HI-TECH news, new technologies, computer news, mobile, soft, programming ...

Limited edition Wii Super Famicom Classic Controller

2008-04-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

Japan - it was all just paint controller, is not it? A few days later, listening to an additional white GameCube consoles soon led by the controller, a lucky, lucky club members unboxed Nintendo Additional his limited edition classic Super famicom controller. Yep, this symbol of nostalgia, we have heard, as early as in November last year has finally arrived in the the rising sun. In fact, we do not believe that you - are diehard Nintendo want you to also shamelessly - and has not made it to the Reading link to check out the gallery of guns, but we will not ask you to test your patience any longer time. Now, access!

What's about Windows XP SP3 release ?

2008-04-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

Although we had expected (read: hope) that may be dished out by Microsoft Service Pack 3 of Windows XP last month, it appears that the lease is, in fact may be made by the former may be coming. According to an "internal schedule" far-fetched above neowin, original equipment manufacturers, volume license, the MSDN and TechNet connecting subscribers will be able to access the latest on April 21, and the vast majority of average joes / Jane's will found until April 29, when it visited Microsoft / Windows Update Download Center. For the folks too busy, in some concern, which they XP sp run, they are likely to overlook the automatic update is scheduled to June 10. (Re) mark your calendar, will not?

Wow, Watch phone rolls on Windows CE 5.0

2008-04-16T01:16:00.000-07:00

Ready to answer some honest? We can think of a good handful of watches and clocks, we will buy back, we dropped 629.95 US dollars on a disaster, but for folks with too slim pants and hands are in full swing about a separate phone, we assume that this is a Well then helplessness. Ex-gratia payment - wp98 that he is a four-band GSM phone Now with Windows CE 5.0 installed, and the assumption that tout its SIM card slot, water, a 266 MHz CPU and a 1.45 in. display with a handwriting recognition function (for real?), we notice that on the line, the specification is "subject to change without notice," we touch enough. However, you can look forward to (although you may not get), a 1.3-megapixel camera, wireless network connections, T-type flash memory expansion slot, multimedia players, and built-in Bluetooth. According to a particular e-commerce retailers, it has to be well prepared to ship on April 25 - any person, regardless of means enough to push through a decree, however, remains to be seen.

It's happened, iPhone gets VoIP and chat options (+ video)

2008-04-16T01:02:00.000-07:00

Of course, the phone is cool research, working on a lot of things, and it is really good at math ... But it can not do VoIP, can it? Well, yes, it can - and you can, through a company called Fring and an ingenious piece of software (for jailbreakers only). Using the native application, it is now possible to place and receive calls via your WiFi, which makes CEOs of AT & T cry like little babies. In addition to Skype and others, the application can be used to connect chat via MSN Messenger, ICQ, GTalk, SIP, Twitter, AIM and Yahoo! Who should make it a package attractive, even if you do not want to save Gross power of the IP telephony. You can obtain a free application by the installation of loading up with the company "repos. Check the video after the break to see the magic happen.

Massachussetts company develops inkjet-printed solar panels

2008-03-05T01:47:00.000-08:00

Printed solar cell technology continue to have more and more with the reality, with a company called Massuchssetts Konarka Technologies announced today that they are now in a position to the manufacture of solar cells with the ink-jet printing. There is not a ton of information about the process, but Konarka has already shown that she and the details published in a journal called Advanced Materials - sparkling sounds like the play, if you ask us. Konarka describes the process makes solar cells fabbing extremely easy because it does not require a separate room, and cost savings could result in an increase in the number of applications for solar energy. Of course, the economy of the ink-jet printing attracted more than one member of the dark side - we wonder whether Konarka is now finally begin to sell ink cartridges solar energy for more than the printer itself, self?

MacBook Air gilded again !

2008-03-05T01:43:00.000-08:00

Really, it's not bad, you can stop us, "Golden / Bling My Thing Air MacBook We know that all 24k gold and has 12000 Swarovski crystals and shit, but we want to be honest, this sort of Hints of freaks us out. we do not know that it is in the offensive, so that only a gag reflex triggered correctly describe. Allegedly just twenty, and that you are with history on prices, and these things out of your league, even if you have to.

Jobs hid cancer for nine months before seeking treatment

2008-03-05T01:39:00.000-08:00

CNN has an extensive profile on El Jobso - similar to what almost appears monthly in these days in the mainstream media publication of your choice - but one of the most interesting is that apparently treats, he sat on his pancreas cancer, the Friggin for nine months before it is an "in 2004. To set things in the right perspective, even if his diagnosis is curable, in time, the cancer of the pancreas is considered one of the most deadly form, and despite the pressure of the very few friends, Family and Partners in knowing Steve apparently trying to heal, even Overall for the three quarters - while the whole world (including Pixar, which he also heads of) has been in the dark. course, he finally in surgery, and if he needs to their recovery; water under the bridge before the time, but the shareholders of Apple are certainly a feeling or two on the job to come when in the vicinity of the edge.

Vista copy protection cracked, totally, for real !!!

2008-03-05T01:36:00.000-08:00

They finally realized. Your good friends in the hacking community have apparently found a solution for you Vista - if you want - free activation. According to one report, there is now a cracked, the complete version of Vista floating around which completely bypasses cumbersome and costly activation process. The crack supposedly comes OEM (or users) that have been fed up with this process, and somehow persuaded Microsoft to pull an up-down-up-down maneuver and make the operating system without activating . The software uses the closed system pre-installed 2.0, embeds OEM BIOS files (signed by Microsoft), and passes all of society, Windows Genuine Advantage checks. Of course, it may be possible that people from Redmond users more concerned that the adoption of Vista, they care about their pay. Nah, probably not.

Samsung intros Spinpoint MP2, reiterates plans for 256GB SSD in 2009

2008-03-05T01:33:00.000-08:00

Not quite a year after the range Samsung Point cheerful spin in the world MP1, MP2 came to the just. After Sammy, the 2.5-inch disk can be used as a substitute lappies desktop, workstation and server blades, and it is said for the fast read / write speed of 500 GB M6 has announced at the CES. The hard drive with 7200 rpm in the earth, to $ 299, but an 80-GB version is just for the cash, too. In less capricious news, the company also has its intention to deliver 256GB SSD until 2009, and if you have any more loquacious, Jim Elliott, vice president of storage marketing for Samsung Semiconductor, said that he was "trying SSD capacity doubling every 12 months. " The music in our ears? You bet.

GO 530 GPS navigator for Europe announces by TomTom

2008-03-05T01:30:00.000-08:00

TomTom idea was submitted after the GO 930 and 730 at CeBIT? Do you think because the company is also introducing GO 530, which is the successor of the network reported 520th GO In order to reach it and to stay in Europe, and the sound card contents to a large extent depend on the region in which it is purchased PO As with his higher than the number of brothers and sisters, what gus also for himself IQ road and advanced targeting Lane, and it is also a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution, a 400 MHz processor, 1 GB of internal memory, SD slot for expansion cards, built-in Bluetooth and a cell, Li-ion battery is approximately 5 hours. If everything is good for you, which is prepared in the month of April at approximately £ 235 ($ 466).

Bungie to bring justice to Xbox 360 repair mishap

2008-03-05T01:26:00.000-08:00

After Nathaniel's nostalgic Xbox 360 was literally as a confirmation of repair, we had a little altered state power is not allowed to ensure that everything is resolved. Fortunately, Bungie bigwigs to point to a solution, which hopes that it is "very close", as a replacement. According to Bungie community director Brian Jarrard, his team is "to adapt in order to help this regrettable situation," and then that over the details, which were collected, we can not fail to suspect that the resolution is all more than satisfactory.

ASUS 11-inch U2E laptop gets reviewed

2008-03-05T01:23:00.000-08:00

They already knew those who are lucky enough souls to more PC Perspective had their U2E very clean, but now it is up to the fact gawking Unboxing achievements, as the story of an examination of good faith? Fortunately, ASUS 'ultraportable 11 inches is, in fact, the last to be lappie through the proverbial rhythms, and as planned, they executed, like a box - in the view that wee's size, of course. The machine has no risk of explosion through benchmarking meetings or whatever, but once again, it was never designed to your primary platform game, when the Off-position to a LAN party. All in all, it is very commentators (and we emphasize very) small, to complain, and even went up to speak, "one of the best notebooks to touch ultra-mobile market, never." No. Quite excited about the MacBook Air X300 or Lenovo? Can be used with all the means that are already in this context to read, a little love - are the chances U2E everything is what the doctor has ordered.

Toshiba: "no plans" to adopt Blu-ray

2008-02-19T01:50:00.000-08:00

In the Q & A session following Toshiba HD-DVD-dumping case in Japan, Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation has an unpleasant surprise announcement. Although it is still used for the standard DVD, they have "no plan at all at this moment" to take the Blu-ray format. He also said that Tosh has no plans for a next-next-gen format. Maybe they just lick their wounds, to HD downloads reality.

Official: HD DVD dead and buried, format war is over

2008-02-19T01:47:00.000-08:00

It's official. Toshiba has just made a statement saying, "it will no longer develop, produce and commercialize HD DVD players and recorders." Cessation of the actor and recorders are targeted for March 2008. Volume production of HD DVD for PC disk drives and games end in the same period. However, Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation does say that Toshiba, "continue to evaluate the position of laptops with integrated HD DVD." Okay, that's it, the war is over format, Blu-ray won. press release after the break.

Update: In addition to stating "no plan" to go Blu-ray during the Q & A, committed Toshiba HD DVD for the storage of record for those with HD DVD recorders. They will be sold online. As for future versions HD DVD, Mr. Nishida could not say, "it's not our business, we can not predict their business." Oh really? Is the lack of new titles on a platform death really so difficult to predict?

Palm Centro now official on AT&T

2008-02-19T01:43:00.000-08:00

Of course, these green buttons are legitimate right - who would have thought? The rumors GSM cut along the Palm Centro is now officially at AT & T in the wake of Sprint expires exclusive, which is a whole new world of customers access to freakishly small (yet strangely adorable) Garnet combined. In contrast to the version Sprint, the Centro GSM EDGE stagnant with the data at a moderately less snappy experience of navigation, if not when, $ 99 to buy your contract is a camera with 1.3 megapixels, microSD slot, Bluetooth 1, 2, support for AT & T's push-to-talk, and a full (good miniaturized) QWERTY keyboard. Then, this tendency of more than white / gray scheme, we have seen?

Nintendo's DS Lite retrofitted into MacBook Air ad

2008-02-19T01:40:00.000-08:00

It is difficult to deny that Apple MacBook Air advertising is quite catchy, and while the DS Lite does not really take off all of the envelope output just as elegantly as the last lappie Cupertino, it is not half bad job representin '. In spoofing awaits you after the jump, you will see a black DS Lite retrofitted in the MBA place, and throughout the text, lighting and overall smoothness is not the original, at least the music is spot-on. Click to see if it yourself.

HP rumored to be prepping UMPC "lifestyle accessory"

2008-02-19T01:38:00.000-08:00

The details are more likely to be undertaken lightly, but if Crave, HP has fallen recently in an informal chit word "cat" it is now their first UMPC was apparently started on the market at the end of spring - this year . The most interesting, HP was saying, "They did not even consider this purchase," and said, "you will like to buy a handphone without a thought." In addition, HP has also loudly seems that the "main areas of improvement" would be in the battery, without surprise, but not received, better than this. Still vague, HP then describes the device as an "accessory lifestyle", which is the "professionals, as well as children and adolescents." Needless to say, that it is a little glory for HP to honor, but at least Crave seems convinced that the device is indeed in the works, we hope to be able to see how things are with us even the machine soon enough.

Concept Alienware Android phone makes our brain, hands hurt

2008-02-17T04:37:00.000-08:00

There is a reason, telephones, which are not removed by PC are similar, and we think that this work designing a fabulous show why. So, look, we are quite cool with Dell and Alienware Alienware production of a device of the mark - especially if it turns, Android, a platform Dell has said that it is very, very curious to see - we do not want, This (or something similar). The morphing keyboard and user interface of size, but we have a very simple, if we buy a new phone: in no case the cursor must be physically exhausting peaks dig into your hands during use. Is that too much to ask?

AKE's BlueCom 102 pocket repeater keeps bikers in sync

2008-02-15T12:27:00.000-08:00

"Actually, there is nothing worse than knowing some helpless soul is addressing to you with absolutely no way to contact you in an incoming call from this strange guy from CIS-430. Okay, maybe it's a stretch, but looking LFS said dilemma to be resolved by their pocket BlueCom 102 repeaters. Basically, this device allows two motorcycle helmets, to communicate with each other via Bluetooth, and, of course, all BT-enabled mobile phone can be mixed. Sadly, a prize for the Installation is not yet known, but it seems as if the repeater itself is separately or as a bundle with a pair of LFS Bluetooth helmets in the not-too-distant future.

HP cancels the iPAQ 610 smartphone in the US ?!

2008-02-14T04:37:00.000-08:00

Ah, iPAQ 610. You were so close and yet ... So far. According to a handful of tipsters, after a series of delays, HP decided to cancel the release of its next Windows Mobile smartphone, 610 (also known as the iPAQ 614, 614c and 600). The company did not give a lot of information, even if they do say that, "because of recent legal problems between providers of mobile phone technology, HP has decided not to offer 610 iPAQ Business Navigator to customers like American expected. " It is unclear whether this means that the phone will be absent from shelves worldwide, but it will not appear on these shores soon.

Shts of Olympus E-430 turn up online?!

2008-02-14T04:32:00.000-08:00

You have to take it with the usual grain of salt, but if a poster on the photo-Forum.net are to be believed, what you are looking over the Olympus is yet to be announced E-430 Digital Camera, apparently a follow-up to the company E-330 DSLR. According to the same shows, it is supposed to be 12 megapixels number, and packs a live-view, flip-out 2.5-inch LCD, a wired remote control option, and slightly more continuous shooting frame rate and that grands crus stamp his predecessor. Of course, the real stand-out feature is that the design, which seemed so close to where it needs to be real, even if we advise you to wait a few official before receiving your word too many hopes.

Microsoft and HP help Disney brings back the House of the Future...

2008-02-14T04:29:00.000-08:00

The Disney parks have been receiving all types of updates in recent times, and the last is the revival of the "House of the Future," which originally opened in 50 years and presented such household space age technology as microwave ovens and plastic furniture. The new attraction avoids the original form from the outside, you see above, for a more classic look, but it is located inside of the action: Disney, Microsoft, HP and spent more than LifeWare $ 15 million on hardware and software designed to give visitors a glimpse of a hyper-connected future. Tech presentations will include home automation, automatic networking, and touch surfaces-based computers, and intelligent devices - all things that designers consider to be five to 10 years. The new House of the Future is set to open in May in Tommorrowland - any guesses how long it takes before someone built a replica complete?

Texas Instruments: almost set to ship Android dev platform

2008-02-14T04:25:00.000-08:00

Android outside of the test platform, we saw earlier this week, Texas Instruments has Android its development platform and running and expects to be able to start shipping to developers - yeah you, programmers who make our dreams come true - Within the next two months. Head over on Engadget Mobile for a look at the end of the details and photos.

Apple reduces iPod / iPhone build rates!! But increases iMac production

2008-02-14T04:21:00.000-08:00

Although Apple has said that it is still on the road to ship 10 2008, as it looks that rumors about the scaled back production, after all true: Several analysts are now reports that the company pulled back iPod Touch, iPhone And MacBook production for Q1. Of course, Apple is known for its channel inventory rather reckless, so it is not known whether this is a permanent decline, or just a reaction to what some analysts are calling "overbuilding" in the 4th Quarter, but there is some good news there - Strong sales of the iMac have led to a projected 35 percent increase in production. You know, the last time the economy soured, Steve promised that Apple "innovation" of the downturn - would say that we have some new MacBook Pros would be a fine start this time around, eh?

NVIDIA / Ageia deal gets officially official

2008-02-14T04:18:00.000-08:00

Well, it's fast - only nine days after the announcement of plans to acquire maker Ageia PhysX, NVIDIA said today that the trade. Still no word on when we might see the NVIDIA Ageia tech with them, but we are going to enjoy these two years, their first Valentine's Day as a ~~happy couple~~ merged entity before we ask the tough questions.

Intel's WiMax Segway takes geek, extreme (Video)

2008-02-13T00:53:00.000-08:00

Pocket protector; check. Horn-rimmed glasses and buttons, collar; check. Now, if only you could find the perfect vehicle for transporting your ass around geek-Mobile World Congress. Enter Intel nerd-edition Segway. The rollers feature a built-in gyro streaming camera, portable WiMAX, and the giant flag so that older fighter jocks you can descend into the crowd. Not that you would be too far from the booths Android prototype anyway, ya? The music video with appropriately dubbed circus after the break.

Astro Systems introduces 56-inch 4K x 2K LCD monitor

2008-02-13T00:49:00.000-08:00

If you thought a 4K x 2K resolution was a bit much for a 82-inch screen, imagine what 3840 x 2160 pixels looks like on a 56-incher. Astro Systems is apparently gearing up to launch the DM-3400 to appease the "needs" (read: extravagant wishes) of digital cinema and broadcast studio customers, and by the looks of it, we have doubts that it will not questions that the completion. This also supports the bad boy of four channels DVI and HD-SDI for some of the view that the Quad-action, and there's also the contrast, brightness and gamma adjustments for each RGB channel. Unfortunately, we have no idea how much art word this beast is the demand, but there is little doubt that this is not one of those "if you ask ..." Type scenarios.

Cineversum BlackWing Three projectors soar in ?!

2008-02-13T00:46:00.000-08:00

With a name like Black Wing, it's gotta good, huh? At least see that to be the case with the latest Cineversum trio Black Wing Three projectors, as these bad boys sports design reminiscent of something terribly directly from the Star Wars galaxy, and a sheet of specs impressed that even Yoda. The entire trio is blessed with a contrast ratio of 30000:1, 1920 x 1080 full HD resolution, two HDMI inputs 1.3, Color Filter Select for a wider color reproduction and a motorized zoom / focus. As for the Pro model, can you everything you expect to see in conjunction with an optional SD-SDI input and 12V trigger board, professional color management tools and VGA compatibility. Finally, the Ultimate ups the ante a touch further with two HDMI 1.3 jacks, Mosquito Noise Reduction Technology and theatre mode for anamorphic 2.35:1 setups. 'Tis a shame that start at £ 8199 (15955), is not it?

Apple TV (take 2).

2008-02-13T00:33:00.000-08:00

We got some good time with Apple take 2 (v2.0) software update at Macworld this year, but now that it is up to us to put the spurs to it. We will be more to the update as we go, but for now, here's what you need to know:

* The update is itself 200 MB and took us less than five minutes to download, but more than ten minutes to install. Our first attempt failed. Also, you used to see the screen that bar loading, it cycles about five times for us.
* Yeah, it is a slick new video it opens.
* Did someone say output 1080p? Oh yes, it is finally activated!
* Yeah, it's officially software version 2.0.
* Although the manual input of your Apple ID with the remote is a pain, movie rentals is quite a wink.
* HD Our film is ready for reading in less than a minute after the start of the download. Very nice.
* The image quality is very good. Not surprising, but good.
* Flickr integration works well (unlike Macworld onstage), but there's no way to aggregate the contact lists of your photos on your ATV. It is based on one single contact, which means that you can only look at your own or any other user photos at once. Kind of bummer in this regard.
* Many more details to be found here and there, as well as a chart instructive of how downloaded.
Official site: www.apple.com

Microsoft VP: "I personally got burnt" by Vista Capable stickers

2008-02-13T00:29:00.000-08:00

The "Vista Capable" sticker consumers certainly caused a lot of confusion, and it looks like it also raised some senior Microsoft execs. According to an internal MS-E-mails introduced as evidence in the ongoing judicial proceedings on the programme, several MS-managers expressed concern that they were misleading people, with the VP of Product Management for Windows say: "I PERSONALLY burned. .. I now have an e-mail machine, $ 2100 "And Jim Allchin say MS had" really botched "program and that it" had to do a better job with our customers. "Of course, the main reason for the confusion The multiple editions of Windows Vista, with different capabilities depending on your hardware, but this is a subtle point, with a sticker - or, as a Microsoft employee acknowledged in an e-mail, "Even a piece of junk qualify "Vista Capable. That is a pretty damning stuff, but the case is not anywhere near resolution yet - the judge has not yet decided whether to certify as a class action, which, as it seems, depends on a technical reading of Microsoft was exactly what advertising Throughout the Vista Capable program. We know in 10 days if the judge has said that it will a decision - we would imagine that the plaintiffs' legal team has a lot more of these e-mails store and if this is the case.

SanDisk 16GB iNAND embedded flash ...

2008-02-11T01:06:00.000-08:00

With the help of some of its new manufacturing processes, SanDisk only doubled the capacity of its existing iNAND flash drive to 16 GB. No, you will not put these bad boys in your laptop. Rather, it is an embedded storage solution with SD interface for mobile phones and similar to MLC NAND, the faster and slower, more expensive and cheaper version of the Flash. Expected for sampling to OEMs / ODMs in Q2 with the iNAND 32GB version comes in the second half of the year.

Motorola's DH01n - DH01 with GPS navigation

2008-02-11T00:46:00.000-08:00

Motorola has just announced a new TV Mobile with GPS and Tele Atlas maps. Think their DH01 (photo), DVB-H television with the addition of navigation systems. Motorola is the light in the details for specs, release and price. As such, we assume that everything else is the same on this personal DVR with 4.3-inch screen.

HTC P3470 is only EDGE, but has GPS !!!

2008-02-11T00:44:00.001-08:00

Europeans looking for a low-end GPS-equipped phone HTC now have another option in the form of the P3470, formerly known as Pharos. While it has only quad-band EDGE and a 200MHz processor, we can at least hope usual complement of a 2 megapixel camera, 256MB ROM / 128MB RAM, microSD, Bluetooth 2.0, and a fairly spacious 2.8-inch QVGA touch flush (to the The Touch). It will be out later this month on Orange in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and the Netherlands, for € 449 ($ 650 - both for low-end price tag).

nanoDAB: portable DAB meets Bluetooth

2008-02-11T00:42:00.000-08:00

This could bugger have announced a bit far in advance, but come September nanoDAB these new users will receive a blow two of the A2DP Bluetooth headset and portable DAB receiver smushed together in a diminutive package. There are also some integration with visual and digital radio services such as mobile applications, but also that the next to us DAB signal a few thousand miles away, we will continue our readers with the foreign carrier lobbying.

Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 "Panel Interface" (Video)

2008-02-11T00:36:00.000-08:00

Ask themselves, what the XPERIA X1's magical mystery "panel interface"? Well, even us. Now, we have a preview courtesy of Sony Ericsson. If these functions quickly in the hand, as in the promotional video Sony Ericsson then perhaps just to something here. You see, what we are after the break.

Apple applies for trademark protection on gaming devices!

2008-02-11T00:33:00.000-08:00

We're gonna not read too much into this just yet, but if everyone's favourite fruit-flavored consumer electronics company files for protection of its mark, as they relate to a wide range of gaming devices, good, we feel you know . The USPTO sniffer dogs on Trademork only in the minds of us has, until recently, on this application from Cupertino, the requests protection of the word "Apple" for products that are classified as "toys, games and toys, namely the hand-held units for playing electronic games; hand-held units for playing video games; stand-alone video game machines, electronic games, which are designed for use with TV receivers only, LCD game machines, electronic learning game machines, toys , battery-powered computer games. "And if you think about it, we see Apple file for a patent video game not too long ago, who knows: perhaps the iPod, iPhone, Apple TV and soon more friends among the ever-expanding Non -- PC ecosystem. Then again, we have heard this rumour in one form or another many times before, and right now the pining for a resurrected Gizmondo already give us enough headaches.

Plextor releases two Blu-ray / HD DVD combo drives

2008-02-08T00:11:00.000-08:00

Although we hope that the format war is shuddering at the end, it is probably still wise to hedge your bets just a little - and Plextor has two new SATA Blu-ray / HD-DVD combo drives. The new PX-B920SA writes BD-R at 4x speeds, 16x DVD and CD-R 40x, and read HD-DVD, while the lower end PX-B300SA drop of the BD-R capabilities and writes to DVD and CD . Plextor says both drives will be available at the end of the month, but unfortunately, we have no pricing information.

Read from official site www.plextor-europe.com:
Read - PX-B920SA
Read - PX-B300SA

Japan's space agency planning space-based solar power arrays !

2008-02-08T00:08:00.000-08:00

We have seen are a few fairly solar installations, but JAXA, the Japanese Space Agency is to really too far with his latest project: a space-based solar cell, the carrier power back to Earth. The Agency is beginning tests on the microwave power transmission at 20 February, with an attempt to beam enough power over the 2.4-GHz band to power a household heating to 50 metres (164 feet). This is certainly not the kind of large-scale projects sci-fi power system, we were hoping, but not fret - if the tests are successful, JAXA's plan is ultimately a constellation of satellites suns, each beaming power to a 1, 8-mile wide angle receiving station that you produce 1 gigawatt of electricity and power 500000 homes.

Ford offers 2009 F-150 with in-dash computer, printer, EVDO, GPS, and RFID tool tracking

2008-02-06T01:14:00.000-08:00

Our dirty, hairier over autoblog sisters had the chance to get close and personal with a 2009 Ford F-150 at the Chicago Auto Show. A remarkable gadget ruffians, and those of you who identify themselves as such in the S trek to the social ice is Ford's new "Work-solutions". It has a Microsoft Sync-hyphen-powered computer (with a wireless keyboard, Bluetooth printers, 6.5-inch touch-screen) by Magneti Marelli with built Sprint and Mobile and Broadband Garmin GPS. It also offers an RFID system link tool built in partnership with DEWALT and Thing Magic for a real-time inventory of your RFID-tagged tools. The FWS option on all 2009 F-150 XL, STX, XLT, FX4 trucks, F-Series Super Duty XL, XLT, FX4 trucks, and all 2009 E-Series vans. FWS couple with Sony 700 watt, 5.1-channel, 10-speaker system and Sirius link travel options already announced for the F-150, and we might have to Engadget Mansion mobile. Video after the break.

Sony's tiny XDV-D500 and XDV-G200 Bravia TVs

2008-02-06T01:08:00.000-08:00

Let's break it down-TV junkie. Sony's new ¥ 38,000 (about $ 355) XDV-D500 consists of a 3-inch, 432 x 240 pixel display with 160-degree viewing angle, contrast 500:1, and a battery capable of about 8-hour TV reception . It can even up to 10 hours after the scheduled programming to 2 GB of internal memory. The itty bittier XDV-G200 offers a 2-inch LCD at the show, AM / FM radio, then the trenches EPG and recording function. This is no less than Japan, so that these rates to receive digital TV 1Seg - in other words, you can import your fantasies kiss goodbye.

Yet another perpetual motion machine fails to prove anything

2008-02-06T01:02:00.000-08:00

We want to believe we really do, but these attempts failed and poorly lit basement videos are not exactly induce confidence. Nevertheless, Thane Heins' Perepiteia generator has reportedly made its way to a number of universities and laboratories across America, and while some viewers have to admit that "it works", none have been able to secure the underlying theories . No need to keep dashing your dreams - click on a video for greater understanding of something (but unfortunately not), "perpetual motion".

Wow, The gigantic "HTC Magnum" is convenient

2008-02-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

We are not really sure what to make of this alleged HTC "Magnum" who have been making the rounds today. Sure, it looks like a huge, touchscreen HTC telephone - but we would be hard-pressed to say any use outside of the demo purposes and party-time hijinks. Our guess is that this is a funny string interblogs meant for the thrill, but it is possible that HTC has decided to move away from the proven handheld market to a robust, masculine product line. As a participant in a cat-fight, we will not "there" on the details, suffice to say, it sounds really, really real. Turn on the video after the break to see the "phone" does its thing, Ten Commandments-style.

Teclast T50 PMP offers capacitive multitouch

2008-02-06T00:57:00.000-08:00

Teclast always turned some acceptable-if not spectacular-PGR, and his last, T50, is basically the same thing - but adds, in a capacitive multitouch display. Apart from the details are not very detailed - and the stereotype of renderiffic enough - there is not much to assess, but the RVVB promised FLV, and double independent processors is the audio - to examine whether he ever hits our Rives.

Made-to-order cellphones: dubious quality included free of charge

2008-02-06T00:49:00.000-08:00

If you are like us, you probably already thought of the "perfect" phone in your head a few hundred times, hoping that you could just convince someone to do it for you. Well, now you have your chance thanks to the zzzPhone unfortunately, the name that inspires fantasies of a long nap rather than high-tech gadgets. According to the company's site, you can build your own tailor-made device, using "the same high quality components that the major brands Nokia, Motorola, Palm, and Samsung." Of course, the major labels do not offer actual MP3 and video files pre-installed on your device - that make our copyright struck red sensors. Of course, the phone seems to emanate from a dubious Shenzhen in manufacturing, but once you see all the succulent options available to you, your ethical concerns will melt away like ice on the hot apple pie.

Polymer Vision's Readius e-ink phone coming mid-2008 to Italy !

2008-02-04T00:29:00.000-08:00

It seemed obvious, in mid-December last year Polymer Vision, which was not its going to nail timetable for the production of versions of 3G-equipped and-ink wonder known as the Readius. Word is now that the company will have a commercial version of the phone / e-reader book sometimes available in mid-2008 in Italy by Telecom Italy - provided that all goes according to his diabolical plans. If you remember, the device has a folding, grayscale, 5-inch QVGA display, and boasts a number of features, including HSDPA, an ARM CPU to 400 MHz, and a battery life up to six times most current mobile phones. We admit that we are intrigued, but not make us wait too long here, okay?

Google questions Microsoft's bid for Yahoo!

2008-02-04T00:18:00.000-08:00

It should not surprise readers that the folks at Google may not be totally stoked about the possibilities of a merger of Microsoft and Yahoo. If you are unsure of where the company was on the question, you can now get clued in thanks to a post on the official Google blog earlier today. David Drummond, senior vice president of business development (and society chief legal officer) said he was concerned about the acquisition of Internet portal by a society that has "often sought to establish exclusive monopolies "could" extend the unfair practices of browsers and operating systems, the Internet. " His areas of interest around the possibility that the combination of the two monoliths could "unfairly limit the ability of consumers to have free access to competitors email, and instant messaging services on the Internet." Certainly, Google has a little more interest in seeing fair play on the net (must keep advertising revenues up), but it is serious reflection nonetheless.

Update: It seems that the war of words is really starting to warm up. Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, issued its own statement soon, we say that Google has a lot more market when it comes to the Internet as a combined search from Microsoft and Yahoo! Could perhaps, and then proceed to explain that the Redmond giant is "committed to openness, innovation and the protection of privacy." Uh, what you say Brad.

PSP slim gets super-hackable ...

2008-02-04T00:13:00.000-08:00

PSP hackers will probably be pleased to learn that the next step was allegedly taken by homebrew Dark_AleX hacker, who claims (with video!) To have the original and most modifiable PSP firmware ever, v1.50, the race on new material slim PSP. YouTube clip is shown after the break, take it as you want, but c'mon, this is a possibility.
Watch video!!!

JVC intros GR-D870 miniDV camcorder with 35x zoom

2008-02-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

We have already seen the announcement of the foreign palm JVC GR-D850 friendly, but now it appears that the firm is making it official here in the United States of A with a little (and we stress "slightly" ) more advanced brother. The GR-D870 High-Band Digital Video Camera contains the same 1/6-inch 680k pixels CCD, 35x optical zoom, 2.7-inch LCD monitor, DV in / out and 3D Noise reduction, but in place measures as either little by throwing in a SD / MMC card slot for digital still snapping (up to 640 x 480) while recording footage to miniDV. So yes, there's nothing to get too antsy topic or something, but the GR-D870 can be appealed immediately for a nickel under $ 250, while the GR-D850 you will take $ 20 less.

Elliptic Labs shows off touchless interface for 3D navigation!

2008-02-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

We have seen (but not considered for obvious reasons), a little contact before interfaces, but the latest development from Elliptic Labs is a real treat. Dubbed a "contact man-machine user interface for navigation 3D", the firm has somehow figured out how mere mortals in order to manipulate images on the screen without the need for any kind funky gloves to wear a bullet or to be placed on your finger. Unfortunately, nothing is said about the technology behind the magic, but do not worry, the video waiting after the jump should provide great satisfaction.

Wow, Maxablaster mega-flashlight is a step away from lightsaber

2008-02-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

You thought the glasses did nothing before? Shine the 38 million candles and watch Maxablaster faces melt like Raiders of the Lost Ark style concentrated mercury as part of its Plasma Arc 54 bulb powered by a battery. At present, it only makes the project a pet Dutch engineer named Ralf Ottow, for what is probably the best, because it would be much more effective on drilling holes in concrete than any scene lighting.

Skype plugin for Apple TV released ...

2008-02-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Remember that Skype plugin was written to run natively on Apple TV? It was released today, and get it while the gettin's good, because we do not expect any of these hacks continue to work after the upgrade will take 2 ousted in the near future. Let us know how it is, would you?

Microsoft's "Vista for privacy" offer still on? It's FREE?!

2008-02-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

Details are still unclear at this stage, but, according to an e-mail received by many tipsters, Microsoft is actually offering a free copy of Vista, in exchange for their privacy. Yeah, even though it claims otherwise end of last year. According to the note, Redmond is the posting of these people as' subscribers' Windows Feedback Program, and if they keep their guard down for the remainder of a three-month period, they seem to receive a copy of its latest system Operating gratis. So all the others unexpectedly find a message about the Big M said offer? Let us know in the comments below, especially if you get products free or keylogging reports previously analysed.

Windows Mobile 6.1 gets played with, shown off !

2008-02-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

Unlike Windows Mobile 6.1 is a mystery to elaborate or anything - heck, we still have to know all the improvements it is intended to make - but there's nothing like a bucket surrounded by the screenshots machine translation of the opinions that really rekindle enthusiasm. Of course, people increasingly PocketPT were able to get ahold of the software and to show how it has received web page zooming, threaded conversations SMS and Office 2007 documents. Still not convinced? Go read and click - you sceptical you.

Lite-On's Moldable, amazing mouse, takes whatever shape you want !!!

2008-02-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

Finally a mouse for you. Thanks to the folks at Lite-On, you will no longer have to suffer the inconvenience of a debilitating unshapely mouse ever. The Mouse will Moldable all your bad memories of ill-fitting input devices float away, using modeling clay combined with a lightweight nylon fabric and polyurethane to form its surface. Once you are palming your new best friend, you can shape the contours of whatever form you want, even if we are almost sure to make a perfect cube present a challenge. The "stick" buttons and scroll wheel can be placed anywhere you like, and communicate via RFID. The thing won a design award and Red Dot ... But soon? Probably not.

I, think it's very interesting mouse! How do you think?? Please live your comment!

Eazo desktops offer ultra-luxe style at merely super-luxe prices

2008-01-31T01:08:00.000-08:00

For those of you too cheap to pony up $ 700000 for the diamond encrusted Jupiter desktop, we saw yesterday, China is willing to throw the Eazo luxury for less than a tenth of the price - which means yet the X70, shown here, stil costs $ 45500, but good. The machine has a distinctive character 3GHz Q9550 Quad Core 2, two NVIDIA 8800GTX graphics cards, 4 GB RAM, light coolant, a 150GB disk 10000rpm supported by a 7200rpm drive 500 GB, 7.1-channel sound, and Vista Ultimate, all wrapped in an easy to access with tyres case hinges. Of course, you can set up systems to measure well past the $ 70K mark (and just $ 9K), but if you are not satisfied with this stock configuration, you can try yoga or something, M . Power hungry. Check a bunch more shots bellow.

Click for see big images!!!

Sony's game division finally turns a profit -- sells 4.9M PS3s in Q3 !!

2008-01-31T01:04:00.000-08:00

After months of bleeding red, the games division of Sony has finally turned a profit last quarter. Sony has sold 4.9 million PS3s console last quarter after slashing prices, stimulate game titles, and reducing production costs internally. Of course, we are sure Wii shortage is not hurting Sony's bottom line either. Sony would drop its goal of annual sales PS3s from 11 million to 9.5 million (citing a slow start), while raising projections PSP to 13 million 10 million as originally planned. Sony's fiscal year ends in March. Overall, Sony profits rose by 25% for the quarter. Welcome back to black Sony, a long time ago to come.

Sigma's DP1: a DSLR in a compact's body (almost) shipping this Spring

2008-01-31T01:01:00.000-08:00

Why Hello Darlin. "As we had hoped, Sigma DP1 had me set time of release. Coming spring, we finally see what 14-megapixel sensor FOVEON X3 found in the Sigma SD14 DSLR can enter the body d A compact. It is roughly 7 up to 12 times larger than the sensor is not in the ordinary pacts. The biggest compromise, however, is the objective. a solid, 16.6 mm F4 lens designed exclusively for the enlightened DP1 each pixel to 7.8 μ m, 20, 7 x 13.8 mm sensor. If you are then rounded Thursday are the things Sigma's new "True" engine for image processing, LCD display 2.5-inch, pop-up flash Manual, Huf, manually or 9 points Autofocus mode, and the registration of a QVGA screen for SD cards. All of this in a 4.5 x 2.3 x 2-inch body weighs 8.5 ounces. we are always fascinated.

IOGear busts out a wireless USB CardBus adapter

2008-01-31T00:58:00.000-08:00

We are not sure making a huge investment in Cardbus adapters is the wisest financial decisions you can make, but if you want to add a bit of action Wireless USB to your lappy older in most upgrade-unfriendly possible way, IOGear's got you Covered. The new adapter Cardbus WUSB not about what you can expect, but does not yet have a price or availability details. However, unless you have an overwhelming need to eventually use this empty slot, we recommend that you stick with one of the many USB-to-WUSB passed dongles on the market.

Sony upgrades CS1 geotagger for video, drops some printers ...

2008-01-31T00:44:00.001-08:00

Geotaggers, take note: PMA today with Sony modernizes its GPS unit CS1 in support geotagging video through new versions of its Motion Picture Browser Software Tracker and the image, giving it a cuff, and rename All the GPS-CS1KASP. (It again next month for $ 150.) Also happening tonight are two new dye-sub printers, the FP95 and FP75, which will run $ 200 and $ 150 in April, and functionality 3.6 and 3.5-inch displays, respectively, HDMI, and a filter function on 95 for kooky effects like fish-eye and sepia.

New Pasen F10 PMP rips off both the iTunes and WMP icons

2008-01-31T00:41:00.000-08:00

Normally, we run-of-the-mill as PGR Pasen via F10, but we had to stop and to appoint, in stark both for the use of iTunes and WMP symbols here - even Pasen of history, that's a little gross. Come on guys, F10, presents itself as a solid young players - 2.6-inch 400 x 240 display, MP3 / AAC / FLAC / DivX / XviD / RMVB support, the 0.2-inch thick - why not try, which competition saddling with the device of KIRFdom not relevant? Argh, must go to bed.

Kodak intros EasyShare Z1012 IS: 10-megapixels, 12x zoomer

2008-01-31T00:36:00.000-08:00

Yeah, Kodak is a bit slow with his pre-LDC goods, but hardly better than the smallest nothin ', not? Here, we firmly megazoom the last, the EasyShare Z1012 IS, the steps taken over the CES-Z1085 is offered, where a 10-megapixel sensor and a 12bay optical zoom. Apparently, this game of shoot in a sports chassis so small, "in the hand (all hands?)," And in cases where the "IS" is not it is not on, you can also wait Stabilization - Optical Image Stabilizer Chem . In addition, up to ISO 3200, a programme, priority aperture and shutter speed (also known as "full hands") and with regard to the technology to detect, for good measure. What is clear, the price is $ 299.95, which is not so obvious is the date of issue - Search for some time "in the first half of 2008."

Nokia's Comes with Music revenue to be shared with operators

2008-01-28T06:08:00.000-08:00

Remember Nokia's Comes with the Music (CWM) service? The service, which includes a full year of DRM'd music download for free with the purchase of a cell phone MCG. So far, Nokia has refused to comment on the financial details of the service. Important as "free" should be something other than free music with the costs of perfectly slide in the price of the aircraft, the carrier data plan, or both. In an interview published by Bloomberg, Tero Ojanpera, executive vice president of Nokia, discussed CWM and said that, "In cases where we are cooperating with the operators, there will be an arrangement so that they can get a piece." Something Nokia previously referred to by the chief executive officer in December. Still no word, beyond Universal, will offer their music on the new service or how much the new aircraft will be consolidated cost. Ojanpera not repeat that MCG will not be available on Nokia handsets. For its part, Universal contends that DRM is a component of the service - a potential deal-breaker if this limit your DRM CWM downloads to a single device and the PC for eternity.

Blu-ray to win in 2008, HD DVD price cuts are "useless resistance" ...

2008-01-28T06:03:00.000-08:00

Gartner, the fat lady of the research, is the song of the HD DVD swan song this morning. Hiroyuki Shimizu, Senior Research Analyst in Japan, says Gartner Semiconductor DQ's Monday Report, "Gartner believes that the price cuts Toshiba HD DVD can extend the life of a small, but the limited line-up of film titles will inflict fatal damage on the format. "He goes on to call the recent price cuts" unnecessary resistance "to avoid the inevitable. What is it, you ask coyly? According to Shimizu," Gartner expects that by the end of 2008, the Blu-ray format will be the winner in the consumer market, and the war is over. "With 5 of 7 major studios now backing Blu-ray exclusively, Gartner's certainty on the subject does not appear to be very extensive.

CybertronPC CM900 !

2008-01-28T05:55:00.000-08:00

Certainly, it looks like the Eee, it sports the same as the CPU Eee, heck, it appears to use the same Eee's OS - but this is the CM900! What does that mean? Well for a start, you will have more money to pay less computer ($ 349.99 for a system of 2GB, the same price for a 4GB ASUS) ... But it goes without saying that you should CybertronPC name to fall back on. Frankly, we would say that it was a rebrand if it were minor differences in the specifications, and who knows - maybe it is. If not, however, is the offingest knock-knock-off, we have seen in a good long while. Far be it from us to condemn CybertronPC gang to try to secure the gettin's good, but perhaps the next time these guys could at least give us a fair shake on the storage / breakdown?

HTC Kaiser fans cough up over $5,000 for homebrew video drivers !

2008-01-28T04:32:00.000-08:00

Of course, it seemed that we had heard the end of the story on phones HTC and the case of the missing drivers, but most of the cats in this forum xda-developers have something else in mind. There is currently a $ 5199.51 bounty offers from various members of the group for a hacker (or hackers), which can produce drivers to obtain their Kaisers' Direct 3D to the height, which increases the capabilities of the video phone. If you followed the case, you know that HTC has essentially stonewalled users looking for an upgrade of their machines weak, and suggested that if customers want improved performance video, they should turn to the future rather than equipment for updates on their current models. Clearly owners seek to take matters into their own hands - and they are willing to pay for it. We can not wait to see what they have just put in place, and if someone there has the ability and time, here's a pile of cash that could be yours.

New smartphone Asus M530W (+video)

2008-01-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

Italian Cellulare Magazine website posted video, which will be interesting wishing to purchase Asus M530W smartphone. Roller made in a popular format in the west extract from the "box", which apart from the extraction and includes a quick look at the device. This is a video you can see prosledovav the link below.

Recall that Asus M530W executed in a form-factor monoblock with the QWERTY keyboard. Smartphone is able to work with standard GSM networks-900/1800/1900 MHz and UMTS / HSDPA 2100 MHz, and its equipment includes 2 megapixel camera, USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0. Works machine running under OS Windows Mobile 6.

iRiver SPINN - a new portable media players ...

2008-01-19T16:35:00.000-08:00

The company submitted its new iRiver portable media players under the code name SPINN. Novelty has a very stylish design, and is aimed at young people. In iRiver SPINN equipment includes 3.2-inch touch display, where you can watch video, images, and manage your music.

If you are not comfortable with using touch screen display, the iRiver SPINN there is an alternative analog controller to manage. Among other features news is that there microphone technology and support Bluetooth wireless data transmission.

iRiver SPINN will be available in versions with 4 GB, 8 GB and 16 GB of memory built. The cost and date of occurrence Sales are still unknown.

Nasa investigates virtual space ...

2008-01-19T16:28:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Space Agency is considering the possibility of developing a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game.

The virtual world is designed for students and "real NASA missions of technology and science."

The agency has a "request for information (RFI) from organizations in the development of the platform.

Nasa believe that the game can be found, it should help the next generation of scientists and engineers responsible for the fulfillment of his vision of the exploration of outer space ".

"A synthesis of high-quality games is an essential element of education cyberstructure NASA," the bed of the RFI.

"The MMO encourages the exploration of the possibilities for a career in a way much deeper than write, and could be a fraction of the time and cost of an internship program."

Space mission

NASA already has a presence in the virtual world in 3D.

The agency has an island in Second Life, where individuals and groups with an interest in the space program can meet, exchange ideas and the conduct of experiments.

Artist's print astronauts on Mars
Nasa want a realistic training environment

CoLab, as it is called, is the invention of the scientists at the NASA Ames Research Center in San Francisco.

The agency hopes that the environment one day be used to allow the public to the tasks and book.

"We at NASA worked to create opportunities for what I might call the exploration participatory," the project director, Simon Worden said.

"We are investigating how this island is a portal for all to fly along the space," he told the delegates of the National Space Society (NSS) Conference last year.

"If the people in the next stage on the surface of the moon in just over a decade, the avatar can be with them," he said.

The last proposal was developed by the NASA's Learning Technologies Project Office, supported and developed projects for the promotion of education in science and technology.

Job seeker

The document confirmed that the games will be increasingly important in education, and could be useful to the formation of a whole set of skills.

"Virtual worlds with scientifically accurate simulations so that the learners to tinker with the chemical reactions in living cells, the exploitative practices and the repair more expensive, and the experience in micro-gravity," he says.

The document calls for a game machine includes a powerful physical abilities "," support precisely in the game of testing and research. "

"An MMO from NASA, the possibility could give the students the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the ways in which career and is involved in the game-play".

Other organizations, such as the US armed forces are already using the online games as a recruiting tool.

America's Army, for example, the player for the "seven Army Values", and now claims that one of the "most popular games in the world".

NASA has raised concerns among interested organizations to meet the demand of 15 February.

Digital T-shirts with a built-LED display

2008-01-07T07:34:00.000-08:00

Today buyers are offered only two types of T-shirts: black and white (yuniseks and female respectively). In an internal pocket T-shirts into the display with screen size 7 * 21 points. Each point is a small LED (LED). Tsifrobukvennye show displays up to 8 messages up to 255 characters each. Messages can rotate in any direction vertically and horizontally, blink, "frozen" and so on.

Messages imposed by the three keys, which are located on the back of the displays. Despite the fact that only three keys, enter messages easily and quickly enough.

The distinguishing feature displays: on the reverse side, they have infrared port to connect to the computer. Thus, in addition to manual entry of a computer possible. It is anticipated that the wear T-shirts, anyone can write your message, or the desire, which wants it reads:
"What's your name?"
"My phone - 1234567"
"If you wanna have fun - ask me how!"
"Poyekhali, sweet, go!"
"Otvezite me at: ul.Stroiteley, 3."

Especially popular in Europe using data from the T-shirts advertising companies for the PR-shares and nightclubs. Specially invited option for a built-in rechargeable battery display. Since the display is easy to remove from the inner pocket, T-shirts can wash as usual.

In the end, the company promises to release to the market displays larger (12 * 23), allowing not only display text, but to download animated pictures. Some versions of images will be supplied in the bundle. The most creative people will be able to paint these pictures in the usual photo editor and upload them to the display via a USB cable.

Watches Hyundai W100: a mobile phone, 1.3 MP camera, a touch screen, stereo Bluetooth, MP3 player…

2008-01-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

Internet portal posted PhoneDaily host information with "live" pictures of one very interesting product in the wireless industry: watches Hyundai W100:

These watches are interesting primarily because it is nothing else than is currently the most mobile phone.

The presence of one phone is not limited to those hours, and among other things has 1.3 MP camera - brick kit "Agent 007":

Besides photos, Hyundai W100 can do and videos in solving 176 h144 points and reproduce them on an embedded 1.3 - inch screen. The small size hours apparently forced the developers to abandon the deployment of a full keyboard. In substitutions, the phone-watch Hyundai W100 zaimel touch display, which displays a virtual keyboard, which actually serves to recruit and telephone number:

At the Above all functionality of the phone does not stop, and as almost all modern mobile phones has built a music player and support microSD memory card format, which is inserted sideways hours (SIM card is located under the rear lid, which serves as a battery):

But that's not all: for reproduction of musical compositions owner of the data can take hours Bluetooth wireless technology, in stereo, thanks to the support of A2DP profile.

EBay to Try Again in Japan by Using Help From Yahoo ...

2007-12-04T01:02:00.000-08:00

TOKYO, Tuesday, Dec. 4 (Reuters) — EBay and Yahoo Japan said Tuesday that they would link up their auction sites to make cross-border bidding easier, in a deal that will give eBay, the American auction titan, another chance to woo Japanese consumers.

Shares in Yahoo Japan, owner of the nation’s biggest auction Web site, rose 3.9 percent to 56,400 yen on news of the deal.

EBay withdrew from Japan in 2002 after only two years, a rare failure for the company, after struggling to make inroads in a market where Yahoo Japan and Rakuten already operated well-established sites.

EBay and Yahoo Japan, which together have about 4 trillion yen ($36 billion) in annual successful bids, will first start a Japanese-language site on which Yahoo Japan users can bid for eBay items, spokesmen from the two firms said. The companies said they would call the site Sekaimon or “gateway to the world.”

Yahoo Japan, which estimates it has more than half of the online auction market in Japan, is about one-third owned by Yahoo and 40 percent by the Softbank Corporation. Softbank’s shares gained 2.1 percent, to 2,665 yen.

EBay has been seeking local partners to bolster its Asian operations in the face of mounting competition.

In China, it is working on a joint venture with the TOM Group’s TOM Online to compete against Alibaba.com. In Thailand, it plans to start a joint site with a domestic partner, Sanook.

Yahoo Japan said Shop Airlines, a unit of the online sales services firm NetPrice, would manage the site, payment services, customs clearance and delivery.

AMD hopes for quick return to profit...

2007-12-03T04:19:00.000-08:00

AMD sees pricing in the chip market remaining competitive and aims to return to profitability soon, chief executive Hector Ruiz said on Thursday.

AMD, the number-two maker of chips, controls about a fifth of the market for the CPUs at the heart of the world's one billion personal computers and servers.

It has been locked in a price war with market leader Intel and has reported four straight quarters of net losses.

"The good news is that for consumers, prices keep going down," Ruiz told reporters after inaugurating a R&D facility in Bangalore, which is India's technology hub.

"The bad news is we always have to figure out how to still do that and hopefully make money. It's a very competitive industry and I don't see pricing being anything but competitive in any segment in this industry," Ruiz said.

Last month, AMD posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss of $396m (£191m) on higher sales of chips for notebooks and signalled that the brutal price war with larger rival Intel had abated.

Ruiz said AMD aims to return to profitability soon.

"That is our number-one goal right now," Ruiz said.

AMD is a technical partner in Indian semiconductor consortium SemIndia, which plans to set up a chipmaking facility with an investment of $3bn over the next five years. Intel had initially shown interest in making chips in India, but pulled out due to delays in India releasing its guidelines.

Sony and others to promote FeliCa cards...

2007-12-03T04:15:00.000-08:00

Sony said that it and four other Japanese companies would set up a joint venture to promote the use of FeliCa contactless cards, used for ticketing and electronic money transactions.

The joint venture, which includes trading house Mitsui & Co and printing and electronics components company Dai Nippon Printing, will be established in January with capitalisation of ¥400m (£1.7m). Sony will take a 60 percent stake, it said.

Plastic cards equipped with Sony's FeliCa chips, which can be scanned for data transfers, are used widely in Japan and other Asian countries, including China and Singapore. Sony has shipped more than 250 million FeliCa chips since 1996.

In Japan, electronics makers put the chips in mobile phones, turning handsets into e-wallets and e-tickets.

In the UK, mobile operator O2 is working with handset manufacturer Nokia and Transport for London on a six-month e-ticketing trial, which will allow travellers in London to use their mobile phone in place of an Oyster card. The system may in future be extended to give users the ability to pay sums of up to £10 simply by swiping their mobile phone over a card reader.

Microsoft plans 'mega data centre' in Ireland...

2007-12-03T04:11:00.000-08:00

Microsoft said that it will spend $500m (£239m) on building a new European data-processing centre in Ireland.

Microsoft said in a statement that the planned Dublin centre will house tens of thousands of servers providing information and web-based applications to internet users.

Construction will begin later this month, with the centre expected to be completed by 2009.

"This is the first 'mega data centre' deployment outside the US specifically targeted for the growth and performance of Windows Live services," said John Mangelaars, vice president of Microsoft's EMEA Online Services Group.

The software giant said an additional "substantial" investment is planned to help fund the centre's server technology.

The 51,000 square-metre facility will deliver Windows Live services and store data for the company's online-services businesses, such as MSN and Windows Live.

Peru signs up for 260,000 OLPC laptops...

2007-12-03T04:10:00.000-08:00

One month after the One Laptop Per Child charity went into mass production with its $188 laptop, the Peruvian government has signed a contract to purchase 260,000 units.

Nicholas Negroponte, an MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) professor and founder of the project, announced the deal on Saturday. He also revealed that Mexican billionaire and long-time friend, Carlos Slim, had ordered 50,000 units for distribution in Mexico.

In November, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) charity contracted Taiwan's Quanta Computer to start producing the green-and-white computer in its new Changshu manufacturing centre, which is located north-west of Shanghai.

The first countries to place mass orders for the rugged green-and-white laptops were Uruguay and Mongolia.

Ivan Krstić, the director of security architecture for the OLPC project, has said that Uruguayan water and mobile-phone utility companies have allowed the organisation to plant wireless access points on existing towers to facilitate the laptop's use.

News Burst: Hi-tech car robbers using infra-red.

2007-12-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

The victim of the latest such break-in has reported to police that an intruder managed to open the door to his remotely-locked Jaguar in order to rob him of his Rolex watch.

Wireless security specialist at Oceanus Security, John Everett, confirms that the technology required to remotely de-activate a car's central looking system not only exists but is also widely available.

"In theory you could intercept any infra red message and then copy it in order to break into a car. The technology needed to do this is also probably commercially available as it operates at a fairly low frequency range."

UK government accuses Chinese of IT espionage

2007-12-03T03:49:00.000-08:00

The U.K. government has accused the Chinese of hacking into the computer systems of some of its leading companies, according reports published by the English press over the weekend.

According to The Times, the Director-General of intelligence agency MI5, Jonathan Evans, sent a confidential letter to 300 chief executives and security chiefs at financial institutions and legal firms last week warning them that they were under attack from Chinese state organizations.

The summary of the letter, which was posted (securely) on the Web site of the Centre for the Protection of the National Infrastructure, warned its recipients of the "electronic espionage attack."

"The contents of the letter highlight the following: the Director-General's concerns about the possible damage to U.K. business resulting from electronic attack sponsored by Chinese state organizations, and the fact that the attacks are designed to defeat best-practice IT security systems.

"The letter acknowledges the strong economic and commercial reasons to do business with China, but the need to ensure management of the risks involved."

According to one security expert quoted in the Times article, one of the techniques used by the Chinese groups were "custom Trojans," software designed to hack into the network of a particular firm and feed back confidential data.

The MI5 Web site acknowledges the U.K. is a high-priority espionage target.

"We estimate that at least 20 foreign intelligence services are operating to some degree against U.K. interests. Of greatest concern are the Russians and Chinese," it said.