Must-Have Back-to-School Gadgets

It's back-to-school time -- a short window of opportunity for retailers
-- and a period when parents try to keep costs in check while providing
everything their children need to succeed in the coming school year.

School books and office supplies are easier to deal with (and
somewhat less expensive) than the electronic goods that kids want and
need: computers, printers, cell phones, music players and TVs.

As for computers -- there are hundreds of great choices. In the
past, lower-priced desktops and laptops meant functional but not very
stylish: large-sized boxes with tried-and-true components (meaning not
exactly the newest or fastest) components inside. Smaller,
feature-laden machines usually cost more.

But, a year ago, Asus changed all that with its Eee PC line of
laptops. Now, kids can have a laptop for around $300 (with the Linux
operating system inside) or a little more if WindowsMSFT XP is a necessity. Actually, the newest, top-of-the-line Eee PC (the 1000H) has a big, 10-inch screen, Windows XP Home, IntelINTC Atom processor, an 80GB hard drive and an affordable price of $549.

And now, there's also a $349 desktop version of the successful
Eee Box laptops. Again, there's no CD/DVD drive inside. Just add a
monitor and some speakers and you have a very good, affordable home
computer system.

If your child's heart is set on a Mac, the Mac mini is the most affordable in Apple'sAAPL
user-friendly computer line. For $599, the mini has a heavy-duty Intel
processor and a CD/DVD optical drive (not found in any Eee model). You
need to add your own monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers, though.
Apple laptops start at $1,100.

Continues : http://www.thestreet.com/

Psystar 'Definitely Still Shipping' Mac Clones

In the latest sign that it has no intention of backing down in its copyright
dispute with computing giant Apple, Psystar said Wednesday that is
"definitely still shipping" its Mac clones. In further defiance of
Apple, Psystar also this week said it is making Leopard OS restore disks available to its customers.

"Recently, our sales team has received several inquiries as to whether
or not our systems are still available," the clone maker said in a note
on its Web site Wednesday. "Psystar is definitely still shipping Open
Computing products and we've introduced our restore utilities to
enhance the computing experience for our customers at no extra cost."

Psystar claims its Mac clones cost about
one-quarter to one-half of what Apple-branded systems sell for. In
defense of its clones, the company charges that Apple marks up the cost
of the hardware on which its operating systems ride by as much as 80%.

The problem: Apple's end user license agreement expressly forbids
installation or sales of its operating systems on third-party hardware
-- a fact that led the company to file suit against Psystar last month and demand that any systems previously sold by the company be recalled.

But if Apple thought it could force tiny Psystar, which operates out of
a warehouse in a generic, Miami industrial park, to fold its tent by
hitting it with a 10-count, 30-page copyright lawsuit, it thought
wrong.

Court records show that Psystar has retained for its defense a
high-profile, Silicon Valley law firm that has previously tangled with
Apple -- and won. It's a sign that Psystar, despite its miniscule size,
intends to see to its conclusion a case that could have a profound
impact on the personal computer industry.

Defending Psystar are attorneys from Palo Alto-based Carr &
Ferrell, which employs more than two dozen lawyers specializing in tech
industry issues such as copyright and intellectual property law. Court
records show that Carr & Ferrell partner Robert Yorio has been
assigned to the case, along with staff attorneys Christine Watson and
Colby Springer.

From : http://www.informationweek.com/

Mac OS X 10.5.5 bug fix list grows with build 9F13 seed

Apple last night pushed out another pre-release build of its
upcoming Mac OS X 10.5.5 Update for the Leopard operating system,
tacking on several more bug fixes to a list that swelled into triple
digits a week earlier.



The new build, 9F13, arrives less than a week after Mac maker equipped developers with build 9F9
and warned of a problem with some images that could cause its Aperture
photography post production software to unexpectedly quit.



Wednesday's release, however, is the first since the company launched the Mac OS X 10.5.5 Update beta program three weeks ago to arrive without the presence of known issues, people familiar with the software say.



Apple is reported to have made no changes to a list of two dozen core
system components where developers have been asked to center the
majority of their evaluation efforts.



Instead, the focus of build 9F13 gears towards maintenance and
stability, harnessing ten more bug fixes aimed at strengthening the
Leopard experience, bringing the total number of code corrections
expected as part of Mac OS X 10.5.5 to an eye-catching 115.



Among the more notable tweaks are improvements to Power Management and
Energy Saver settings for Mac notebooks, as well as a fix for
MobileMe's DMNotification that has been causing the MobileMe preference
pane to crash for some subscribers.



Also addressed in the latest build were problems with Mail Sync and
Preferences syncing, multiple TCP connections and Application Firewall,
and the BSD Kernel and HFS+ file system.



When Mac OS X 10.5.5 makes its debut in the coming weeks, Leopard users
can also look forward to improvements to Safari's handling of PDF
documents, fixes to Address Book's syncing of newly created contacts,
improved Mail message storage, and tweaks to iCal Invitations and email
invitations.



In its raw form, Mac OS X 10.5.5 Update currently weighs in at around 330MB.

Ftom : http://www.appleinsider.com/

Sony fires two new Cyber-shots

Sony gave it both barrels today with the introduction of two new still digital cameras to its Cyber-shot range. “The Cyber-shot T77 is the world’s slimmest camera to feature 4x optical zoom and optical image stabilisation,” a Sony suit told us. “Meanwhile, the Cyber-shot T700 boasts a 4GB hard drive for storage of a massive 40,000 photos.”

Sony said both cameras had been designed with the eye-catching style
that people expect of Sony products, and both are bursting with amazing
features to help you take great pictures.

Here’s the company’s official word on both models:

Cyber-shot T77 – little camera, big personality

“At just 15mm thin, the super-svelte Cyber-shot T77 will fit in the
pocket of even the skinniest of jeans. It’s the slimmest camera ever to
feature 4x optical zoom and optical image stabilisation, so whilst its
diminutive size is impressive, it’s the pin sharp images you can
capture at the touch of a button that will bowl you over.

The impressive zoom capability is complemented by 10.1-megapixels,
3-inch touchscreen LCD, Smile Shutter technology for automatic capture
of smiling faces, and Face Detection and Anti-blink technology to make
sure everyone looks perfect. All-in-all it’s the friendliest little
camera you’ll come across.

The Cyber-shot T77 comes in five vibrant colours; midnight black, mauve, apple green, chocolate brown and silver.”

Cyber-shot T700 – your life in pictures

“The Cyber-shot T700 offers the best possible image quality
and the latest technology to easily share images after shooting. The
massive 4GB in-built memory provides enough space for 40,000 images,
making the T700 a portable photo album. The 3.5-inch 921K dot LCD
screen allows the user to view images in stunning high resolution, and
the Sharemark technology makes uploading images to photo-sharing sites
incredibly easy. The T700 is perfect for students wanting to document
their gap year travels, families not wanting to miss a moment of
children growing up, or that last-minute night out with friends.

This new camera also boasts 10.1-megapixels and a host of Sony
favourite features, including Smile Shutter, Face Detection and
Anti-blink technology. It will be available in a choice of colours -
gunmetal grey, silver, candy pink, raspberry red and champagne
colours.”

Both models can be slotted inside a new marine housing that means users can capture the action above and below the water.

The Cyber-shot T77 and Cyber-shot T700 will be available from September 2008, with prices to be confirmed.

From : http://www.absolutegadget.com

Sony PlayTV to be burdened by DRM

The PlayTV might be slightly delayed, but it’ll be cheaper than we thought, and pack HD tuners. Good news, right? Wrong. Sony’s decided to shove cumbersome DRM into the mix at the last minute, meaning shows can’t be transferred, and are tethered to one PS3.

When PlayTV was first announced, it was specifically stated by Sony that telly fans would be able to offload recorded shows, transferring them to a memory stick, flash drive or hard disk for playback elsewhere. It was even suggested you’d be able to load up the PSP with programmes to watch on the move.

Now, however, we hear reports that DRM will stop all that joyful square-eyed openness. What’s more, despite being ready to receive HD broadcasts from day one, Sony’s telly box won’t be able to record them.

Sounding less appealing by the minute, isn’t it?

Out September 19 | £70 | Sony (via Eurogamer)

Technorati Tags: play, PlayTV, PS3, Sony, TV

Nokia now offers Ramadan-related software and services for download

Nokia is getting up and close with Ramadan-related mobile
software. The Finnish company had released the N73 Ramadan Special
Edition last year. The application was an instant hit and the company
advances a step ahead extending the reach of the Ramadan app to all
Muslims who use other Nokia phones too.

Nokia has launched Nokia Ramadan Microsite that will make available
an entire collection of free software and Ramadan-related services.
These services will be downloadable worldwide and will be pre-loaded on
a number of handsets in the Middle East. Along with the new N78
throughout August, the N70 Music Edition, E51, 3120 Classic, 6500
Slide, 6300 and 2630 can also avail of pre-loaded Ramadan apps.
Additionally the N95 and N82 along with eight other devices can also
download the application.

Available for download are the some of the following apps:-

Hajj & Umrah- You can visit the most famous places on the way.
This is a mobile guide for both journeys with multimedia content.

Ramadaniat- comprises a large collection of useful information
concerning fasting, Zakah Al-Fitr, the benefits of Laylat Al-Qadr and
the I’tekaf.

Emsakya- alerts followers with times for the daily prayer, Suhour and Iftar during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Quran- With a multi-lingual interface, it is in Othmani font. It also has the ability to search and bookmark any Ayah or Surah.

Mozzaker- a large collection of daily Azkar.

Cards- allows you to create Mobile Greeting Cards that can be sent to family and friends via SMS or MMS.

In addition, the application lets you customise your handset with ringtones and wallpaper.

The application is completely free of cost and can be downloaded from the Nokia website.

From : http://www.mobiletor.com/

Intel readies new remote PC access function

Intel has developed technology that lets people remotely power up their
computers and retrieve files across an Internet connection, according
to a report on The Wall Street Journal site on Wednesday.

The technology, called Remote Wake, will work only on PCs that use a
recently introduced chipset from Intel and requires new software to be
loaded onto the PC, according to the report. The technology will also
reportedly allow PCs that use Internet-based phones services to be
remotely activated to receive calls. Remote Wake could also allow
consumers using a Web-enabled phone or a laptop connected to the
Internet to activate their PCs and retrieve files, according to the
report.

Programs that let people remotely access files on their PCs are
already on the market, but those computers must be left turned on to
allow access to files. Remote Wake will allow access when people put
their PCs in "sleep" mode, thereby conserving energy, the newspaper
reported.

Remote Wake's greatest application is expected to be with
Internet phone calls, which require PCs to be turned on to receive
calls.

From : http://news.cnet.com/