mighty bad to rely on one of these, as the ExpressBox and ExpressBox Pro will run you a stiff $729 or $749, respectively.[Via Macworld]
