TechSpot

Intel working with Google on Chrome OS

Justin Mann — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:18 -0500

When Google formally announced they were developing an OS intended to rival Windows for netbook market share, they boasted that they already had a laundry list of big-name industry backers. Although initially silent on the matter, it's been revealed since that there are indeed several large companies involved, such as HP and now Intel. Speaking to The Register, the chip maker confirmed that at lea...

Download of the Week: SIW (System Information for Windows)

Jose Vilches — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:53 -0500

SIW (System Information for Windows) is a free and full-featured tool for Windows which gathers detailed information about your system�s software, hardware and network, and presents it in a very comprehensible manner. It displays everything from the CPU clock and technology to RAM frequency, BIOS and Windows version, license information for installed programs and a lot more.

RIM phasing out trackball in favor of optical trackpads?

Jose Vilches — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:50 -0500

It seems RIM is about ready to phase out the distinctive �Pearl� trackball that debuted with the same-named device in favor of a more efficient solution on future phones. Confirming earlier rumors, an image has surfaced today showing both the upcoming BlackBerry Onyx and entry-level Curve 8520 sporting optical trackpads; an indication that the company might be replicating the move across its entir...

Apple blames iPhone 3GS discoloration on cases

Justin Mann — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:33 -0500

After issuing an advisory on how to prevent iPhone 3G and 3GS overheating earlier this month, Apple has now apparently found a potential cause of iPhone 3GS discoloration. Contrary to user reports suggesting these two issues were related, the company claims a likely cause for discoloration comes from people putting the iPhone inside a protective case � a common enough accessory. The assertion is t...

Microsoft: three critical patches coming next week

Jose Vilches — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:54 -0500

Microsoft plans to ship six security bulletins next Tuesday as part of its monthly patch cycle. Three of them are rated as critical and affect several Windows versions, according to the Security Advisory, while the remaining three are rated as important and bring fixes for other Microsoft products � Publisher, Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server and Virtual PC and Virtual Server.

French Senate passes revamped 'three-strikes' law

Jose Vilches — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:31 -0500

France�s controversial project to fight illicit downloads is back in the news. First voted down by the country�s National Assembly, passed in a second attempt and then ruled unconstitutional, the so-called �three-strikes� bill has been reworked and passed one more time for consideration by the National Assembly and French Constitutional Council. It seems that one way or another the Sarkozy regime ...

Google introduces license-filtering image search

Justin Mann — Thu, 9 Jul 2009 16:45 -0500

One of the most complicated and convoluted issues plaguing the Internet these days are copyright concerns. From music and videos to books, pictures and more, all content is likely to have some artist behind it who may or may not be willing to share. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to determine if something is legal to use on your own. Google understands this, and as of today has launched a new...

Microsoft releases Silverlight 3.0

Jose Vilches — Thu, 9 Jul 2009 16:25 -0500

Not willing to concede the market to Adobe, Microsoft has released a new major version of its Silverlight web browser plug-in. Among the new features in version 3.0 are 3D support, GPU acceleration, support for H.264 and AAC encoding, deep linking, image and text improvements and more. The official launch of Silverlight 3 is scheduled for tomorrow, but the actual bits are available now from Micros...

EA confirms Command & Conquer 4 for 2010

Jose Vilches — Thu, 9 Jul 2009 15:04 -0500

Confirming an earlier leak on Twitter, Electronic Arts has officially announced that its popular Tiberium series will be brought to an �epic conclusion� with Command & Conquer 4. The upcoming title will put an end to the 15-year saga of GDI and Kane�s struggle over Tiberium, introducing new elements like the all-in-one mobile base, class-based gameplay and what sounds like an RPG-style player ...

Netflix streaming coming to Sony Bravia TVs

Jose Vilches — Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:04 -0500

Electronics giant Sony has announced that Netflix streaming will be coming its online-enabled Bravia televisions. The move marks the latest in a wave of agreements that open up Netflix's streaming video capabilities to a number of devices, including Blu-ray players and dedicated set-top boxes from TiVo, Roku, LG, Samsung and the Xbox 360 via the Xbox Live service.

MSI adds real-time overclocking to P55 boards

Jose Vilches — Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:40 -0500

While most people will just dive into their system�s BIOS or use a Windows-based tool to squeeze that extra bit of performance on-the-fly, MSI wants to make things easier for overclockers. With its upcoming P55 motherboards for Lynnfield and Clarkdale processors, the company will be introducing the new Direct OC feature, which will see three overclocking buttons located directly on the printed-cir...

News around the web: First Chrome OS Pics are Fake

Erik Orejuela — Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:30 -0500

First Chrome OS Pics are Fake @ ChromeOSLeak

Motorola continues layoffs with 74 workers

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:16 -0500

In an attempt to keep afloat, Motorola is letting go another 74 employees from its mobile phone division. The layoffs will begin at the end of the month and are expected to affect those located at the company�s Libertyville, Illinois offices. This follows Motorola�s move to dismiss 3,000 people in the division earlier this year � about 500 of which were based in Libertyville.

Sharp ups LCD panel production by tens of thousands

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:45 -0500

While the economy is in dire straits, flat-panel TVs have been flying off shelves. In response to the sales, Sharp plans to increase production of LCD panels by tens of thousands of screens per month to satiate the demand, which was higher than anticipated in the first half of the year. Sharp�s full-year shipment projections have jumped from 120 million to 127 million.

Best Buy and TiVo hold hands in services and marketing

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:40 -0500

A couple of mainstream news outlets have reported that TiVo is prepared to announce a partnership with Best Buy today. The reports say that under the multiyear collaboration, Best Buy will aggressively promote TiVo products in its stores. In turn, TiVo will develop a custom set-top box for the retailer to advertise its products through.

How many people has the RIAA sued in total?

Justin Mann — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 18:29 -0500

Coverage of the RIAA has been ongoing for many years since as they�ve taken people to court over copyright infringement. Though we have seen dozens of cases, and hundreds of interviews, it's never been well known exactly how many times the RIAA has tried to sue someone into submission. Recently, that question was asked, and some startling figures were discovered � upwards of 35,000 people with mos...

News around the web: MIT develops camera-like fabric

Erik Orejuela — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 18:20 -0500

MIT develops camera-like fabric @ CNet

OEMs silent on future Chrome OS support

Justin Mann — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 18:05 -0500

Google wowed the world this week with the announcement that they would be developing their own operating system, primarily destined for netbooks. Receiving a plethora of mixed reviews before any firm details are even available, Google has indicated that they are already working with numerous hardware vendors to get industry support for the as of yet unborn platform. Vendor support is critical to g...

Microsoft names new president of Windows division

Jose Vilches — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 17:57 -0500

Microsoft has promoted 20-year veteran Steven Sinofsky to president of the Windows division, nearly a year after he was selected as senior vice president for the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group. In his new position, Sinofsky will oversee both engineering and marketing for Windows, Windows Live and Internet Explorer. The transition will take place at the end of July, when the new Windows...

Microsoft plans "big announcement" for Monday?

Jose Vilches — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 16:56 -0500

Google made a splash late yesterday with the announcement of its upcoming Chrome OS, a lightweight and web-centric operating system based on Linux with which they hope to conquer the netbook market. But while the move has been received with both skepticism and hope for a real Windows challenger, some believe the search giant�s timing was merely an attempt to steal Microsoft�s thunder. Apparently, ...

Windows 7 Family Pack pricing leaks

Jose Vilches — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 15:22 -0500

Speculation about a Family Pack for Windows 7 began mounting last week when a couple of sites noted references to it in the licensing agreement of a recently-leaked build. Now, thanks to a couple of reliable (if careless) online retailers, the plan has been confirmed along with the expected price. As noted by ZDNet�s Ed Bott, the listings are particularly convincing as they contain a Universal Pro...

Multi-process support in Firefox gets closer to reality

Jose Vilches — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 13:14 -0500

Mozilla has made dramatic improvements when it comes to speed in recent times, but one feature its Firefox browser notably lacks compared to Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 8 is multi-process browsing. As we�ve mentioned before, there are several benefits of having each page or tab run in a separate process, not the least of which are performance gains when using multiple processor cores and t...

MSI unveils well-rounded, compact EX460 notebook

Matthew DeCarlo — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 11:23 -0500

MSI has unveiled its new lightweight notebook, the EX460. While its specifications seem to lean toward casual media and work functions, MSI�s latest system only weighs 4.4lbs (2kg). At its core, the EX460 features a 14� 1366x768 (16:9) LED-backlit display, an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 with 512MB of VRAM.

OCZ expands Vertex SSD line with faster variants

Jose Vilches — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 10:59 -0500

OCZ is expanding its already impressive Vertex SSD series today with the launch of new overclocked variants. Available in 30GB, 60GB, 120GB and 250GB capacities, the Vertex Turbo Edition drives are similar to their well-regarded Vertex predecessors but feature proprietary FTL-level firmware and a quicker 64MB of SDR DRAM cache operating at 180MHz; up from the Vertex�s 166MHz.

Google to challenge Microsoft with new OS

Matthew DeCarlo — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 08:56 -0500

Google has announced on their blog yesterday that they intend on introducing a PC operating system which follows Chrome�s ideology. Much akin to Google�s browser, their OS is planned to be quick, lightweight, and secure and will even follow the �Chrome� nomenclature. Being an extension of their browser, the search-giant envisions Chrome OS to be very Web-centric, with a minimalistic user interface...

BenQ Joybee GP1 Mini Projector review

Julio Franco — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 05:58 -0500

The Joybee GP1 Mini Projector is BenQ�s most compact and portable projector, boasting image sizes up to 80� and featuring a rather unique USB reader that allows you to run media without the assistance of a computer or additional video input device.

Acer to launch 11.6-inch CULV-based ultrathin

Jose Vilches — Tue, 7 Jul 2009 15:54 -0500

Acer looks set to further blur the lines between netbooks and notebooks, with the introduction of a new model that sports an almost identical chassis as its Aspire One 751 netbook but will belong to the more potent Timeline series. Rather than continue with the Intel Atom trend, the 11.6-inch Aspire Timeline 1810T will house a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Solo ULV SU3500 processor, coupled with up to 4GB o...

Palm Pre set for European launch

Jose Vilches — Tue, 7 Jul 2009 14:28 -0500

Following a successful launch in the U.S. early June, Palm has announced its plans to take the Pre smartphone overseas. Unfortunately, launch timing was only narrowed down to �in time for the holidays,� but the company did reveal that the U.K., Ireland, and Germany will have access to the device exclusively on O2 while Spain's Palm Pre will be offered through Movistar � both subsidiaries of Telefo...

Nvidia preps 40nm desktop GPUs for September launch

Jose Vilches — Tue, 7 Jul 2009 13:34 -0500

Nvidia�s first desktop graphics processors based on a new 40 nanometer manufacturing process could be available �at the end of September,� according a DigiTimes report citing the Chinese-language Commercial Times. The Nvidia GeForce GT220 and GeForce G210 cards should kick things off featuring a GT216 and GT218 GPU respectively, and are expected to directly replace the GT130 and G100 cards to take...

Gmail, Google docs and other apps officially leave "beta"

Justin Mann — Tue, 7 Jul 2009 12:32 -0500

Google has made such liberal use of the �beta� moniker over the years that it has almost become a running gag with them. Generally, even years after a Google service has been deployed, it's still referred to as beta software. While it does good to remind users that they can tweak the service at any point and not to expect miracles, it's not something that inspires confidence in businesses and othe...