Boot Camp Supports Vista

It appears, that Apple's Boot Camp Version 1.2, now supports Microsoft Windows Vista. Yet another reason, for me, to consider buying an Intel CoreDuo Mac... I've been playing with my recently restored OS-X based PowerMac, back at the office. I'm impressed and happy, with how well the system now works, especially after we had the faulty power supply replaced. I'm thinking of exchanging the stupid mac mouse with a two button mouse, having tried one on the Mac. I like the context sensitive menus offered with the right mouse button but I haven't tried the Mighty Mouse yet... Apple insists on reinventing everything, so I'll have to give one a try, before making any final decisions...

Deepfish - IE for Mobiles

Microsoft have unveiled the first public beta offering of their 'Deepfish' internet browser for mobile devices. It re-renders web pages to a graphical proxy of the web page with its original formatting intact. Using Deepfish this page can be zoomed into, scrolled around and the links clicked on and activated making this a more familiar experience for users. The public version of this release of Deepfish was fully subscribed, and in very short order, so those of you interested in trying it out, will have to wait a little while longer. Visit Deepfish for more info...

Toms Hardware Compares Processors

Tom Hardware have produced a comparative study of several 2.4 Ghz processors. This ranges from Pentium 4 processors, AMDs, Athlons to the latest multi core precessors from Intel. The results are interesting in that althought the newer processors are certainly faster, the only real gains and noticable gains in processing with multi core solutions are for those doing number crunching with 3D Apps that are designed to take advantage of these processors. The comparison can be found here.

Spotlight On . . . Nikon CaptureNX

CaptureNX is a non-destructive RAW photo processor developed specifically for Nikon by Nik Software. CaptureNX runs on Windows XP, Vista and Mac OS X Tiger. Experienced digital photographers use a consistent process after every photo shoot. Copy photos from camera to computer; cull and delete the junk; tag, rank and sort; adjust white balance, brightness, color, etc., as needed; convert to TIFF or JPEG and file everything away; back up all the files; crop, adjust, alter and otherwise process selected shots. Using a consistent digital photo workflow often requires a couple of different programs to get everything done. For many serious Nikon photographers, CaptureNX is the software of choice for getting RAW photos through the crucially important initial workflow processes. I found that CaptureNX actually does a better job of handling dynamic lighting, sharpening and noise reduction than Photoshop CS2. A few problems have crept into NX which did not exist in the previous version (4.x). The Windows version is a slowpoke unless you've got a real fast dual core system with 4GB of RAM. The Mac OS X version is noticeably faster at thumbnail rendering, screen draws and editor updates among other things. I did some base measurements and found that LAB values don't seem to be converted properly to Adobe RGB. CaptureNX offers something called U Point Color Control Points which let you select image areas to enhance without having to use of masks, selections or layers. The software handles all Nikon digital SLR files (including D80 NEFs). CaptureNX has the potential to be a very good product, but the Windows version is marred by some glaring bugs and a lack of horsepower. 3 out of 5 stars

HTC Shift - UMPC For Mobile Users

At last a UMPC aimed at current users who are using Pocket PCs and other mobile devices. The Shift features a 1024x600, 7 inch, touch screen display, Windows Vista, a 30-gigabyte hard drive, a QWERTY keyboard, Windows Media Player 11, Tri-Band UMTS/HSDPA, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0 and much more ... for more info visit the product page. This is one unit, I'll be looking at, quite seriously...

Samsung Unveil 64GB SSD Drive

Samsungs new 1.8-inch 64GB SSD doubles the capacity of their current SLC NAND-based 32GB SSD, indications are that it's up to 60% faster too. Mass production of this 1.8-inch replacement for hard disks is expected to begin in Q2. Thanks to Engadget for this bit of news...

Adobe CS3 Bundles

Adobe announced their new CS3 configurations. The will consist of the Adobe CS3 Design Standard Collection and also the Adobe CS3 Design Premium Collection. The Adobe CS3 Design Standard collection collects the essentials for print production. The collection includes: InDesign CS3, Photoshop CS3 Standard, and Illustrator CS3, Adobe Acrobat® 8 Professional, and a new CS3 version of Adobe Bridge®, with support for Adobe Version Cue® CS3, Adobe Stock Photos, Adobe Device Central CS3, and Adobe Acrobat Connect™. The Adobe CS3 Design Premium collection is the version for designers who want that extra power. This includes new versions of InDesign® CS3, Illustrator® CS3, and the new Photoshop® CS3 Extended. For Web desing you have the newly Adobefied Dreamweaver® CS3 which supports XHTML. Adobe Flash® CS3 Professional, Which has also been completely rebranded with an interface to match. Prices are estimated at US$1799 for the Premium edition, with upgrade licenses from CS or CS2 for US$599. The Standard edition is expected to be priced at US$1199, with upgrades from earlier CS licenses at US$399. Both editions of the CS 3 Design Collection will require Microsoft® Windows® XP or Windows Vista,™ and a full Universal Binary for Mac OS X running on either the Power PC or Intel® processors. In addition to the bundles, Adobe Photoshop CS3 will ship in two versions and included many new features. The new "Extended" version has all of the features of the standard version of Photoshop CS3, but also features capabilities for 3-D, motion graphics, image measurement and analysis. Both editions are available as stand-alone applications or as part of the Creative Suite 3 Production bundles.Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended will begin shipping in April 2007 for estimated prices of $649 and $999, respectively. For more info visit this page at Adobe.

Spotlight On . . . Edirol R-09 Portable MP3/WAV Digital Recorder

How can a compact, iPod-sized portable digital recorder with a pair of built-in stereo condenser mics possibly be any good for location recording? When it's an Edirol-R09. Holding the lightweight, plasticy device in the palm of your hand does not immediately inspire confidence. A few clean and well defined field recordings will change your mind however. Have students, lawyers, police and news reporters discovered the Edirol-R09 yet? Close examination reveals the presence of a headphone jack and both mic and line-in jacks. The Edirol R-09 can run on its AC adapter or (for hours) on a pair of AA batteries. The LCD user interface that's controlled by the main navigation button pad is highly intuitive, which makes configuration settings (and quick changes on the fly) easy and quick to accomplish. You can record in uncompressed WAV format or in a variety of MP3 quality levels including VBR. I was delighted by the excellent quality of the built-in stereo mics and also pleasantly surprised at the clean input using a Shure condenser mic via the external mic input. The built-in mic sensitivity can be switched between high and low gain. Line-in quality is also very good, offering excellent signal to noise ratio and broad compatibility with a wide range of input signals. Output to headphones and earphones is clean and well modulated. I found no switching noise in any of my recordings; just clean WAV and MP3 files suitable for import into Sound Forge or Audacity or whatever you use for audio editing. If you're looking for a portable digital recorder for almost any application, consider the Edirol-R09. 4 out of 5 stars

R2D2 Trashcan

Ok so it's not tech but what self respecting geek wouldn't want one ... an R2D2 trash can. Apparently several were seen at the Tokyo International Anime Fair. Images can be seen at Akihabaranews.

Dragon's Lair Becomes First Blu-ray Game

Talk about a trip down memory lane. Anyone who lived through the eighties and played arcade games will remember this one. The cartoony sword and sorcery video game that looked like a Disney feature is going to be coming to a Blu-ray player near you. In fact any Blu-ray player which supports Blu-ray Java or BD-J, should be able to play it. Digital Leisure who make Dragon's Lair also plan to release Don Bluth's follow up, Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp and Space Ace in Blu-ray format.

Apple Aren't The Only Ones Having Fun

Perusing the web I was introduced to some excellent spoofs of the Apple vs PC ads, which Apple are using to excess. A series of spoof ads featuring an apple type guy, a PC suit and a big body builder reppin' the Dell XPS are quite entertaining. There are three, so far and I've enjoyed watching them all. Anyone who tells me Macs are more stable and secure is talking out of their nether regions. I've personally had a Mac that has been crashing on me with regularity. In fact it spends more time crashing than running. Yeah it happens, but don't try selling me myths, or elitism either for that matter. They're just machines after all. Watch the XPS vs Apple Ads - XPS VS Apple 1, XPS VS Apple 2 and XPS VS Apple 3.

Spotlight On . . . TextPad v5

Planning on releasing what amounts to a beta version of your software? Don't be surprised when a large number of your loyal product users turn around and bite you. That's exactly what happened when Helios Software released TextPad v5 two weeks ago. There's so much in TextPad v5 that's broken—file associations, copy & paste, and a fumbled basic installation to name but a few—that it's comparatively difficult to use for productive work. Top to bottom Unicode implementation is still nowhere in sight, and even little things such as close gadgets and context menus for document tabs seem to have disappeared. The previous version of TextPad (v4.7.3) was a rock solid, useful text editor offering a wide range of productive applications for programmers, web developers and writers. You could do a lot worse. TextPad v5 does offer an updated user interface, 32-bit and 64-bit operating system compatibility, drag & drop reordering of document tabs, a dockable file explorer, excellent block/column formatting and a few other improvements. But there's so much wrong with v5 that I've uninstalled it. Helios Software says the current release is "the first of a planned series of upgrades" to be released "in the near future." The problem is, I can't wait. I've got work to do right now. So I've decided to take a long overdue run at one of the many excellent text editors I've reviewed for Kickstartnews over the past couple of years. TextPad v5 is most definitely not ready for prime time. 2 out of 5 stars

Samsung Shows 1080P LCDs With Triple HDMI Ports

With multiple devices now vying for the HDMI Inputs on your HDTV LCD, having those extra ports will prove a boon. Just think, You can get one of these baby's from Sammy, and plug in your HDTV Cable or Satellite box, your HD-DVD unit, and your new Blu-ray based Sony Playstation 3. Talk about spoilt for choice ... the new LCD units from Samsung are 40in, 46in and 52in and all feature 1080p native resolution screens with a high 15,000:1 contrast ratio.

International Shutdown Day

For those of you who are interested, today is International Shutdown Day, in a effort to promote environmental awareness, Dennis Bystrov and Michael Taylor, proposed that we all shutdown our PCs today for 24 hours. Yeah like that's going to happen. Did you shut down your PC? I certainly didn't...

Divita Storage Tower

If you own more than 100 CDs and DVDs, and were trying to find a storage solution into which you could put 100 of them into and also be able to access them, then look no further ... The Divita Storage Tower does just that and at only $489 it looks like a steal (steel?). The BlueDot Divita certainly looks the part...

Sony Give Away 100 46" HDTVs

Sony Launched the PS3 in London, by giving away 46" Sony Bravia HDTV's to the first 100 buyers in line at the Virgin Megastore. Lucky so and so's...

Intel Core Processor Challenge ...

Intel have opened up the voting on their PC Design Challenge. The contest intends to inspire innovative design for new home entertainment PCs, powered by the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor, and equipped with Intel® Viiv™ technology. Visit http://www.intelchallenge.com/ to view the entries, some of which are quite cool. My fave is the Art Deco based Decomatic 12b (pictured above) from Slipperyskip Computers. This company makes some very cool looking devices.

Archos And Pink Zune

Digital Audio Player Review have posted links to features on the Archos 404 and 604 media players as well as a Pink Zune. The media player market is hotting up with all sorts of form factors appearing.

New Panasonic Headsets

Akihabaranews announced that Panasonic will be releasing about 16 new headsets. The headsets can be viewed on the Akihabara News website...

New iMac Design Rumoured

Engadget and AppleInsider are reporting that the iMac is possibly undergoing a facelift. The current white panel has been in use for a couple of years, so it'll be interesting to see how this unfolds.

Moonlit Rooms...

I Want One of Those are advertising a new light which shows the cycles of the moon. The light, funnily enough is called the "Moon in My Room" is quite cool looking. and pricewise at 29.95 won't break the bank. It is also available at the Discovery.com shop.

Samsung Unveil A Weatherproof TV

Did I just say weatherproof, maybe they're stretching the line a bit, but the images that are appearing for this new 42" weatherproof HD-ready TV seem to suggest more water than weatherproof. The Sanyo 42LM4WPR-E, as it is called, is not even 1080p but I'm certain that it'll cost as much as one... The Set features a brightness level of 500 cd/m², and a contrast ratio of 800 to 1. Pricing and availability are yet to be announced...

Dell XPS and Alienware Desktops To Have 1TB HDD

Dell and Alienware a catering to the media hungry with their announcement that they are going to use Hitachi's 1TB Deskstar 7K1000 drive in their XPS and Alienware Desktops. Although prices are reasonable with Alienware offering their 1TB drive option for another $500 over the standard 250GB SATA HDD and Dell following suit with their XPS models, but with no indication of price yet...

Vulcania - Steampunk Watch

Gizmodo Uk are featuring a time piece that would be right at home in a Jules Verne or H. G. Wells novel. The Vulcania (yes, that is its name), built out of titanium and platinum, is an awesome looking piece of engineering and looks like something right out of the industrial revolution. All of the components can be observed whilst in operation from the front and rear, through the sapphire glass panels.

Microsoft Announces Three Halo 3 Editions

Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios released details on their upcoming Halo 3 title for the Xbox 360. Gamers will have their choice of the Standard Edition for $60, a Limited Edition $70 or the Legendary Edition which will come complete with a Spartan helmet case, along with two bonus disks full of supplemental content for $130. Gamers who purchase the Legendary Edition will also receive a collection of original “Halo 3” storyboard art from artist Lee Wilson, from the cinematic production of Halo.

Belkin Release Laptop@Home Range

Belkin have released a line of accessories for the Laptop user which would be right at home in your local Ikea. The Pushtop, Pockettop and Sleevetop are all soft accessories which according to Belkin, help ones experience of Laptop use around the home and on the go. Although they look nicely put together, until we can try them out. I can't comment on their ergonomics or how well they'll hold up. However, I can see californian lifeguards going for bright orange versions. Visit Belkins laptopathome pages for more images and info.

Asus PG221 Display Cool White Monitor.

I've never used an ASUS branded display, but from the looks of this monitor, it's going to be a talking point for many game players and tech nerds... The photo above, is of the PG191, but the PG221 has a wide aspect ratio and features a built-in 1.3-megapixel Webcam, lots of inputs for peripherals, and an awesome Audio configuration which includes; SRS TruSurround XT, a digital sound processing algorithm, the built-in stereo speakers also emulate a 5.1 setup. Specifications Include: 22-inch widescreen display (16:10) Resolution: 1,680 x 1,050 1.3-megapixel Webcam Built-in USB hub Response time: 2ms 2.1 channel speakers

Ambilight On Other Peripherals...

Phillips have announced that they are releasing a whole line of peripherals, with their ambilight feature. Sorry to say, but I find this to be a pretty useless idea ... I can understand using this feature with a display technology like a TV, because it works on a visual level, however on speakers and other non display technologies it's kind of pointless, strong words maybe, but true nonetheless...

Toshiba Launch 3rd Gen HD DVD Player...

The Blu-ray/HD DVD is hotting up with Toshiba launching the 'HD-EP10' at CeBIT. Launched Stateside in January as the HD-A20 this third gen HD DVD player is looking to be a very cool player ... Pardon the Pun. The EP10 can deliver 1080p content in addition to 1080i and 720p. The only problem is that many of the current so called HDTV's cannot handl this unit full capabilities.

Cybernet Show ZPC PC in a Keyboard

I knew that Commodore were making a comeback, but Cybernets new PC in a Keyboard, is certainly not something to sniff at. For the home user, it is one of the more interesting, and useful configurations I've yet to see, in a small format, Pentium 4 based, computer system. It looks somewhat, like an updated Commodore Amiga or Atari ST, however, the ZPC-945SL is an inch and a half tall, and comes kitted out with up to a 3.4GHz, Intel Pentium 4, with up to 2GB RAM, a 2.5in IDE hard drive, optical drive, and it also features built in speakers. The perfect coffee table PC... For more info, visit Cybernetman.

Transport For London testing Mobile Access On Underground System In 2008

London Underground will testing mobile phone access on the Waterloo and City line. Transport for London (TfL) has put out a tender notice for a pilot project to enable mobile coverage on the Waterloo and City line between Bank and Waterloo stations. This will include platform and in tunnel access. The experiment is slated to begin in April 2008 and is expected to last for six months. Should the test all go to plan, connectivity will extended to cover the other Tube lines.

Cebit 2007

With CEBIT now up and running in Hannover in Germany. It is Europes largest IT show with over 6,000 exhibitors crammed into over 310,000 square metres of space. Quite possibly the largest show of it's kind and with well over half a million visitors last year it should be intersting to see what crops up this year. I'm thinking, more convergence devices/Portable Media players, HDTV, and a whole lot more...

Sony Put Rumble Back Into Gaming

After settling a lawsuit with Immersion, Sony have been slow to get this favoured feature back into their JoySticks. Now it appears they are ready to talk Rumble or Force Feedback for the upcoming God of War 3 game. I don really care, but i do have 3 or maybe 5 nephews, who soon want this for Christmas. Did I really say soon? I guess it really isn't that far away.

Super Talent - Super Flash Drives

On the Heels of Announcements by SanDisK and Intel, Super Talent have announce their SATA based line of SSD Drives. They are releasing 1.8" ultraportable laptop models, 2.5" laptop models and 3.5" desktop models. These drives will have capacities from 16GB to 128GB. With 1.8" Drives in 16GB and 32GB; 2.5" Drives in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB; 3.5" Drives in 64GB and 128GB configurations. With Solid State Drives in these capacities look for Laptops whith some excellent startup times and capacities as well as performance and longevity improvements.

Human Video Games!!!

Gizmodo UK are featuring a shirt which has the classic Atari game pong as an animated feature, front and centre. Don't all rush out and buy one quite yet, as it's just an animation and not really interactive. Still, with display technology moving along as it is, it won't be long before you can actually play games like pong and a whole lot more besides. FEAR anyone?

LG Announce Release Date For HD/Blu-ray Burner.

It's about Time ... We knew that combo drives were in existence, however LG just announced the release of a combon drive which handles both HD -DVD and Blu-ray discs. The new GGW-H10N "Super Multi Blue," is expected to retail for $1,200 when it is released in May. Hopefully the floodgates are about to open and these combo drives will get cheaper and cheaper.

Intel March Into The NAND Memory Game

Intel announced the Z-U130 Value Solid-State Drive, citing that it's performance makes it a challenge to other hardware vendors. Intel's claim of read rates of 28 MB/sec, and write speeds of 20 MB/sec, make this drive a serious contender for smaller devices like PocketPCs, SmartPhones and portable media devices. The current capacities of 1GB to 8GB, make them unlikely to be used for anything larger. Intel are also claiming impressive reliability figures, saying that the "Z-U130 has an average mean time between failure of 5 million hours compared with SanDisk, which touts an MTBF of 2 million hours."

Samsung Unveil Ultra Slim LCD Module

Samsung publicly demoed their new 1.29mm thin Ultra Slim LCD Module, which is primed to be used in their upcoming Ultra Edition II Mobiles. At about 0.4mm thinner than panels currently being produced, these modules will help drive the competition to new heights and thinness. Hmmm ... I wonder how flexible they are?

Solar Tech - Easier Than Ever

Our environmental friends over at HUGG have posted a link to an excellent article and video on the ease with which you can now install solar panels. The Video demonstrates the installation of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) laminates. The Panels are standard metal roofing, onto which the solar film is stuck. I was quite impressed by the ease with which the panels were applied. No idea on cost though.

D:WAVE & Nasa Working On Quantum Computing

NASA confirmed their involvement in a Quantum Computing project with Canadian start-up, D-Wave Systems Inc. D-Wave was recently accused of faking a demo to businesses and academia. During it's demonstration, D-Wave revealed that its 16 qubit quantum processor had been left back at their offices, and as a result the test was shown via an internet link. This demo left many observers sceptical. Sceptics, however, were swayed after NASA's confirmation, that it had constructed D-Wave's quantum processor, under contract. The Quantum technology, was used in conjunction with a normal processor, the combination of which, D-Wave hope, will enable commercial applications. D-Wave are planning to scale up their current design from 16 qubits to 1,024 qubits by the end of 2008. A tall order, but should they and NASA succeed, it'll turn the industry on its head and worry the hell out of the Security and Encryption companies. for more info read ITWorld.

Ning - Create Your Own Social Network

Gina Bianchini and Marc Andreessen, created Ning in October 2004, in order to give everyone, the opportunity, to create their own social networks. Today, Ning powers over 30,000 social networks, and supports an environment where people with similar interests, can have the perfect outlet, to share interests and ideas. I came across NING, as a result of some research, I've been doing for a family member, who wants to launch his own social network concept. It looks like an interesting approach, and well worth investigating. Considering, you can also use a domain name, with this concept, it could appeal to many, who fancy themselves having a MySpace of their own...

Samsung UMPC Upgrade Confirmed

Engadget announce that Samsung are planning to release the Q2. Features look to include a thinner profile with split keyboard on either side of the screen, a new 1,024 x 600 'WSVGA' resolution and connectivity features with wireless b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, HSDPA and WiBro, a non-Intel CPU, a 1.3MP digital camera and VGA camera for video conferencing and fingerprint scanner.

Mac Book Mini Rumour

There are rumours that Apple are working on a Flash drive based Ultraportable called the Macbook Mini by a number of of sites online. At present there are only renderings and concepts online from Mac fans but I can't see why Apple couldn't seriously do this... Visit Keith Wilsons take on this idea, for a possible configuration. I'm more interested in a Mac Tablet with Wacom enabled pen technology, than the ultraportable.

Sigma Announce DP1 Full Spec Compact

The DP1 has the same 14 megapixel FOVEON X3, APS-C sized image sensor which is used in their SD14 DSLR. It also has hot-shoe for attaching a dedicated external flash and new external viewfinder. It also has a 2.5-inch, 230k pixel resolution LCD monitor, CF slot, and is described by Sigma, as the "world's first full-spec compact.." If it perform like other foveon based camera I just might consider this as a replacement for my point and shoot Canon IXUS 750.

Fujitsu-Siemens' Lifebook P7230 & HSUPA

Fujitsu-Siemens are releasing a laptop with HSUPA. The Lifebook P7230 will be updated to include UMTS/HSUPA. The 7230 comes with a 10.6-inch LED backlit screen and has support for a secondary battery into the modular bay, not a new feature but highly useful. The €2,999 price tag is a bit high but then again, it is an ultraportable.

Tenbuno Monitor To Debut In May

The Tenbuno 1280×1024, 19" LCD monitor is unique, in that it also features a secondary 8.4" LCD panel, which is hinged at the top of the larger display. The smaller display, features a maximum resolution, of 800 x 600. Now, I dont know what you can use the second monitor for, but for myself, I'd use it to watch Digital TV and Movies, or maybe even to hold my instant messenger chat windows. They should call it the Double Decker, when it finally arrives in the UK.'

Samsung Debut New HDD Drives

Samsung have begun shipping their new NAND/HDD drives. These drives are purportedly five times more rugged than regular drives, and come with 128- to 256-MB NAND RAM to allow for faster start ups, faster application access and resume from sleep. The 2.5in drives come in 80GB, 120GB and 160GB capacities and should make many users happy.

Alienware MJ-12 8550 8 Core Workstation

If you are into heavy 3D, graphics processing or extreme gaming, the 8850i (intel) and 8850a (AMD) new monster machines from Alienware are something to consider. They can handle up to four 15,000 rpm SCSI hard drives, up to 16 GB of DDR2 memory, and available with either the Nvidia Quadro FX or ATI FireFL graphics controllers. Alienware also offer the units with hot-swap drive bays and their acoustic dampening capabilities. The 8850i supports both single or dual quad core xeon processors, mean some very heavy processing capabilities. Available from April onwards, the MJ-12 8850i begins at $2,499, whilst the 8850a begins at $2,449.

Vulcan Flipstart

What do you get when you cross a laptop, a handful of modelling clay and then beat it with an ugly stick? - The Vulcan Flipstart. As much as I like portability, this UMPC just fails to excite me ... sure the specs look interesting, but I can't help but think of it as the pitbull of ultraportables. for more info visit flipstartpc.com. Who knows I might change my mind after I try it...

Apple Product Rumours

Engadget are reporting on a trio of rumours around Apple, which includes the possibility of discounted iPhones, A Nand drive based Sub-notebook and and early release of Leopard. Not sure how much faith I'm going to place in these rumours but all are quite possible. Visit this page for more info.

Playstation Home Revealed

Second Life beware, Sony are planning an invasion of your virtual world. Ok so it's not quite an invasion but a foray into the concept of virtual interaction. I haven't as yet played with Second Life, nor do I plan to, but I know a few people who enjoy interacting in this virtual world. If you want to read more on Playstation Home, visit Engadget where there is a video demonstrating some of the capabilities of this virtual world. Some of the features demonstrated included being able to watch virtual video games and watch movies in a virtual world.

Commodore Returns

The folks over at The Register are reporting that Commodore are making a comeback. Reports are that they will be branded as Commodore Gaming, and that they will focus on producing PC's dedicated to Gaming.

Google Phone Makes An Appearance

There are several blogs and news sites posting pictures of what looks to be another cool phone, but this time from Google and Samsung. The articles are worth a read and can be found at High Contrast and Engadget.

Panoramic Gaming

The good folks over at Digital Tigers have come up with the ultimate gaming display set-up ... The Zenview Powerscape Ultra HD is a 5 screen display configuration that offers the ultimate experience for the loaded gamer. Yeppers, talk about expensive, but at US$5,499 it's not for the squeemish. Featuring a central 30" 2540x1600 display and 4 1200x1600 secondary displays you've got a lot of room to play.

Roth Audio iPod Dock

Roth Audio are a British company, who produce Music Cocoons, tube based amps and high fidelity docks for the iPod based audio enthusiast. I'm not sure about their claims to be able to produce sounds with warmth and dimension, but, they do however recommend using a lossless compression format for achieving the best results with these music cocoons. I would love to get my hands on one to review, just because they look so funky and cool. There several units in the works but the first with real information is the Music Cocoon MC4.

Optimus 103 Keyboard At Cebit?

Engadget are reporting that the long awaited Optimus keyboard will be making an appearance at Cebit, although, you will still have a long wait before you'll be able to buy one. End of 2007 is what is being said at the optimus project live jounal site referenced by engadget.

PS3 To Offer HD Upscaling Of PS2 Games?

Gizmodo is reporting that there is a rumour of a nice capability withing the PS3 which will offer upscaling of PS2 games to HD Quality. If true, this rumour will appeal to many who are currently buying HD Sets. Read more here.

Samsung YP-K3 - Slim Cool

I recently had a look at the Samsung YP-K3 and I was impressed by its slimline looks and easy to use interface. This music player is superb with a formfactor that is only slightly larger than that of an iPod Nano. I really like the look and feel of the unit with its cool blue LED's and it's capability to playback mp3's, WMA and OGG and Jpegs. The K3 also features a 160 x 128, 1.8-inch OLED display, FM Tuner and has up to 4GB of storage. It'll be a real contender for folks thinking about an alternative to the iPod Nano. Now, if they could only squeeze in a video capability ... for more info visit Samsung UK's K3 Product Page.

Samsung Reveal 63" Full HD Plasma With Bluetooth

Samsung revealed 3 new plasmas this week, the 63in 63P71FHD, the 50in 50Q92HD, and the 42in 42Q92HD. These new models all feature 15,000:1 contrast ratios, a 'Daylight Filter' layer which passively reduces glare and an 'Ultra Daylight Mode' which dynamically adjusts the picture during daytime viewing. With specs like these I would be thinking very seriously about using my PC with any one of these units.

New Reviews on KSN - Friday March 2, 2007

Review of Photo Mechanic 4 - digital photo sorting & tagging Review of the Microsoft Zune Media Player - new competition for the iPod Review of the Nikon D40 Digital SLR camera - entry level SLR Review of Norton Internet Security 2007 - the biggest keeps getting bigger Review of jetAudio v6.28 VX Plus - audio/video media player

Fujitsu P1610 Tablet Announced With 3G HSDPA

Fujitsu announced the ultra-portable Lifebook P1610 tablet PC. This tablet includes embedded 3G WWAN, UMTS / HSDPA, EDGE / GPRS / GSM and Bluetooth connectivity. This Windows Vista-ready unit also features a Transflective WXGA TFT, 1280×768 pixel LCD, a Core Solo processor, up to 1GB of RAM, and an 80GB HD. Weighing inat around 1 Kilo it also has a generous 4-hour battery life. I'm going to take a look at this baby myself, hopefully it uses wacom enabled pen tech as well...

Shuttle XPC SD39P2 - Core 2 Quad/Core 2 Extreme

As a fan of the Shuttle based compact PC, I was happy to hear about the new offerings from this manufacturer of small form factor PC's. Shuttle announced the XPC SD39P2 barebones unit, which is a small form factor PC supporting Intel's socket 775 processors, including the Intel Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme series models. The new unit supports up to 8GB of DDR2 800 memory in dual-channel mode and is also compatible with the latest PCI Express graphics cards, such as the Nvidia GeForce 8800GTX/7950GX2 or the ATI Radeon X1900XTX.

Black iMacs

Several sites around the web have been posting rumours that Apple could possibly be coming out with black 24″ and 20″ iMacs. 8-core Mac Pros are also expected according to Gizmodo, The Appleblog, MacScoop and MacDailyNews . I for one think it's about time, however only time will tell...

Toshiba Announces 51GB HD DVD

HD DVD takes the lead in the format wars capacity battle. Toshiba have announced that they have successfully created a triple-layer disc with 17GB per layer ... which adds up to a total of 51GB of storage. Dual-layer Blu-ray discs can hold around 50 GB of data. We're looking at a possible Q4 2007 release. Roll on the new Beta and VHS.

Samsung Release M55 Laptop With HD DVD Burner

Samsung has added an HD DVD burner to their M55 laptop. The M55 is already offered with Blu-ray and HD DVD players. The laptop also comes equipped with a Core 2 Duo T7200 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, a GeForce 7600 graphics card with 256MB of VRAM and the mandatory 1920x1200 17-inch display. Price is around $3,200.