SINGAPORE, March 11, 2022 — Cloud4C, a leading global multi-cloud migration and managed services provider today announced it has earned the Networking Services on Microsoft Azure advanced specialization. The specialization is a validation of the company’s deep knowledge, extensive experience and proven success in designing, implementing, operating, and optimizing a customer’s network architecture, cost, and security.
Only partners that meet stringent criteria of customer success and staff skilling, as well as pass a third-party audit of their networking technical practices, are able to earn the Networking Services on Microsoft Azure advanced specialization. Businesses in every category continue to place a high value on agility, scalability, reliability, and cost across their infrastructures. Customers are looking for a consistent, low-latency experience through services that seamlessly work across on-premises, multicloud, and edge.
Partners with the Networking Services on Microsoft Azure advanced specialization have validated capabilities in helping customers connect on-premises, multicloud, 5G, and edge deployments and allow seamless integration of Azure networking services to existing networks while protecting both cloud-native and hybrid applications with zero-trust-based network security.
Debdeep Sengupta President and Chief Revenue Officer, Cloud4C, said, "The post-pandemic world has shown us the power of networking and how critical network agility, scalability, reliability, and cost are for organizations. With this brand-new advanced certification in Networking Services, Cloud4C is even better positioned to ensure that organizations of all sizes make the best of their network infrastructure as well as Azure technologies."
Rodney Clark, Corporate Vice President, Global Partner Solutions, Channel Sales and Channel Chief at Microsoft added, "Networking Services in Microsoft Azure advanced specialization highlights the partners’ expertise in designing, implementing, operating, and optimizing customers’ network architecture, cost, and security. Cloud4C has demonstrated their skills and expertise to deliver the best of network-as-a-service from Azure Networking."
Cloud4C is an Azure Expert MSP with advanced specializations for SAP on Azure, Windows Server and SQL Server Migrations, Modernization of Web Applications to Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop, Threat Protection, Analytics on Microsoft Azure, Linux and Open-Source Database Migration to Microsoft Azure, Kubernetes on Microsoft Azure and now, Networking services on Microsoft Azure. Cloud4C promises seamless, cost-effective digital transformation on public/private/hybrid/multi cloud set-ups coupled with 24/7/365 support from 2000+ certified experts.
Today, content is king. When you talk about popular contents in the modern digital age, streaming is always something that comes up. The streaming industry is not limited to e-sports or gaming titles anymore, it could be anything really.
The entire streaming culture really can find its roots in gaming tough. When you talk gaming, you inevitably talk Razer. Razer is not just a gaming brand anymore though; they are a lifestyle brand with nice stuff for your PC and your gaming needs. We are also personal fans of the brand; we use their gaming peripherals and a certain compact USB mic for our podcasts (keep a look out for season 3!).
The streaming industry, as we pointed out, while started from the gaming culture is constantly growing. It used to be that you needed to have a capable enough gear to stream, a stable internet connection at home, preferably a fast one too just so that you can sit down and talk to hundreds to millions of people around the world. Today, 5G is looming upon us. Even without 5G, 4G LTE is more than enough to allow streamers to go LIVE anywhere and at any time. The number of digital platforms that allows anybody to stream whatever they like has changed the streaming industry.
Razer, as one of the brands that advocates the streaming culture must make progress with the streaming industry. To do that, they released a few new gears that streamers can up their game. They launched a new mic, a new mixer, and a lighting pad.
Taking Your Stream Anywhere – Razer Seiren BT
Source: Razer
To take your stream anywhere, anytime, you need to be mobile. The best hardware you have in your disposal is your smartphone. Your smartphone does everything a PC can while you are on the road. Most of the time though, while the camera on modern smartphones is more than capable of capturing clear, high-resolution videos for your Twitch stream, the audio is usually quite choppy unless you use a wired headphone and look cumbersome. Most wireless audio gear also means extra heft and a lot of cost.
The most elegant solution for this is using technology that is already available to us. That is why the Razer Seiren BT exists. The Razer Seiren BT is optimised to be used with smartphones and mobile streaming set ups to ensure that streamers always get the best audio quality no matter where they stream. Its simple clip-on design allows the mic to be mounted conveniently without disturbing your visuals. The wireless mic is also built with clever noise cancelling technology to cancel out background noise and wind noise in the environment, controllable via the Razer Streaming Mobile App.
Have More Control Over Your Streamed Radio – Razer Audio Mixer
Most of the time, audio is an afterthought in streaming. While setting up, plenty of people will tell you how important it is to get your visual right. You tend to focus on getting a good camera on hand and to make sure you and your environment looks good. Then you forget you need to let your voice get through in the stream, so you get yourself a mic that easily plugs into the USB port.
Source: Razer
While that is all good, you will have a problem when you want to work with multiple audio streams. You can, technically, control all these audio streams on your PC itself if you have the technical know-how. If you do not though, the Razer Audio Mixer is here to help.
The Audio Mixer is a clever solution to your Audio problem when streaming. It allows you to control up to 4 audio input channels to stream audio into and from your PC. It is an analogue board as well, so you can have direct and quick fader control over all the audio channels you have for your stream.
The Audio Mixer takes on most audio inputs too including hybrid-XLRs inputs, TRS Line, Optical TOS and others. Integrated to Razer’s versatile Synapse 3 software, streamers not just adjust the volume of your audio inputs and outputs. You can access the EQ of each channel via the software to tune your audio in your streams. All of these is done and loaded on the Razer Audio Mixer’s processor, so your PC can focus on working the video streams.
Visuals is Still Everything Though – Razer Key Light Chroma
Source: Razer
Being one of the big advocates of RGB hardware in gaming hardware, Razer is still all about the visuals too. Of course, visuals are still very important in streaming culture. You do not want to see badly filmed stream with dim lighting on the star of the show. As a star, you do not want your face to be covered by darkness too. But the regular cool or warm lighting is just too boring. What do you do?
You get the Razer key Light Chroma RGB light pads, mount it to your desk with an included desk clamp pole, point the pads to you, and choose whatever colour you want on your face, or lighting up your room. The Razer Key Light Chroma looks very much like a regular professional light pads used to light up a room or a scene with 16.8-million choice of colours with RGB Chroma. But connect them to your or smartphone via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and you will find that Razer’s Synapse 3 and Streaming App features more controls over the light pad than you know. Sadly, it is not battery compatible, you do need to carry a power adapter that can supply 52.5W to each light pad to power the pads. If you want to take your streaming mobile with the 2800 Lumens light source, you do want to make sure you have a power outlet available.
The Razer Seiren BT, Audio Mixer, and Key Light Chroma is now available on Razer’s online store and authorised stores. Unlike some of other devices in Razer’s arsenal, there are no colour options for these devices. Prices start from US$ 99.99 (MYR 479*) for the Seiren BT, US$ 299.99 (MYR 1,399*) for the Key Light Chroma, and US$ 249.99 (MYR 1,209*) for the Audio Mixer. More information on Razer’s range of streaming focused hardware can be found on their website.
Customer-centricity and personalization remain key to ecommerce success, as does responsible marketing
MELBOURNE, Australia, March 11, 2022 — Dotdigital today launched, ‘The future of cross-channel marketing’ report, covering trends and insights across four main areas: consumer psychology, brand awareness, the decision buying process and customer loyalty. The report details how the adoption of different marketing channels and tools has changed over time, reveals the gap between consumer expectations and experiences, and provides essential strategies to help retailers’ future-proof their businesses, while navigating the unpredictable COVID-19 landscape.
The report highlights critical data points relating to the Australian shopper’s customer journey:
Preferred marketing channels for communications
Factors contributing to unsubscribe rates and cart abandonment
Expectations around personalization in marketing communications vs. reality
Importance of brand values
The significance of loyalty and how shoppers like to be rewarded for it
Email beats social and SMS as most influential channel
Today, marketers have various choices with an increasing option of channels and tools at their disposal. However, email largely remains the preferred channel to cater to tailor-made experiences. While email is the most influential marketing channel (69%) shaping customers’ purchase decisions, results also show that 70% of people surveyed note they are likely to unsubscribe if they get too many emails. Social media marketing and SMS follow closely behind email as influencing purchasing decisions.
Brands need to understand exactly how their audiences wants to be marketed to. The importance of email should be taken seriously, but brands should still consider alternative channels to reach more consumers.
Why consumers abandon cart
The cost of shipping is the highest contributor to cart abandonment. When asked about the top reason that leads consumers to abandon an online shopping cart, 57% listed higher shipping costs that were not visible from the outset. Retailers need to ensure that not only is their cost of shipping reasonable and as expected by shoppers, but that it is clearly visible. Communication and transparency are key.
Get personal with your customers
Australian shoppers feel brands have a long way to go when it comes to personalization, and there is room for improvement. According to the report, more than half the people surveyed say that their marketing communications are somewhat personalized, and one-third think their emails are not personalized at all!
"Customer satisfaction is paramount, and there is no doubt that consumers with increased brand engagement reflect higher brand loyalty. Therefore, brands need to learn and understand the consumer psychology behind shopping behavior and brand loyalty to create a more balanced approach to their marketing communications," said Aparna Gray, APAC Head of Marketing at Dotdigital.
Live chat is important for conversion
Shoppers would like to see more in-person assistance via live chat options on retailer websites. The majority (56%) use it to ask for advice. It is therefore an important tool in the purchase and conversion process, and something retailers need to consider.
Be clear on brand values
Brand values play a crucial role for customers during a purchasing decision. Interestingly, more than two-thirds of Australian shoppers think brands are not doing enough to showcase what they stand for. Thirty percent of consumers surveyed take a brand’s stance on sustainability into consideration when making a purchase decision.
"Sustainability is more than just a buzzword and shoppers increasingly make purchase decisions based on the positive social, economic, and environmental impact of a brand. This shift in consumer behavior should drive marketers to look at the sustainability of their own practices," said Aparna. "At Dotdigital, we take our sustainability efforts very seriously and are proud to be the first carbon-neutral, ISO 14001 certified marketing automation platform in the world."
Loyalty for a price
A loyalty program undoubtedly is an excellent way for brands to build stronger and lifelong brand advocates. But, do customers receive expected perks? Results show that almost all shoppers (94%) want rewards/discounts for their loyalty. It’s evident that a reciprocal relationship is valued, and brands should keep that in consideration when launching a loyalty program.
A little help from our friends
An overwhelming 72% of consumers say that reviews are key to the decision-making process when purchasing products or engaging with brands. Word-of-mouth was the second most important factor in the decision to purchase, with 79% of those surveyed, likely to recommend a preferred brand to others.
A positive customer experience is not only about a single customer journey. It’s about the ripple effect of customers telling their friends, family, and co-workers. Furthermore, if brands do not encourage product or service reviews, now is the time to rethink that strategy and incorporate product reviews into the marketing mix.
"With changing dynamics, a highly competitive market and savvy customers, retailers must effectively harness all channels and revisit their marketing strategy to strengthen communications," said Aparna. "We’ve produced a report to get our finger on the pulse of Australian consumer purchasing habits, to ensure we are helping our clients deliver the ultimate customer experience – delivering the right message through the right channel, at the right time and to the right person."
To understand the changing nature of Australian shoppers and for detailed insights into key trends, download the full report: The future of cross-channel marketing.
Methodology The data in this report was sourced and collected by Power Retail in August 2021 by surveys conducted with 5,000 Australian online shoppers.
About Dotdigital Dotdigital is a leader in marketing automation technology. Trusted by 4,000+ businesses, Dotdigital is the customer engagement platform of choice for marketers seeking to connect with customers through cross-channel marketing. The platform’s future-proof features empower brands across 150 countries to acquire, convert, and retain customers using email, SMS, social, and more. From creating a unified customer view to surfacing powerful insights and implementing intelligent automation, Dotdigital’s highly acclaimed, easy-to-use platform is everything the modern marketer needs.
Continuous Transformation Platform® company provides reliable and secure SaaS solutions for Enterprise Architecture Management, SaaS Management and Value Stream Management
BONN, Germany and BOSTON, March 10, 2022 — LeanIX (https://www.leanix.net/), the platform to plan and manage continuous transformation across the enterprise, today announced its membership in the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment.
LeanIX is published on CSA’s Security, Trust, Assurance, and Risk (STAR) Registry, a publicly accessible registry that documents the security and privacy controls provided by popular cloud computing offerings. The company has maintained STAR Level ONE status on the registry since September 2020 and is now a registered SaaS Solution Provider with CSA.
LeanIX builds information technology tools that promote a culture capable of navigating all types of change, both planned and unexpected. Its enterprise-ready, secure, and trusted SaaS platform supports the needs of leading companies around the world by providing the data, insights and common language needed to master software complexity. Whether rationalizing IT landscapes, preparing for a major technology migration, enabling flexible approaches to SaaS management, or mapping value streams from code to customer, LeanIX is the trusted partner for turning change into a competitive advantage.
"SaaS depends on trust. We believe transparency around the protection of customer data and everything we do to ensure compliance and system availability helps build that trust," said LeanIX Co-founder and CEO André Christ. "As proud CSA members, we share the organization’s commitment to ensuring a trusted and secure cloud computing environment."
"Publishing and maintaining Level ONE status on the STAR Registry is a testament to LeanIX’s relentless commitment to information security, and we’re thrilled to have the company as a member of the CSA," said Jim Reavis, CSA co-founder and CEO. "As a newly registered SaaS Solution Provider, our continued work with LeanIX will help promote excellent security practices and build on the foundation of trust for customers and the greater marketplace."
About the Cloud Security Alliance The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. CSA harnesses the subject matter expertise of industry practitioners, associations, governments, and its corporate and individual members to offer cloud security-specific research, education, certification, events and products. CSA’s activities, knowledge and extensive network benefit the entire community impacted by cloud — from providers and customers, to governments, entrepreneurs and the assurance industry — and provide a forum through which diverse parties can work together to create and maintain a trusted cloud ecosystem. For further information, visit us at www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa.
About LeanIX
LeanIX’s Continuous Transformation Platform® is trusted by Corporate IT and Product IT to achieve comprehensive visibility and superior governance. Global customers organize, plan and manage IT landscapes with LeanIX’s automated and data-driven approach. Offering SaaS for Enterprise Architecture Management, SaaS Management, and Value Stream Management, LeanIX helps organizations make sound decisions and accelerate transformation journeys. LeanIX has hundreds of customers globally, including Adidas, Atlassian, Bosch, Dropbox, Santander or Workday. The company is headquartered in Bonn, Germany, with offices in Boston, Hyderabad and around the world.
Apple is just fresh off their most recent launch of the new M1 Ultra chip in a very expensive Mac Studio. In their most recent launch event, they also released a certain display made for the studios at a much more affordable rate than their premium Pro Display XDR. They launched an MYR 6,999 monitor called the Studio Display with 5K resolution and three options for a stand and mount.
The monitor works exclusively with USB Type-C ports with one of them being a Thunderbolt 3 port that feeds the display feed from Mac devices. But the fact that it is a Thunderbolt supported device should also mean that any PC users can enjoy the clarity that is offered by a 5K display.
Apple says to MacRumors that PC users can use the Studio Display with little to no issues at all. Thunderbolt capability means that any PC with Thunderbolt and display capability on its USB Type-C port can output a display on the Studio Display. So far so good, anyone looking for a studio display with more than 4K resolution on tap. They did say that there are certain limitations though.
Despite the Apple A13 Bionic chip they are putting in the Studio Display, it does not do anything that a regular display does not. There are no smart elements to this display like Samsung’s Smart monitors for work. It only works when there is another Mac or PC connected to it. Except, a PC will not be able to take full advantage of what the display has to offer.
There is a native firmware that runs on the Studio Display. The firmware is what runs the webcam, its Centre Stage function, True Tone, Spatial Audio, or any other functions that might require a firmware to work with. All of those requires MacOS to run.
That also means that the only thing you are going to be using the Studio Display as just that, a display. Apple also said that the resolution will also depend on what system it connects too. That could also mean that you might not even get the 5K resolution that is promised by the display.
The 27-inch Apple Studio Display starts at MYR 6,999. There are three mounting and stand option for the new 5K resolution monitor. Its availability date in Malaysia has not been confirmed thus far, but an official pricing also means that it will be available not too long after the United States gets their share of the new Apple displays. More information on the Apple Studio Display can be found on their website.
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 10, 2022 — Artosyn Microelectronics, a leading provider of AI SoCs for drones and other sophisticated applications finds itself at the intersection of hardware architecture and software development. "Our customers are advancing the state of AI programming every day," said Shen Sha, Senior R&D Manager of Artosyn’s AI Chip Department. "They need early access to the hardware to develop their software. It’s imperative."
Since 2015, Artosyn has specialized in Image Signal Processors (ISPs) and Neural Processing Units (NPUs), highly advanced ASIC devices that must meet the demanding requirements of low-power and high-performance. These systems represent the most advanced generation of controllers today, employing artificial intelligence for such tasks as object detection, object classification, and object tracking. Artosyn’s chips are at the heart of the latest generation of UAVs (drones), as well as being used in smart surveillance systems, robots, autonomous vehicles, and more.
These are designs of enormous size and complexity, and verifying their correct operation presents its own challenges. "We’ve used many of S2C’s FPGA development systems including their single and dual Prodigy VU440 and UV19P systems," explains Sha. "We were able to successfully complete the validation of several complex chips in the hundred-million gate range quickly and efficiently."
But validating hardware still leaves millions of lines of code to test and verify. As a company dedicated to the customer experience, Artosyn looks for creative ways to help: "In some cases we’ve used the large capacity FPGA-based systems from S2C to directly built a prototype for the customer’s evaluation," said Sha. "This really accelerates their software development process."
Sharing the power of S2C’s Prodigy VU440 enabled both companies to leverage a unique form of cooperation – Artosyn was able to swiftly validate their 100-million gate design, and their customer gained access to the hardware critical to furthering their development schedule. Moreover, Artosyn benefits from additional insight by working so closely with their customer; knowledge that helps drive improvements in their own designs. It’s a win for both firms.
S2C specializes in providing leading-edge prototyping platforms for a broad range of design sizes and applications. Built around the world’s largest and fastest FPGAs – such as the Xilinx UltraScale+ VU19P, and the Intel Stratix 10 – S2C’s Prodigy series can scale up to accommodate the largest designs in the hyperscale class. With a rich library of memories, daughter cards, and interface modules, Prodigy systems can be quickly adapted and configured for any purpose. If you’re facing the challenge of large-scale design validation, let us help.
About S2C
S2C is a global leader of FPGA prototyping solutions for today’s innovative SoC/ASIC designs. S2C has been successfully delivering rapid SoC prototyping solutions since 2003. With over 500 customers and more than 3,000 systems installed, our highly qualified engineering team and customer-centric sales team understands our users’ SoC development needs. S2C has offices and sales representatives in the US, Europe, Israel, mainland China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. www.s2ceda.com
The non-fungible tokens will put enjoyment and experience at the heart of digital ownership
ALBLASSERDAM, Netherlands, March 10 2022 — Oceanco will be reinforcing its reputation as a pioneer in the yachting industry by becoming the first superyacht builder to launch a series of non-fungible tokens, branded Superyacht NFTs. The collection is being created with the philosophy that yachting is about fun and experiences, not just the status that ownership might convey.
"At Oceanco, it is important to push the industry’s boundaries and challenge ourselves to continuously grow," comments Dr Mohammed Barwani, Chairman of Oceanco.
"Entering the world of NFTs felt like a natural progression for Oceanco and we wanted to make sure we offered something unique and exciting. Which is why we are putting fun and engagement at the heart of Superyacht NFTs. We are making the exclusive more inclusive," added Paris Baloumis, Group Marketing Director.
Anchored on the Ethereum blockchain, Superyacht NFTs will grant holders special access to ongoing benefits that are experienced both virtually and in the real world, working alongside likeminded partner brands to bring engaging rewards and activations to its holder community. Pre-registration is currently live for those interested in receiving access to the first drop of NFTs.
The collection of Superyacht NFTs is being designed by Timur Bozca of Bozca Design. The NFTs’ design is based on Esquel, the 105m / 345ft explorer that the two brands previously collaborated on. Each NFT will display a unique combination of design elements, themes and settings, including some rare features to make them even more desirable.
Over time, Superyacht NFT holders will be given the opportunity to boost their tokens through airdrops of collectible add-ons including supertoys and accessories. These will convey additional "money-can’t-buy" benefits to the NFT holders.
A percentage of the revenues from Superyacht NFTs will be donated to charities that align with Oceanco’s drive to protect the oceans.
SINGAPORE, March 9, 2022 — Darwinbox, Asia’s leading HR Tech platform, announced the appointment of Vivek Iyer to its Executive Leadership team. Vivek joins as the Vice President of Product.
Vivek Iyer, VP Product, Darwinbox.
An ex-Salesforce and Kony Product Management executive, Vivek will lead Darwinbox’s product & engineering team, spearheading the company’s goal of becoming a tech leader in the Human Capital Management space worldwide. The cloud-based HRMS provider currently serves 650 enterprises, with a third of them having transitioned from established platforms by Oracle, SAP and Workday.
Speaking about the appointment, Vivek said, "The world of work has been evolving at a rapid pace with HR and HR tech taking center stage in this revolution. I am excited to join Darwinbox at this juncture where organizations are getting tremendous value out of modern HR technology." He added, "My mission will be to accelerate Darwinbox’s product innovation in alignment with our business goals and market needs, and I could not be more enthused to amplify our HRMS platform’s value proposition for our customers."
With an 18-year long stint in software engineering with leading multinationals, Vivek has worked across the entire spectrum of product management. Most recently, he has worked at Salesforce where he maximised value for hundreds of Salesforce customers as part of its Industries Cloud. Prior to this, Vivek spent 10 years with Kony building their Mobile Security, Messaging and Marketplace offerings, while leading a team of over 60 engineers, product managers and technical writers. Vivek has an MBA from IIM, Calcutta and is an alumnus of Anna University, Chennai.
"We are delighted to welcome Vivek as we gear up to accelerate our product innovation agenda and strengthen our product & engineering team. His vast experience across mobile application development, enterprise middleware, API management, and SaaS in the enterprise software space both in India and in the United States will add a fresh perspective and more depth to our product roadmap," said Chaitanya Peddi, Co-founder & Product Head at Darwinbox.
The company’s recent Series D funding has energized its mission to continue building technology that enables organizations to unlock the highest potential of their people. With the appointment of seasoned professionals like Vivek, the team at Darwinbox is all charged up to enhance and amplify a world-class product.
Speaking specifically about the planned product innovations, Chaitanya added, "There will be increased focus on EX, AI and ML development, and data analytics for enterprises. We are also aiming to broaden our product offerings with ancillary services and solutions that enterprises can plug and play into their HR tech ecosystem."
Backed by Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India Partners, Endiya and other strategic investors, Darwinbox serves over 1.5 million employees across 90+ countries including fast growing unicorns (Zilingo, Zalora, Carousell, Tokopedia), leading enterprises (SBS Transit, Armstrong, EM Services, MatchMove, Funding Societies, Mitra Adiperkasa) and large conglomerates (JG Summit Holdings, Indorama, Wilmar and parts of Salim, Djarum and Century Pacific groups) in the region. It also serves leading global brands like Nivea, Starbucks, Dominos, T-Systems, AXA, Tokio, Cigna amongst others.
As mentioned in the previous article, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio was launched in back in September 2021. This is also an era when Intel has yet to introduce their latest 12th generation Core processors. That also means that the most powerful Microsoft Surface device is still powered by an 11th generation Intel Core processor.
In case you forgot, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio comes with a display you can tilt around to make it a sort of a tablet or a touch display with an easel stand or kickstand behind it. It is more stable though since it has the whole weight of the laptop underneath it. Of course, it works like a normal laptop too.
Source: Microsoft
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio comes in either an Intel Core i5-11300H processor or an Intel Core i7-11370H processor. With the Core i5 variant, you get Intel’s proven Iris Xe graphics. The More powerful Core i7 variant gets NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3050Ti GPU. The One with Core i7 and the GeForce RTX 3050Ti is the one you want.
There is also a Stylus included with the laptop. The stylus can be used on the brilliant 14.4-inch touch sensitive display that boasts 120Hz in refresh rate. The Studio laptop also features Quad Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos certification to keep you inspired or entertained when it matters.
Source: MicrosoftSource: MicrosoftSource: MicrosoftSource: MicrosoftSource: Microsoft
The Microsoft Surface Laptop is now available via Maxis and all Microsoft’s authorised retailers including Shopee and Lazada. You can choose between two configurations for the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, as mentioned. There is also a third configuration available for Malaysia. It is a Harvey Norman exclusive though. The Harvey Norman exclusive (MYR 11,999) comes with Intel’s Core i7, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050Ti, 32GB of RAM, and 1 TB of SSD storage, whereas the regular (MYR 9,399) Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio tops out at 16GB of RAM with 512GB in SSD storage. More information on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio can be found on their website.
No, Apple did not introduce two computing solutions in the Apple event today. They only introduced one computing solution. It is one Mac Studio, and a Studio Display. The Studio Display is just that, a display, not a computing device.
Apple Studio Display
Source: Apple
It might as well be though; it packs enough hardware in it to house Apple’s iOS or iPad OS. Yes, it packs Apple’s A13 bionic System on a Chip (SoC). It is a slightly older generation chipset, but still a capable one at that.
The chipset is not used to power an operating system within the display though. It is used to run centre stage capabilities on the built-in 12-Megapixel camera with ultra-wide lens. The powerful chip also allows the six-speakers built into the display to have Apple’s Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos for an immersive audio when you need it for entertainment.
The main highlight is the 27-inch 5K (5,120 by 2,880 pixels) IPS panel. They say it features 1 billion (10-bit) colours at a wide DCI-P3 colour gamut. This should mean that it features a highly accurate colour reproduction, a sort of requirement if you want to seat it in professional workflows. You can even configure it with something they call Nano-texture coating that acts as an anti-glare coating without the display losing its gloss and colour saturation.
Source: AppleSource: AppleSource: AppleSource: AppleSource: AppleSource: Apple
Like any good display there are plenty room for I/O expansions on the Stuido Display. Unfortunately, they are all USB Type-C ports. Besides the mandatory power cable for the 27-inch display, you only need on small USB Type-C Thunderbolt 3 capable cable to come out from the back to your Mac. It does not support HDMI or DisplayPort, which is rather sad. At the same time, the Thunderbolt port also outputs 96W to keep your MacBook charged when it is plugged it.
The way you work with the Studio Display can be very flexible too. There are three stand options for the Studio Display. You can choose to work with it with a very basic tilt-adjustable stand, a stand with tilt and height adjustment, or a simple VESA ready mounting behind the display.
Price and Availability
The Apple Studio Display will be available in the United States (US) from the 18th of March onward. It is available in a few configurations. There are not confirmed dates for its availability in Malaysia. We are guessing that it might come somewhere in April.
You can opt for a regular glass display without coating at MYR 6,999 or one with the anti-glare Nano-texture coated glass at MYR 8,299. There are three stand or mount configuration to choose from as well. Unfortunately, they do not seem interchangeable. You also want to add MYR 1,600 to the price tag if you want the stand with both tilt and height adjustments. More information on the Studio Display can be found on their website.
Apple Mac Studio with M1 Ultra
Source: Apple
There is no M2 here, not when they have not touched on the Mac Pro. We do not want to say that there is nothing ground-breaking here too, because it is an interesting solution to a problem that Apple created for themselves when they shifted to their own silicon platform for all their computing needs. At the same time, there is nothing too ground-breaking or too surprising on this new Mac Mini lookalike.
Let us get one thing straight though, it is not a Mac Mini. It just looks like one from certain angles. It is also taller than a Mac Mini with more vented ports. Where the Mac Mini stops at the M1 SoC, the Mac Studio starts from an M1 Max, not even an M1 Pro variant here. It is not even priced like a Mac Mini.
There is no need to introduce the M1 Max SoC. It is the same one that you can find on the MacBook Pro. The M1 Ultra though, needs a small introduction, but not that much, you will see our point. Like the M1 Pro and M1 Max, the M1 Ultra is based on the same architecture that the M1 is built upon. They just managed to make it larger than the M1 Max. The result is more processing cores, more GPU cores, more power consumption, and in theory, more power delivered for the MacOS it powers.
Source: Apple
Very much like the M1 Max and M1 Pro chipsets though, the M1 Ultra is not truly unique on its own. The only really interesting thing about it is that it is basically two Apple M1 Max SoCs glued together by a connecting bridge that Apple claims to be unique to Apple and no one else. You can hardly refute that claim though, you have never seen the likes of Intel and AMD gluing two of their chips together to make a single larger operating chip. You might see Qualcomm trying to follow suit with their future computing solutions, but we do not see that happening anytime soon.
The result is the M1 Ultra doubles its processing speed from the M1 Max allowing for up to more than triple the CPU performance and nearly five times more GPU performance (Apple claims). It doubles the memory bandwidth allowing for up to 128GB in unified memory, and we expect it to also double the power consumption. They did not specify that, but it makes sense.
Source: Apple
Double the power also means twice the heat to manage, which also means that the Mac Mini-esque Studio block gets proper cooling and ventilation to keep the M1 Ultra happy at pace. Thanks to all of that, the Mac Studio is capable of handling 18 simultaneous 8K ProRes video streams in one go for a smooth multi-camera workflow when you need it. Then again, Apple ProRes is Apple’s proprietary video format that should be optimised to Apple’s chipsets and use case. But 18 streams is, at the very least, properly impressive.
According to Apple, the Mac Studio is also capable of handling up to 5 displays. According to the presentation, the Mac Studio can work with up to four Pro Display XDRs and one 4K display. To afford that kind of set-up requires you to spend upward of MYR 100,000 though. The more sensible set up for an editing studio would be a two-monitor editing set-up and a 4K presentation display. If you are going to go all Apple on that, it is still about MYR 40,000 onward.
Still, we should not steal any limelight from the star of the show, the Mac Studio. It packs six Thunderbolt 4 capable USB Type-C ports (four at the back, two up front) and one HDMI port. As per their presentation, it supports up to five displays at the same time. For content creators, there is an SDXC card slot up front for a much more fluid workflow when you need it. Of course, if you work with CF Express cards, you still need a reader.
Price and Availability
You can buy the new Apple Mac Studio in two main configurations – M1 Max, or M1 Ultra. The M1 Max Mac Studio starts at MYR 8,799, which is the price of a decent gaming PC. The M1 Ultra variant of the Mac Studio starts at MYR 16,799, which can be more expensive than a high-end gaming PC. You can top out the Mac Studio with and M1 Ultra with 64-core GPU, 128GB in unified memory and 8TB in SSD storage. That will set you back MYR 32,799. If you really want to, you can add Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro into the package and pay nearly MYR 35,000 for on Mac Studio with M1 Ultra.
It will be available in the US from the 18th of March 2022. As per the Studio Display, there are no confirmed local (Malaysia) availability dates for the Mac Studio currently. We are guessing as well that it would hit the Malaysian shores somewhere in April or May. More information on the Apple Mac Studio can be found on their website.
