British PC maker PiixL comes up with an elegant means of keeping a SteamOS-powered games machine out of sight-- the Jetpack, a home theatre PC (HTPC) slim enough to attach on the back of a flatscreen TV.

An update on PiixL's earlier EdgeCenter HTPCs, the JetPack features an expandable chassis users can mount on larger TVs (32- to 70-inch) via standard VESA mounts. It will be available in multiple "deeply optimised" configurations complete with overclocked Intel Core i7 processors, Nvidia Titan/GTX780 GPUs and up to 1TB SSD storage.

The USB 3.0 Promoter group starts working on the next generation of USB connector-- the USB Type-C connector, a supplement to the USB 3.1 specification promising a thinner and (yes!) reversible design.

Based on existing USB 3.1 and 2.0 technology, the Type-C connector will support scalable power charging within a design size similar to existing USB 2.0 Micro-B connectors. However the connector will not be compatible with existing USB ports (Type-A, Type-B, Micro-B et al), demanding the creation of passive new-to-existing cables and adapter for use with legacy devices.

Another material joins the likes of graphene and carbon nanotubes in the silicon-killer arena-- "statene,"  a single layer of tin atoms theoretically able to conduct electricity with 100% efficiency at the temperatures computer chips operate.

The discovery of US, Chinese and German researchers, the properties of statene are detailed in a paper titled "Large-Gap Quantum Spin Hall Insulators in Tin Films." Apparently the material is a "topological insulator," meaning it conducts electricity only along the edges or surfaces of their structure, not through the interior.

Such a property comes into play when the structure is all of 1 atom thick, since it allows for 100% efficient electrical efficiency through "complex interactions between the electrons and nuclei of heavy atoms in the materials."

Custom PC maker iBuyPower reveals a first prototype of a console-style PC running on Steam OS, the Linux-based operating system designed around the Steam gaming service created by Valve.

As seen in the picture (left), the prototype looks less like a PC and more like white glowing PlayStation 4. iBuyPower tells Engadget the actual hardware will come in two versions (cutely codenamed "Gordon" and "Freeman") and is still very unfinished-- the prototype currently runs on an early SteamOS version devoid of media playback or streaming options.

AMD uses the APU13 Developer Summit to reveal further details on "Kaveri," a 3rd generation accelerated processing unit (APU) and the first making use of what the company calls "Heterogeneous Systems Architecture" (HSA).

For readers not in the know an APU combines compute and graphics cores, as well as any number of features (such as audio/video accelerators or encryption) on the same die. The concept makes particular sense with HSA, since the architecture has graphics and compute cores sharing the same memory pool.

In desktop form the Kaveri APU carries up to 4 Steamroller-based CPU cores (2 modules) running at 3.7GHz, while the GPU consists of 8 GCN 1.1 cores clocked at 720MHz, each with 512 processing units.

Nvidia launches the GeForce GTX 780 Ti-- a GPU the company claims is the most powerful in the world, beating even the supposedly unbeatable high-end GTX Titan on a less eye-watering price tag.

The Kepler-based GTX 780 Ti features overclocking features and 25% more CUDA cores than the GTX 780, supposedly allowing for a 20% boost in performance. Insiide is a GK110 graphics processor clocked at 875MHz (928MHz boost spead) packing 2880 stream processors, 240 texture units, 48 render output units and 384-bit memory controller.

Also included are 3GB of GDDR5 RAM running at 7GHz and a low thermal density design allowing for improved cooling and quiter performance.

"Continued to shrink, declining faster than expected," Gartner remarks on the state of W. European Q3 2013 PC market-- shipments are down by -12.8% Y-o-Y to reach 11.9m units, with declines across all segments and regions.

The reason for such results, of course, is the transition from PCs to tablets. Also to blame is careful inventory management, Windows 8.1 launch preparations and product transitions to Haswell and Bay Trail processors.

Mobile PC shipments drop by -14.5% Y-o-Y, while desktops drop by -9.8%. The professional shipment sees shipments dropping by -8.3% and the consumer market by -17.1%.

"Most PC vendors have shifted their investment from consumer PCs to tablets and hybrid form factors," the analyst continues. "The challenge they face is to protect their current PC market positions while competing in an aggressive and fast-moving alternative mobile device market. Without a solid position in the professional PC market, they will find it challenging to defend their positions and invest in non-PC devices."

IDC seconds the Gartner findings as it reports the Q3 2013 EMEA PC shipment totals-- 21.4 million units with a -16% Y-o-Y decline, a lesser decline than the previous quarter thanks to improvements in commercial demand.

Consumer demand remains lukewarm, leading to cautious retail fulfillment and tighter inventory on the vendor side, while back-to-school demand only manages to bolster the educational segment.

The shipment numbers break down as follow-- portable PCs total 13.3m units with a -20.6% decline, desktops hit 8m with -7% decline.

"While it is too early to talk about recovery, the worse seems to have been reached in Q3 2013," IDC says. "However, the ramp-up is mainly in the commercial area, with September performance above expectations for most players. The end of Windows XP support in 2014 is driving IT departments to focus on hardware refresh, generating higher renewal in the corporate space."