Smartphone Success May Be in the Touch

There's no debate that the touch screen is having a phenomenal impact on the smartphone market. Apple's iPhone finger-tap panel design is literally rattling the competitive smartphone industry into refreshing traditional small static screens and is driving handset innovations across the device from the keyboard to applications.

Now such a phenomenon may happen again, and possibly to a greater degree, as Research in Motion's BlackBerry Storm 9730'click technology' touch screen is viewed as an advancement on Apple's innovative design. And just like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), RIM's tenacity in taking its time in development and to get to market, to get it right out of the gate may pay bigger, according to one industry watcher.

The reason? RIM (NASDAQ: RIMM) understands its user base just as well as Apple does, IDC analyst Ryan Reith told InternetNews.com. While many market watchers are already calling the Storm 9730, which RIM formally announced today, the biggest 'iPhone Killer,' Reith believes both smartphones will command impressive market segments.

"Smartphones are all similar but it's the touch screen that's the comparison point with these two devices," Reith said. "Apple and RIM both took their time but have different visions and different approaches," he explained.

Apple's vision, said Reith, was to provide an easy, enjoyable
multimedia experience. The iPhone's multi-touch user interface lets
users tap once to open applications and access functions, twice to
reset the screen panel, and move icons around, and slide/swipe to
browse music files, photos, e-mail and Web pages. For text, users tap
on a keyboard that will magnify certain letters during activity to help
avoid mistyping.

RIM's new touch screen mimics the look and feel and
incorporate the 'click' bump of current BlackBerry keyboards. That
provides users with a familiar experience, explained Reith. As another
pundit noted in a report issued yesterday it provides "superior" typing
accuracy as compared to the iPhone -- "leveraging a RIM hallmark" in
the handset maker's push into the consumer market.

In typing the BlackBerry touch-screen is depressed "ever so
slightly," according to a product press statement. Users experience a
gentle “click,” similar to a physical keyboard, according to RIM. Users
can also tap and slide screens for navigation needs.

Calls to RIM and Apple regarding touch screen strategy were not returned by press time.

"RIM has put precision into where the user's finger needs to be when typing," said Reith.

"I'm not saying one is right and one is wrong but RIM is pushing
the next wave in this [design] area," he said. RIM went with its touch
'click' approach as testing revealed that iPhone touch and as swipe
would frustrate RIM's heavy text user base. BlackBerry users are
typically enterprise application users and that means much more text
and e-mail use.

"What RIM did was make sure its touch screen fit the needs of
its users, just as Apple did," said the analyst. "Both are sticking to
the core fundamentals and the needs of their users," he added.

The fact that RIM is not deviating from what its loyal
'Crackberry' audience likes and wants could easily keep it ahead of
Apple in the market race, and way ahead of newcomers like Google and
its G1 Android-based HTC handset, said Reith.

"For example Google's G1 interface is going to change, as its
users' needs come into play. BlackBerry already has the core foundation
and is not giving up any efficiency, stability or security aspects in
its design changes," said Reith.

"Yes, some will say the Storm is the number one iPhone
competitor and see them as head to head," said the analyst. "But both
have unique audiences and both are targeting those audiences."


Source : http://www.internetnews.com/

Man denies hacking Palin e-mail

The son of a Democratic politician has been
indicted over the hacking of US Republican vice-presidential candidate
Sarah Palin's e-mail account.

At a court in Knoxville, Tennessee, David Kernell, 20, pleaded
not guilty to gaining unauthorised access to Mrs Palin's Yahoo account.

Prosecutors say he posted some of the messages and her password online.

Mr Kernell, an economics student at the University of Tennessee, is the son of state congressman Mike Kernell.

His father denies having anything to do with the hacking incident.

The indictment charged Mr Kernell with accessing Mrs Palin's
account, gov.palin@yahoo.com, after correctly answering a series of
personal questions.

Mr Kernell had turned himself in "as soon as we found out about
the charges," according to his lawyer, Wade Davies, who spoke to
reporters after the federal court hearing.

Mr Kernell faces a maximum of five years in prison if convicted
plus a $250,000 (£145,000) fine and three years of supervised release.

Mr Kernell was released without bail, but limits were set on his computer use.

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Auction : NEW 320GB NOTEBOOK LAPTOP HARD DISK DRIVE 2.5" SATA PS3

MHZ2 - 320BH SATA

Fujitsu introduces its next generation Serial ATA Hard
Disk Drives developed using perpendicular recording

2.5-Inch, 5,400 RPM - Mobile Hard Disk Drives

• MHZ2320BH

* Ultra-high capacity mobile Hard Disk Drives feature perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology
* 2.5-inch Serial ATA (SATA) Hard Disk Drives feature 320GB of storage in a slim 9.5mm package
* Industry leading read/write, idle and standby power consumption
* Exceptionally high quality, reliability and performance with minimal heat and acoustics
* Ideal for laptops and consumer electronics applications requiring high speed and high capacity

1 One gigabyte (GB) = one billion bytes; accessible capacity will be less and actual capacity depends on the operating environment and formatting.

One megabyte (MB) = 1,000 bytes
One gigabyte (GB) = 1,000 megabytes
One gigabit (Gb) = 1,000 megabits
RPM = Revolutions Per Minute

DESCRIPTIONS

Fujitsu raises the bar with the introduction of its next generation 2.5-inch SATA Hard Disk Drives with up to 160GB per platter using PMR technology. Since laptop and consumer electronics manufacturers require high capacity SATA Hard Disk Drives in a slim form factor for their products, Fujitsu 3rd generation PMR models are entering the market at an optimal time to satisfy market demand.

Engineered to deliver high capacity in a small form factor, the mobile MHZ2 BH series retains the outstanding level of quality and reliability for which Fujitsu is renowned. The 5,400 RPM mobile Hard Disk Drives achieve up to 320GB capacity, among the highest in the industry with this spindle speed. Featuring 320GB of storage space in a 2.5-inch form factor, with low power consumption, acoustic noise, and minimal heat emissions, these SATA Hard Disk Drives are an excellent choice for today’s ultra-fast, high-capacity laptop computers and consumer electronics applications.

With the delivery of its next generation, perpendicular recording SATA Hard Disk Drives, Fujitsu continues to demonstrate its strong commitment to technology leadership.

Buy :NEW 320GB NOTEBOOK LAPTOP HARD DISK DRIVE 2.5" SATA PS3

Auction : Unlocked US CECT P168+ PDA Cell Phone AT&T T-Mobile

Buy : Unlocked CECT P168 dualsim PDA cellphone Touch screen

Mobile phone with 2 SIM card, Bluetooth fuction (AK-P168):
Mobile phone with Tri-band
Technology: Tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900MHZ
Camera: 1.3m
Ringtone: MP3
Function: Bluetooth
Model No: AK-P168
Talking Time: 100-150 minutes
Memory Slot: MiniSD Card
Display Color: 260k color
Design: Bar


Detailed Product Description
Language: Chinese English French German Italian Spanish Portuguese Croatia Russian Arabic Thai Vietnamese

LCD Size: 3.0 inch, 3.5 inch TFT, 260 thousand colour; PX: 240× 320px
Ringtone: 64 chord; Ringtone format: Mp3, mp4, midi, wav
Music: MP3 background play, equalizer


Video: 3GP, MP4, full screen, forward, pause


Camera: 2.0 megapixel; Up to 1280*1024 photograph, MP4 video recorder


Data Transfer: USB cable/USB flash disk
Standby Photo: Jpg, gif


Main features
Telephone directories: 500 groups of phone books, big head sticker, MP4 rign tone
Messages &Multimedia messaging: 200 SMS/MMS
Schedule power on/off: Starting and shutting images as your wish, auto power off
Alarm clock: MP3 alarm clock, MP3 alarm clock


Games: 3
More information: MP3, MP4, Handsfree, SMS group sending, Voice recorder, WAP, Handwritten input, GPRS download, MMS, Memory extended, E-dictionary, dualsim with one on line, email, IP dialing, conversation recorder, English learning.
Basic features
Operating Frequency: GSM
Network Frequency: 900/1800/1900MHz
Talk time: 240-360 minutes
Standby time: 200-300 hours
Time-to-market: 2007.10
Dimensions (width × High thick): 117*61*16
Weight: 125G
Color: Black

Buy : Unlocked CECT P168 dualsim PDA cellphone Touch screen

Auction : Silicone Case Clear+Car Charger New For Apple iPhone 3G

Shuffle up your iPhone’s color with this silicone case made specifically for the Apple iPhone. Shelter your Apple iPhone from scratches, dust, and the elements. This silicone case is a custom fit made of premium durable silicone with a soft feel and anti-slip grip. The unique fit this case provides allows easy accessibility to controls, ports, and the signature iPhone touch screen.

• Perfect fit for the Apple iPhone 3G
• Soft feel with anti-slip grip made of premium durable silicone.
• Easy access to controls, port, and touch screen.
• No need to take off the silicone skin to utilize the iPhone features.
• Color: Frosty Clear

Compatible Models: Apple iPhone 3G

Buy : Silicone Case Clear+Car Charger New For Apple iPhone 3G

£90.80 Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3

Microsoft Windows XP Professional is the next version of the Windows operating system, which is designed for businesses of all sizes, and for individuals who demand the most from their computing experience.

Windows XP Professional goes beyond the benefits of Windows XP Home Edition with advanced capabilities designed specifically to optimize productivity using the latest advancements in the digital world.

Built on the solid foundation of Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional provides improved reliability, security, performance and ease of use, setting the new standard in efficient and dependable computing.

This is probably the best operating system Microsoft has produced yet and the fact that there is still a strong demand for it is a testament to its quality.

Buy Microsoft's Windows XP SP3 from Ebuyer for only £90.80 including VAT and delivery, probably the cheapest quote in UK.

Source : http://www.itproportal.com/

No surprise: Microsoft to fine-tune UAC in Windows 7

In the latest post on Microsoft’s “Engineering Windows 7″ blog, Microsoft officials acknowledge what everyone’s been assuming: Microsoft is going to fine-tune the User Account Control (UAC) feature with Windows 7.

UAC, which debuted with Windows Vista,
provides users with standard user rights, as opposed to uber
administrative rights, by default. Microsoft argued that this change
would help save users from themselves, so that they wouldn’t
accidentally modify system settings, disable antivirus software, etc.
When UAC is turned on, users receive many, poorly explained
notifications when the system believes they are engaging in “risky”
behavior.

With Windows 7, Microsoft is not going to do away with UAC,
according to the October 8 post by Ben Fathi, president for core OS
development (and others on his team) on the E7 blog. But it is going to
“address the customer feedback and satisfaction issues witht the (UAC)
prompts themselves,” Fathi blogged. He said with Windows 7 Microsoft
has two overriding goals when it comes to UAC. From his post:

“We’ve heard loud and clear that you are frustrated. You
find the prompts too frequent, annoying, and confusing. We still want
to provide you control over what changes can happen to your system, but
we want to provide you a better overall experience. We believe this can
be achieved by focusing on two key principles. 1) Broaden the control
you have over the UAC notifications. We will continue to give you
control over the changes made to your system, but in Windows 7, we will
also provide options such that when you use the system as an
administrator you can determine the range of notifications that you
receive. 2) Provide additional and more relevant information in the
user interface. We will improve the dialog UI so that you can better
understand and make more informed choices.”

With Windows 7, Microsoft is endeavoring to reduce unneeded and
duplicate prompts; to make prompts more informative; and to provide
“better and more obvious control over the (UAC) mechanism,” Fathi’s
blog post said.

Fathi said he’s confident the revamped UAC system will be less hated
than the original UAC lockdowns introduced with Windows Vista in the
name of better security. More from his post:

“We’ve already run new design concepts based on this
principle through our in-house usability testing and we’ve seen very
positive results. 83% of participants could provide specific details
about why they were seeing the dialog. Participants preferred the new
concepts because they are ’simple,’ ‘highlight verified
publishers,”provide the file origin,’ and ‘ask a meaningful question.’”

UAC seems to be one of the most hated features of Vista. (Just do a Web search for “how can I disable UAC”
for unofficial proof of that contention.) From what Microsoft has
shared so far, do you think the proposed UAC changes for Windows 7 go
far enough to undo the damage to Vista’s reputation  done by UAC to
date?

Source : http://blogs.zdnet.com/

Gigabyte M912X hack makes a smarter, cheaper Modbook

A fellow named Stuart Lowe installed Leopard on his Gigabyte M912X netbook / tablet hybrid, and we like the results. Though this isn't the first Mac tablet hack,
it's a tightly wrapped little package: the interface seems smooth with
either fingers or a stylus, and Inkwell's onscreen keyboard allows
complete functionality when the computer is folded into its slate
configuration. Much of the necessary software functionality existed in
Leopard already, and since installing OS X on something other than a
Mac isn't the challenge
it used to be, we're envisioning a pretty smooth ride for other
would-be-hackers. We've embedded a video on the other side of the jump
-- take a look, and then cast your vote on what to call this niche
category of netbook-like tablets.

[Via Slashgear]

Apple receives Dock patent after 9 years

Apple has finally obtained a patent on the Dock – a holder for open or commonly used applications, documents, folders, and more in Mac OS X – according to a new document found by AppleInsider. The patent, titled "User interface for providing consolidation and access," was originally filed on December 20th, 1999, and covers actions such as fade-in rates, icon and cursor positioning, as well as the magnification factor when the cursor hovers over icons present in the dock.

The patent goes on to detail circumstances that inspired the utility of the dock, citing Windows 95's task bar, the clutter involved with multiple windows open, the Control Strip fro Mac OS 9 and before, and other sources.

The Dock has been part of Mac OS X since its inception, and has evolved subtly with each incarnation, ditching pin stripes, and eventually adopting a mirrored polish present in 10.5 Leopard.

Source : http://www.macnn.com/

Accelerate your computer

Josey Kruse, Beloit junior, loves her new Mac. Her old computer, a Dell laptop, didn’t perform nearly as well.

“It always took forever to start up, shut down, or do anything like adding new programs,” Kruse says.

This is her third laptop, so she knows what she’s looking for when it comes to an upgrade.

Saving enough money for that brand new computer can take a long time, but simple maintenance can give your computer a better chance to survive the college years.

Clean it up

Ray Brady, an IT specialist with Geeks on Wheels, says you need to defragment your computer’s hard drive once a month for it to run smoothly. Defragmenting can take up to two hours to complete, but the more it’s used, the faster the process will go.

On most computers, you can find the defragment option under the “system tools” menu, but if you can’t find it, use the help file.

“The least-used application on any computer is the help file. Nobody uses it anymore,” Brady says.

The help file can answer any maintenance questions you have, although most, like defragmenting, are pretty self-explanatory.

Brady says it’s also important to delete the temporary folders through your Internet browser as often as possible. Delete the history and cookies once per week or every other day if you do a lot of browsing. You can set your computer to do this automatically in your Browser Preferences.

Also, reduce desktop clutter and delete any applications that aren’t used. However, Brady says you might want to leave the items in the recycle bin for a few days before deleting them, just in case they’re programs you need.

Most importantly, Brady says you need to educate yourself about what applications are running by default at your computer’s start-up, or are installed but are not actually running. You can view these on Windows under Windows Defender in the Control Panel.

To make your computer squeaky clean, save everything to an external hard drive, completely delete them and then reinstall from scratch. Brady says you should only do this as a last resort if your computer has been neglected for a long time, but it will be faster and more effective than deleting items individually.

Computers also need physical cleaning. Brady says to use canned air to clean the dust that, over time, can coat hardware and accumulate in the intakes under laptops and the vents behind desktops. Dust can cause your machine to overheat and die.

Speed it up

Your computer also needs updated spyware and virus scans to keep it running efficiently. Ty Davis, Bonner Springs senior, works at the Tech Shop at the Kansas Union Book Store and says you need two basic spyware programs, Spybots S&D and Adaware, to protect your computer.

“It’s like two people mopping. One program will catch the other’s mistakes,” Davis says.

Both programs offer free versions online that cover your computer’s basic needs and are easy to use.

If your computer is still running too slow, Davis says you may need to purchase additional RAM, or memory. He says you should consult a professional at the store to decide what kind and how much you really need. You can find out how much memory your computer has by clicking on “About this Mac” under the apple icon for a Mac computer, or by clicking on “Properties” under “My computer” for a PC.

Back it up

Jaime Ryan, Salina freshman, had to buy her new laptop at the beginning of the year after a virus from a LimeWire download started deleting files from her computer.

Both Brady and Davis say that the most common problems students have can be prevented if they would back up their computers with external hard drives. An external hard drive will store all the files you need as well as the ones you don’t use as frequently.

When you get new programs you can add them to the external hard drive so they won’t slow your computer and it will save you if the worst happens, and the internal hard drive crashes.

External hard drives usually start at $100 for 250 GB, and Mac OS 10.5 “Leopard” comes with “Time Machine,” which can store up to 160 GB on its hard drive.

Upgrade

So, you’ve finally saved enough money and you can’t deal with your old laptop any longer. Davis and Brady also have some tips to help with your next purchase.

Davis says you shouldn’t be afraid to dish out at least $1,000 for your new laptop.

He says the most important things to look for are the processor, hard drive and DVD burner, which can’t be changed or are difficult to change once the laptop is purchased.

As far as brand goes, Brady says you should buy whatever you’ve had luck with in the past and invest in an extended warranty.

Ryan and Kruse are definitely satisfied with their upgrade choices, but if that’s not an option for you, you can still find satisfaction in the improved performance of your old yet well-maintained computer.

Source : http://www.kansan.com/

Sony Not Dropping PS3 Price In 2008

Although it's well known that a hardware price cut always boosts
sales, Sony sees no reason to lower the retail cost of the PlayStation
3 for this holiday season.

According to CVG, Sony believes that "the best [software] lineup of
any PlayStation generation" will allow the PS3 to remain competitive
with Microsoft and Nintendo over the next few months, and they've got a
point. Given the release of exclusive blockbusters like LittleBigPlanet and Resistance 2,
plus the launch of PlayStation Home, the PS3 should be able to sell
itself as a great gift. Here's what director of corporate
communications of SCEA, Patrick Seybold, told Edge Magazine:

"As previously discussed we aren't making any price moves this
holiday season. In my opinion, we have the best line up of any
PlayStation generation going into this holiday and consumers will be
very receptive to it. With PS3 titles for this including Resistance 2,
LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift to name but a few of
our multiple exclusives, combined with PlayStation Home and increasing
multimedia features for the hardware, we expect to have continued
momentum going into and beyond this holiday season."

Sony has been able to narrow the sales gap in 2008 thanks to previous huge titles like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and Sony has recently revealed that the PS3 is 30% ahead of initial sales expectations,
so that's more good news. Given this surge, they really don't have a
reason to cut the price just yet; there is such a thing as "business
sense," after all.

From : http://www.psxextreme.com/

Draft intel report: Afghanistan in 'downward spiral'

(10-08) 21:37 PDT Washington --
A draft report by U.S. intelligence agencies concludes that Afghanistan
is in a "downward spiral" and casts serious doubt on the ability of the
Afghan government to stem the rise in the Taliban's influence there,
according to American officials familiar with the document.

The classified report finds that the breakdown in central authority in
Afghanistan has been accelerated by rampant corruption within the
government of President Hamid Karzai and by an increase in violence
from militants who have launched increasingly sophisticated attacks
from havens in Pakistan.

The report, a nearly completed version of a National Intelligence
Estimate, is set to be finished after the November elections and will
be the most comprehensive U.S. assessment in years on the situation in
Afghanistan. Its conclusions represent a harsh verdict on
decision-making in the Bush administration, which in the months after
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks made Afghanistan the central focus of a
global campaign against terrorism.

Beyond the cross-border attacks launched by militants in
neighboring Pakistan, the intelligence report asserts that many of
Afghanistan's most vexing problems are of the country's own making, the
officials said.

The report cites gains in the building of Afghanistan's national
army, the officials said. But they said it also laid out in stark terms
what it described as the destabilizing impact of the booming heroin
trade, which by some estimates accounts for 50 percent of Afghanistan's
economy.

The Bush administration has initiated a major review of its
Afghanistan policy and has decided to send additional troops to the
country. The downward slide in the security situation in Afghanistan
has also become an issue in the presidential campaign, along with
questions about whether the White House emphasis in recent years on the
war in Iraq has been misplaced.

Inside the government, reports issued by the CIA for more than two
years have chronicled the worsening violence and rampant corruption
inside Afghanistan, and some in the agency say they believe that it has
taken the White House too long to respond to the warnings.

Henry A. Crumpton, a career CIA officer who last year stepped down
as the State Department's top counterterrorism official, attributed
some of Afghanistan's problems to a "lack of leadership" both at the
White House and in European capitals where commitments to rebuild
Afghanistan after 2001 have never been met.

Crumpton, who was in charge of the CIA teams that entered
Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks but who said he had not seen the
draft report, said that Afghanistan was "bad and getting worse" and
that officials in Washington were just beginning to wake up to the
problem.

"It's taken them a long time to realize it, but now they know it's pretty grim," he said.

An NIE is a formal document that reflects the consensus judgments
of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. Although the Bush administration
has made public the crucial findings from some recent NIEs on Iraq and
terrorism, most remain classified. The draft NIE assessment on
Afghanistan is the first since the Taliban regained strength there
beginning in 2006 and launched an offensive that has allowed them to
seize large swaths of territory.

The draft intelligence report was described by more than a half
dozen current government officials who have read its conclusions. They
spoke on the condition of anonymity because the report remains
classified and has not yet been completed.

Richard Willing, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence, which produces the national intelligence
assessments, declined to comment for this article.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe also declined to comment on
the report's conclusions but said: "Everyone understands that the
current situation in Afghanistan is a tough one. That's why the
president ordered additional troops there. That's why we're increasing
the size of the Afghanistan Army."

Both major presidential candidates, Sens. Barack Obama and John
McCain, have called for U.S. troop increases in Afghanistan even beyond
those the White House has ordered. Obama has accused the White House of
paying too little attention to Afghanistan as it poured the vast bulk
of American resources into the war in Iraq, while McCain has defended
the administration's decision, saying that Iraq remains the more
important front in the battle against terrorism.

In Tuesday's presidential debate, Obama said he told Karzai during
a visit to Afghanistan in July that the Afghan leader had "to do better
by your people in order for us to gain the popular support that's
necessary."

"We have to have a government that is responsive to the Afghan
people," Obama said, "and frankly it's just not responsive right now."

American officials said that intelligence agencies were also
working to produce an assessment on Pakistan, and that both were to be
completed after next month's elections. They said the draft findings
had already begun to influence the recommendations of the White
House-led review of Afghanistan policy, which was scheduled to be
completed this month but has now been postponed several weeks.

The administration is considering whether the United States should
devote more effort to working directly with tribal leaders in far-flung
provinces, and possibly arming tribal militias, to fight the Taliban in
places where Afghanistan's army and police forces have been ineffective.

The Bush administration had long resisted making tribal elders a
centerpiece of American strategy in Afghanistan. American officials had
hoped instead that strong national institutions like the Afghan Army
could protect the Afghan population, but the escalating violence this
year has forced a reassessment of the value of the tribal system for
counterinsurgency operations.

"In order to have an effective counterinsurgency strategy, you need
to have strong local governance in the districts and the provinces,"
said a senior State Department official who has been briefed on the
report's broad conclusions, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In a sign of the seriousness of the administration's policy review,
the White House's top coordinator for Afghanistan policy, Lt. Gen.
Douglas Lute of the Army, will lead a delegation of specialists who
will travel there to assess the current situation, a senior
administration official said Wednesday.

Administration officials say the review is examining how and where
the nearly $6 billion in annual American assistance to Afghanistan is
being spent; how to improve the effectiveness of small teams of
American and European civilians and troops seeded throughout the Afghan
provinces to spur economic growth; and how to strike the right balance
between taking military action against the Taliban and al Qaeda in
Pakistan and providing more development aid to that country.

Senior U.S. commanders have recently been blunt in their assessment of the security trends in the country.

"In large parts of Afghanistan, we don't see progress," Gen. David
McKiernan, the top American officer in Afghanistan, told reporters last
week. "We're into a very tough counterinsurgency fight and will be for
some time."

It is not just American officials who offer a grim prognosis. A
French diplomatic cable leaked to a French newspaper last week quoted
the British ambassador to Afghanistan as forecasting that the NATO-led
mission there would fail.

"The current situation is bad, the security situation is getting
worse, so is corruption, and the government has lost all trust," the
British envoy, Sherard Cowper-Coles, was quoted as telling the French
deputy ambassador to Kabul, who wrote the cable.

British officials have said the comments attributed to Sherard were distorted and do not reflect official British policy.

Source : http://www.sfgate.com/

Apple’s “brick” manufacturing process to yield a $800 MacBook?

It could easily be argued that the only thing stopping Apple from
absolutely blowing away the competition in laptop sales is price point.
In fact, I’ve argued this in the past.
Apple’s current cheapest notebook is the standard MacBook which has a
low-end retail price of $1,099. If you drop that below $1,000,
especially in the current economic situation in the United States, and
things could get interesting — fast. If information provided to The Inquisitr’s Duncan Riley is true, that’s about to happen.

A
source tells Riley that Apple is gearing up to launch a whole range of
new laptops in the coming weeks. That’s been known for a while. The
real juicy bit of information is the price range: $800 to $3,100. Yes,
that would indicate we’re going to see an $800 (more likely $799)
MacBook of some sort.

The source also tells Riley that there will
be 12 laptops of varying price points in that range. The current
MacBook line only has 8 different laptops — so that could mean we’re
going to see a whole new product, or an expansion of a line such as the
ultra-thin MacBook Air.

Apple used to offer its iBook (the
predecessor to the MacBook) at a $999 price point, but hasn’t had one
in the sub-$1,000 range since then. I have an old iBook, it ran on the
old Power PC chips, it was slow. The new sub-$1,000 laptops will
undoubtedly run on Intel chips, for most users they should purr like
kittens.

This information of course still has to be taken as a
rumor, but Riley is very confident in his source, which would appear to
be on the retail end of things. If Apple is close to launching these
new notebooks, it’s possible some price sheets are going around to make
room for new inventory.

It’s also not clear if these new cheaper notebooks would be built using the rumored laser and water jet manufacturing process that has come to be known under the code-name “brick.” The name seems to come from the idea that this process cuts the frame of the laptops out of a single brick of aluminum.

Also no word on if the rumored leaked shots of the new MacBook Pro casing from earlier today are real.

Source : http://www.nytimes.com/

Nintendo DSi Will Come Loaded With Extra RAM

Nintendo's DSi will be loaded with more RAM than the DS Lite,
according to Opera CEO Jon von Tezchner. In an interview with TechTree,
the man responsible for web surfing on Nintendo's handheld said that
Opera would be sure to use the memory boost “efficiently.” That's great
and all, but what does this mean for games?

While the possibility of a completely DSi-only game is probably
pretty low, maybe the next Nintendo creations take advantage of the new
hardware for some DSi-exclusive features (like picture taking or music
making). What do you think the RAM will be used for? [Techtree via Destructoid]

Source : http://gizmodo.com/

AMD deal triggers Intel warning

Advanced Micro Device's new manufacturing venture may come with some old baggage.

After AMD announced on Tuesday
that it would spin off its manufacturing assets to a new company
partially owned by the Abu Dhabi government, Intel was quick to warn
AMD about patent and cross-licensing concerns.

AMD will own part of the new manufacturing entity, for the time
being to be called The Foundry Company, while Advanced Technology
Investment Co. (ATIC) will own the rest (55.6 percent) and have equal
voting rights with AMD in The Foundry Company. The total investment is
expected to come to approximately $8 billion.

Intel-AMD disputes are certainly not new. AMD sued Intel in 2005 alleging antitrust violations. But this time Intel has AMD in its sights.

At the moment, Intel is simply expressing concern about the deal, per the Patent Cross License Agreement between the two companies. The two chipmakers have cross-licensing agreements that go back to 1976.

"We don't know enough yet. We have a lot of questions about how this deal is structured," said Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy.

AMD could not be reached for comment.

Source : http://news.cnet.com/

Personal best

IF THE Beijing Olympics inspired you to improve your athletic
performance or just spend a little less time on the couch, the
technology industry can help.



Gadgets and web services won't make you faster or stronger but, by
recording your efforts and enabling you to measure your progress
and compare against friends' or rivals' results, they'll provide
plenty of motivation to keep striving for a personal best.



For a very few dollars, cheap devices such as a pedometer tell you
how many steps you take, the distance covered and the kilojoules
burned during a workout.



Cyclists can buy a speedometer, trip meter and ride timers for
about $15 - the price of a basic bicycle computer at sites such as
Torpedo7 (torpedo7.com.au).



If you follow the same route for your workouts and record your
times, you'll soon be able to create a history of your performances
and compare results from different days.



There's much more fun to be had if you marry these devices with
your PC. You can accomplish this feat with devices such as USB
pedometers that store data from your walk and upload it to your PC,
where special software builds a profile of your workouts.



The Omron HJ720ITC PC pocket pedometer is such a device and is $65
at pedometersaustralia.com.



Sites such as mapmyrun.com or bikely.com add another dimension by
letting you create maps of your runs or rides in Google Maps. When
you enter your journey, the sites calculate the distance
travelled.



Bikely shows you an altitude profile of a ride so you can see just
how high you climbed and calculate the total ascent and descent you
achieved.



These sites also let you share routes. Once you have plotted a
course, all you need to do is save it, agree to share it and your
feats will be available for anyone to view, making a
more-than-useful resource for finding useful places to
exercise.



Both sites let you annotate a route, so you can let others know
about hazards such as bumpy paths or just leave behind instructions
for hard-to-navigate sections.



Bikely and MapMyRun have three problems: entering a route
accurately is fiddly and time-consuming; you need to remember the
route you rode or ran to enter it into a PC and they rely on dodgy
data, especially for altitudes - we plotted rides along waterside
bike paths and, according to Bikely, we were in a submarine, not
riding a bicycle.



Gadgets that use global positioning systems (GPS) to track your
workout with satellites are a useful alternative, especially now
that many mobile phones include the technology.



Nokia has created free software called Sports Tracker
(sportstracker.nokia.com) that turns 20 of its phone models into
exercise-tracking machines.



It overlays your exercise progress on a map while reporting your
speed, average speed and distance. And some phones can count your
steps like a pedometer. It comes into its own once you upload the
results of a workout to the Sports Tracker site where it overlays
the GPS data on Google Maps so you can see where you went. Upload
as many workouts as you want, compare them, file through a library
of past workouts and share them with friends.



We tested the application with a Nokia N95 8GB and found the
software intuitive, although the GPS tracking was a little
inaccurate - one ride apparently saw us veer through the grounds of
a private school, taking out a fence, a building and several tennis
courts along the way. The program also needs careful attention to
set it in motion.



Features that allow you to upload data wirelessly mean you'll
record your rides with ease.



An enhancement we would have appreciated is a bracket to mount the
phone on a bicycle, a third-party product available online but
sadly missing from the N95 box. Instead, we slipped the phone into
the back pocket of a cycling jersey where we worried that sweat or
rain could damage it.



We got lucky with the weather on our test ride and the unit stayed
dry and did its job well - although we couldn't see it while
riding.



The alternative to a phone is a rugged sports GPS, which eradicates
the rain and sweat problems. We tested Garmin's Edge705, a $649
device that is the peak of computer-aided exercise.



Such models combine the functions of a GPS phone plus Sports
Tracker but come with everything you need to mount them on a bike.
Other models designed for runners include arm or wrist straps.



Dedicated devices will survive a hard knock and other exigencies of
exercise.



The 705, for example, has a weatherproof cover for its USB port.
And it beeps like a 1970s video game.



Its maps don't match the resolution of Google's maps, a minor
disappointment correctable with an upgrade for a fee.



The upside is that it also has a wireless heart-rate monitor and a
cadence meter to measure how often you turn the pedals of your
bike.



All this data may be uploaded, along with route maps, making
thisjust about the ultimate exerciseaid.

Source : http://www.smh.com.au/