TechSpot

Weekend tech reading: Microsoft targets overweight gamers with new patent

Matthew DeCarlo — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:46 -0500

Microsoft targets overweight gamers with new patent A newly disclosed Microsoft patent application -- Avatar Individualized by Physical Characteristic -- takes aim at fat people, proposing to generate fat avatars in gaming environments for individuals whose health records indicate they're overweight, limiting their game play, and even banning them. Slashdot

FCC listing reveals Arrandale-based Core i7 Fujitsu tablet

Matthew DeCarlo — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:50 -0500

The folks at Wireless Goodness have spotted a new Fujitsu tablet notebook on the FCC's site. Closely resembling the LifeBook T5010 convertible tablet, the Fujitsu T900 upgrades the guts to Intel's forthcoming Arrandale platform.

Google to buy Yelp for $500 million or more?

Matthew DeCarlo — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:35 -0500

Google is reportedly in closing negotiations to buy Yelp, the local business review site founded in 2004 by two PayPal veterans. An acquisition price has not been disclosed, but sources close to the deal said it is more than $500 million.

Mozilla: No need for app stores with mobile Firefox

Justin Mann — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:30 -0500

The success of Apple's App store changed the world's opinion about the future of mobile computing. Billions of downloads and mountains of cash were enough to convince Microsoft, Google, RIM and many others that lightweight app development was vital for smartphones in the years ahead. Mozilla, however, has other plans.

Intel's budget-conscious 40GB X25-V SSD appears online

Matthew DeCarlo — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:05 -0500

It seems Intel is moving ahead with plans to complement its mainstream X25-M solid-state drives with a more affordable V (value) series. Due early next year, the X25-V lineup will use MLC NAND flash memory, have TRIM support, and should handsomely discount Intel's pricey ($300 80GB and $500 160GB) second-generation X25-M SSDs.

Bluetooth SIG unveils low energy standard

Jose Vilches — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:18 -0500

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced this week it has formally adopted a new set of standards for low-powered devices. Unimaginatively named Bluetooth Low Energy, the new power sipping data transfer technology is part of the Bluetooth 4.0 Core Specification and follows the speed-centric version 3.0 of Bluetooth by just 10 months.

Pine Trail-based Asus Eee PC netbooks spotted

Matthew DeCarlo — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:30 -0500

As CES and the many planned technology launches creep nearer, product leaks are inevitable. Some details of Asus' Eee PC 1005P and 1005PE have hit the Web, revealing a black and white faux-carbon-like shell, similar to the Eee PC 1001HA. Blue models are also said to be in existence.

Mozilla rolls out security update, latest Firefox beta

Jose Vilches — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:28 -0500

Mozilla has released the fifth and reportedly final beta of Firefox 3.6 today as it moves closer to ship the final code by the end of the year. The latest package clears most of the remaining blocking bugs, totaling more than 120 new fixes since November's beta 4 release, among which is a couple that deal with an annoying scrolling bug and one that would expose passwords in plain text.

Intel confirms launch of new Core i3, i5 parts at CES

Jose Vilches — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:44 -0500

Intel has confirmed it will launch its first 32nm processors for desktops and laptops on January 7 at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. A total of 17 processors will be revealed in a variety of speeds, including new Core i3 and Core i5 parts that will join their older and more powerful Core i7 siblings.

Nvidia: AMD's DirectX 11 lead doesn't matter

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:27 -0500

Nvidia has reportedly shrugged off AMD's current lead in the DirectX 11 graphics market, insisting that it's only a temporary advantage that won't have a long-term effect. The momentary edge of beating Nvidia will be eclipsed by larger changes in the graphics processing market, which is moving toward parallel computing, said Nvidia's Michael Hara last week.

Download of the Week: LastPass

Jose Vilches — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:30 -0500

Password managers are a common tool among many Internet users. With so many different online services now part of our digital lives, including quite a few that deal with sensitive financial and personal data, it's important to use strong and ideally more than just one password to stay on the safe side. Some time ago I recommended RoboForm as an alternative to memorizing overly complicated codes an...

Nvidia Ion 2 to be showcased at CES, launch next quarter

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:37 -0500

According to Fudzilla, Nvidia told the site in a conference call that it would launch its Ion 2 graphics chip sometime next quarter. The GPU maker "went on the record" to say that the next-generation Ion chip won't be released at January's CES. However, many Nvidia partners at the event, including Asus, HP, Lenovo, and MSI, will showcase the chip.

AMD releases Catalyst 9.12 driver, hotfix

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:21 -0500

AMD has released its Catalyst 9.12 drivers, bringing DirectCompute 10.1 compatibility to Radeon HD 4700 and 4800-series graphics cards, as well as support for OpenGL 3.2 extensions, performance enhancements and more.

IDC: PC market on fast track to recovery

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:08 -0500

According to IDC, strong back-to-school demand boosted global PC shipments in the third quarter of 2009, increasing 2.3% after three consecutive quarters of decline. The firm believes the PC market is on a fast track to recovery, with worldwide shipments projected to grow by double digits on a yearly basis through 2013. The total number of computers sold could reach 321.4 million next year, compar...

Blu-ray 3D video standard finalized, product launches imminent

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:27 -0500

The Blu-ray Disc Association has published the final specification for 3D Blu-ray video. Blu-ray 3D employs an amended H.264 codec called Multiview Video Coding (MVC) to deliver stereoscopic 3D images, which is backward compatible and surprisingly only uses about 50% more data than equivalent 2D media.

Nvidia: FTC action against Intel to transform the industry

Jose Vilches — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:34 -0500

In a rather unsurprising development, Jen-Hsun Huang, Nvidia CEO and longtime Intel detractor has chimed in on the recent antitrust lawsuit being brought against the latter, claiming it could have a transformative effect on the computer industry as a whole. In an internal memo sent to employees and obtained by several news outlets, the executive went on about how the GPU is slowly taking a more im...

Chrome racing Safari for third spot in browser usage

Jose Vilches — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:54 -0500

It appears that last week's release of Chrome for Mac OS X and Linux systems has given the Google developed browser a healthy boost in market share. According to NetApplications' latest measurements, which are based on the browser habits of 160 million unique visitors each month to 40,000 partner sites, Chrome outpaced Safari to become the third most popular browser behind IE and Firefox earlier t...

Adobe to patch zero-day Reader, Acrobat flaw January 12

Matthew DeCarlo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:20 -0500

Adobe will reportedly patch a critical vulnerability (CVE-2009-4324) in Reader and Acrobat on January 12, the company's next scheduled quarterly security update, as opposed to an off-cycle release. The zero-day bug is currently being exploited on Reader and Acrobat versions 9.2 and earlier. If used, an attacker could crash the system and ultimately take control of it.

YouTube reveals 2009's most popular videos, searches

Matthew DeCarlo — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:25 -0500

YouTube has released a list of stats showing this year's most viewed videos and fastest rising search terms. Unsurprisingly, Susan Boyle's Britain's Got Talent audition topped the most watched with over 120 million views.

Team Fortress 2 free to play after tomorrow's big update

Matthew DeCarlo — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:29 -0500

The Team Fortress 2 "War" event marches on as Soldiers receive a new weapon today. The Direct Hit rocket launcher was created for Soldiers "who have mastered the art of shotting at their targets instead of vaguely near them," with a 70% smaller blast radius, 80% faster rockets that do 25% more damage and are guaranteed to mini-crit on mid-air targets.

Nvidia to show Tegra 2-based devices at CES 2010

Matthew DeCarlo — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:31 -0500

Nvidia has revealed plans to show its next-generation Tegra processor at January's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and promises Tegra 2-based mobile devices next year. While Nvidia has not elaborately detailed the forthcoming chips, company execs have said Tegra 2 will be built on a 40nm process, feature a dual-core ARM processor along with an integrated graphics chip, and will be at least two tim...

Apple wins permanent injunction against Mac clone maker, Psystar

Justin Mann — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:00 -0500

Curtains may be in Psystar's future, following a recent legal victory by Apple. Cupertino has obtained a permanent injunction against the Mac clone builder, making it illegal for them to continue doing business starting the end of this year.

Intel back in the hot seat, sued by FTC over "anticompetitive tactics"

Matthew DeCarlo — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:41 -0500

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit against Intel today, accusing the chip-maker of engaging in a decade-long run of anticompetitive practices. The FTC claims Intel used bullying tactics and bribes to steer computer makers such as Dell, HP and others away from superior rival products. This echoes other recent cases that led to a $1.25 billion settlement with AMD and a $1.45 billion fine ...

Games for Windows Live 'Games on Demand' launches

Jose Vilches — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:52 -0500

As expected, Microsoft launched an assault on Steam and other similar services by opening up its Games for Windows Live Games on Demand digital distribution feature late yesterday. As the name suggests, Games on Demand will allow users to purchase titles, using a credit card or by redeeming Microsoft Points, and download them directly from their PC. For now, however, the service's catalog is limit...

News around the web: Guide to Google Wave

Erik Orejuela — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:50 -0500

The idiot's guide to Google Wave @ TechRadar

Microsoft settles browser antitrust case in Europe

Jose Vilches — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:48 -0500

The European Commission's discontent with what it perceived as monopolistic practices from Microsoft has resulted in some hefty fines over the years, but it looks like the two have finally settled their differences over the choice of web browsers in Windows. In a statement issued today, European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes said that for the first time in over a decade, Internet users...

Microsoft admits to code theft, pulls microblog service

Jose Vilches — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:00 -0500

For the second time in little over a month Microsoft has been accused of stealing code -- and once again the company has admitted to it. This time it doesn't involve using open source code and publishing as its own, but rather a blatant theft to a rival service. Canadian microblogging startup Plurk, which has gotten quite popular in Asian countries, uncovered the news earlier this week when it acc...

Tech Tip of the Week: Prevent Windows Update From Automatically Restarting Your PC

Julio Franco — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:51 -0500

Windows Update's automatic reboot can be one of the most annoying "features" in Microsoft operating systems. While it's a bit less pushy with Windows Vista and 7, allowing users to postpone the restart for up to four hours, you may not be at the computer to intercept the first or subsequent notifications.

Piixl EdgeCenter 3770 world's smallest, most powerful HTPC?

Matthew DeCarlo — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:29 -0500

Piixl has developed a new breed of high-powered, "invisible" home theater computers. The 30mm-thick EdgeCenter 3770 can be mounted directly to the rear VESA mounting interface of 37 to 70-inch flat panel televisions, putting it out of direct sight.

Tuesday tech deals: $100 off 24" 1080p Dell monitor, more

Matthew DeCarlo — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:17 -0500

Dell S2409W 24" 1080p display with HDMI for $179 + free shipping