11/06, 4:40pm
Metal-air ionic liquid could extend batteries
A new development by partly government-backed Fluidic Energy could potentially extend the battery life of notebooks, cars and other devices well beyond existing lithium-ion cells. Known as Metal-Air Ionic Liquid (MAIL), it would improve energy storage beyond relatively efficient zinc-air batteries by using an ionic liquid salt to conduct electricity that is much more stable and isn't prone to drying out either by accident or by eventual decay. The move would let battery makers use metals denser than zinc and therefore hold a much larger charge in a given volume.
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11/06, 4:15pm
Designed to cope with holiday rush
Apple has unveiled a new program for its retail stores, Reserve and Pick Up. Via the company's website, shoppers can now opt to have products held for later purchase at a store they select. Only Macs and iPods are eligible however, and pickup must occur between December 15th and the 24th. As the program is meant to cope with potentially long holiday lineups, shoppers can also have some products wrapped.
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11/06, 3:50pm
Lenovo ThinkPad X100e may reach CES
Lenovo's rumored ThinkPad netbook will launch at the start of the next year, a leak today says. It's now purportedly named the ThinkPad X100e and may ship on January 5th, just ahead of CES. System specs are only guessed at but may not necessarily cling to the Atoms found in the IdeaPads; instead, it's speculated that Lenovo may use either Intel's CULV processors or an AMD Athlon Neo.
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11/06, 12:00pm
ASUS' first Ion netbook due end of 2009
ASUS' leaked Eee PC 1201N netbook has gained a more definitive release date through a rumor on Friday. The NVIDIA Ion-based portable is now slated by Electricpig as arriving in at least the UK by December. Premature store listings put the price at $756, though the cost is likely to be lower for the as yet unknown North American release.
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11/06, 10:30am
MS glass interface uses eyes, gestures, voice
Microsoft chief research officer Craig Mundie as part of his college tour this week demonstrated a unique concept for a future computing interface that would in many cases go without any touch input. Although it would support pens for precise input, the transparent glass display would also recognize voices and detect touch-free gestures, much as with the Xbox 360's upcoming Project Natal. The system can also detect eyes and navigate based on their gaze.
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11/05, 1:55pm
AMD facing ATI Radeon GPU shortages
PC vendors that rely on AMD graphics cards are delaying their shipments scheduled for the first quarter of 2010 by nearly two months, say sources at the manufacturers, DigiTimes claimed on Thursday. Radeon HD 5000-series GPUs and HD 4000-series GPUs are reportedly facing shortages through a combination of factors. The shortage of the 40nm Radeon HD 5000 cards is due to a low yield at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 40nm factories, while the 4000-series GPUs scarcity is allegedly AMD's own doing as it has scaled back production of older technology after releasing the more advanced 40nm parts.
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11/05, 1:40pm
Myka ION a home theater PC for the living room
Myka has moved on from producing media hubs by releasing its Myka ION nettop as a full-fledged home theater PC. As the name implies, the PC packs a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and 2GB of RAM, along with an NVIDIA Ion graphics platform to supply HD (non-Flash) video. It runs on Ubuntu Linux and includes Boxee and XBMC media center software as well as support for standard-definition Adobe Flash and Hulu's online streaming service.
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11/05, 1:00pm
Adamo XPS thinner, slower than Apple rival
Dell today officially launched the Adamo XPS, the highest-end version of its designer ultraportable. The system is championed as the thinnest notebook ever and measures just 0.39 inches at its thickest point. Dell accomplishes the feat by tucking most of the computer components into the display section and relying on a unique hinge that opens underneath and acts as a built-in prop . In spite of its slimness, the notebook still has a removable battery, two USB ports and DisplayPort output but also weighs slightly more than its MacBook Air rival at 3.2 pounds.
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11/04, 6:05pm
Sony VAIO P gets US upgrade
Sony tonight upgraded its extra-small VAIO P netbook in the US to keep in sync with Windows 7. The new models now all run Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional and with this change alone should run much faster than the older models bogged down by Vista's steep requirements. They likewise have been brought into step with Japanese updates and have the option of up to a 2GHz Atom, a 256GB solid-state drive and a champagne-colored shell.
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11/04, 4:25pm
Crippled Atom in Snow Leopard was temporary
Word that Apple had disabled Atom support in a Mac OS X 10.6.2 beta seed may have been premature, an update from the same discoverer says. A newer build, 10C535, now appears to have brought the feature back and hints that the lack of Atom support may have been a bug or an otherwise temporary action. Apple's code doesn't have any immediate clues as to whether or not the move was intentional.
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11/04, 4:20pm
AMD to out two new desktop platforms next year
By May of 2010, chipmaker AMD will officially introduce two new desktop platforms, with the high-end Leo and more mainstream Dorado, says Digitimes. The information comes from motherboard makers, who revealed the Leo will be made up of current 45nm Phenom II or future six-core Thuban CPUs paired with either 890FX or 890GX northbridge and SB850 southbridge chipsets.
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11/04, 3:50pm
NVIDIA blames Intel for delaying USB 3
Intel may have stalled adoption of the USB 3.0 standard for as long as two years, NVIDIA spokesman Brian Burke says. Following an apparent PC vendor leak which claims Intel won't have any USB 3.0-capable chipsets of its own until 2011, Burke tells TGDaily that NVIDIA has learned the same news. He contends that Intel has held the industry back by creating a near monopoly in demand for its chipsets but refusing to provide significant updates.
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11/04, 3:15pm
HP working on Envy 14 notebook?
A support page on HP's website indicates that a third Envy notebook, the Envy 14, may be on the horizon. If so, the notebook would slot in between the Intel Core 2 Duo-powered Envy 13 and the Core i7-packing Envy 15 as it would, presumably, be equipped with a 14-inch screen size. It would also most likely be powered by Intel's new mobile Core i5 chips, which are due for an early 2010 release.
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11/04, 12:25pm
NY claims Intel threatened PC builders
New York state's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today filed a lawsuit against Intel that accuses the company of antitrust abuse. The Delaware-based complaint maintains that Intel violated both state and federal laws by allegedly threatening companies with retaliation if they used AMD processors and in some cases paying out billions of dollars in financial incentives disguised as rebates. Intel engaged in "bribery and coercion" to keep its control of the market, Cuomo says.
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11/04, 10:45am
ABI says netbooks still on track
Netbooks are still set to top nearly 35 million units by the end of the year, ABI said today. The prediction is similar to that from the start of the year and asserts that the mini portables will form a significant portion of the entire PC business. ABI doesn't predict market share but says that Acer, ASUS and Samsung produced 74 percent of all netbooks last year.
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11/04, 9:25am
Litl Webbook launches with custom OS
Litl has quickly acted on rumors by launching its first computer, the Webbook. The PC breaks away from the usual netbook market through a unique 12-inch LCD that bends almost completely backwards and turns the system into an easel-like display; the mode is considered ideal for video watching or for sharing content with someone else. To match, the screen uses a high-quality LCD with a 178-degree viewing angle and better colors, and unlike most netbooks carries a dedicated (but unnamed) GPU that can decode H.264 video at up to 720p.
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11/03, 6:50pm
Company changing focus following layoffs
The One Laptop Per Child Association, the manufacturer behind the OLPC notebooks, has axed its plans to build a dual-screen XO device, according to an Xconomy interview with the group's founder and chairman, Nicholas Negroponte. The second generation notebook, originally announced in May of last year, has been scrapped as OLPC instead focuses on adapting the first-generation XO with updated internals.
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11/03, 5:00pm
Walmart weekend deals on electronics leaked
Walmart will be selling Xbox 360 Arcade edition for $199 bundled with a $100 gift card this upcoming Saturday, Kotaku reported on Tuesday. If true, this would be the best deal for the popular gaming console to date. At the same time, the leaked inventory screen capture reveals a number of other items on sale, including a $148 Sony Blu-ray disc player and a 42-inch Sharp TV for $498.
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11/03, 3:10pm
Lenovo ThinkPad netbook spotted
An image of what is believed to be an upcoming Lenovo ThinkPad netbook, the x200e, has surfaced online. While the company has only said it's considering the concept, the leak suggests the computer is real and appears to have a cosmetically different form factor and that it may still use Windows XP.
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11/03, 1:15pm
Toshiba outs updated Windows 7 notebooks
Toshiba released updated Satellite Pro, Tecra and Portégé business notebooks on Tuesday to get its work PCs onboard with Windows 7. The Satellite Pro line features new screen sizes, including traditional 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch displays as well as a 13.3-inch touchscreen. Most of these business-oriented notebooks will ship with Windows XP Professional and Windows 7 Professional on separate DVDs so businesses can upgrade whenever they are ready. The new Satellite Pro U500 Touch has a multi-touch display and ships with Toshiba's touch-ready productivity software, LifeSpace.
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11/03, 10:55am
EVGA first to combine graphics, physics GPUs
EVGA has released a new hybrid card, the Hybrid GTX 275 Co-op PhysX, which uses NVIDIA's GTX 275 and GTS 250 GPUs on the same card. The two split tasks accordingly, with the GTX 275 taking care of the graphics while the GTS 250 does PhysX computing for physics in games like Batman: Arkham Asylum (included in the box) or Mirror's Edge. There is 1.28GB of combined memory while the GTS 250 and GTX 275 chips run at 633MHz and 738MHz, respectively. Total memory bandwidth tops out at 179.8GBps.
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11/03, 10:35am
Windows 7 creates short PC sales boost
The launch of Windows 7 has triggered at least a temporary spike in PC sales, Morgan Stanley analyst Katheryn Huberty says in an investment note issued yesterday. Pointing to NPD sales data, the researcher notes that computer sales jumped about 40 percent during the week of Microsoft's OS launch compared to the same time a year earlier. The number is partly offset by buyers holding off on purchases during the previous two weeks, when sales dropped 29 percent and then 2 percent versus 2008, but is well above earlier weeks, when sales were up by at most 19 percent.
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11/03, 9:30am
Intel offering Larrabee GPU to China card makers
On a recent trip to China, Intel's CEO Paul Otellini has been talking about the chipmaker's upcoming high-end Larrabee GPU with China-based graphics card makers, DigiTimes reported on Tuesday, citing sources at the card makers. They claim Intel is planning on offering preferential pricing for the GPU both on its own, as well as bundled with other Intel products. The Larrabee is expected to compete with NVIDIA's GeForce and AMD's Radeon products and is due for a 2010 launch.
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11/02, 8:55pm
Entry-leve AIO geared for small businesses
Lenovo on Monday introduced the ThinkCentre A70z, an all-in-one system geared for small- and medium-size businesses. The systems offer a choice between Intel Core2 Duo or Celeron Dual Core processors, with hard-drive options reaching up to 500GB. A DVD drive, webcam, integrated speakers, and optional Wi-Fi components round out the specs.
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11/02, 5:50pm
Acer Aspire 8940 has quad-core, GTS 250M
Acer chose a rare Monday evening launch for an update to its Aspire notebooks. Acting as the new flagship, the 8940 takes the lead from the 8935 and use the same 18.4-inch screen but with a much faster 1.6GHz Core i7 in place of the Core 2 Quad. It further brings considerably newer GeForce GTS 250M graphics to better drive the 1080p display and, as with other Acer updates, replaces Vista with Windows 7.
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11/02, 4:25pm
MSI Wind12 U230 gets Windows 7, AMD Athlon Neo X2
While there was no official announcement, MSI will soon offer a new netbook-class Windows 7 portable, according to a product page for the Wind 12 U230. The PC has AMD's new 1.6GHz Athlon Neo X2 dual-core processor, which is paired with ATI's Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics chipset. Other specs are common to the current U210 notebook, including a display that's sized at 12.1 inches and with 1366x768 resolution.
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11/02, 1:35pm
Buffalo intros new home networking solution
Buffalo on Monday introduced its Nfiniti Wireless-N Essential Router & Access Point, the WHR-HP-G300N, along with the Nfiniti Wireless-N High Power Ultra-Compact USB 2.0 Adapter, WLI-UC-GNHP. Meant for wireless home or small office networks, the router has enough performance to handle multiple intensive video streams and reaches the spec's peak 300Mbps. The adapter is faster than built-in Wi-Fi solutions, making it an upgrade option to existing, built-in wireless modules in notebooks or desktop PCs.
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11/02, 10:55am
Subsidized Sony VAIO P at Verizon
Wireless provider Verizon will soon add the Sony VAIO P netbook to its subsidized lineup, according to a Monday Phone Arena leak. Thus far, Verizon offers the Gateway LT2016U, HP Mini 311 and Mini 110 netbooks, but the VAIO P would be the smallest and lightest of the four. The system should be the standard 8-inch netbook but will have a built-in modem with both EVDO and GSM support.
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11/02, 10:50am
Maingear SHIFT is liquid-cooled, aluminum
Maingear today tackled the very high end, designer category of gaming PCs with the SHIFT. The system is specially designed by Maingear with an aluminum chassis and a rare, vertically-aligned cooling system; besides using an Asetek system to cool the processor without fans, all other components point upwards and have their heat naturally vent upwards instead of front-to-back like in most PCs. The system is also subtler with an all-black design and a pop-up port array on the top with card readers, FireWire, USB and audio.
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11/02, 9:50am
Sprint's Dell Mini 10 with 3G
Sprint today confirmed a late rumor by launching a subsidized version of the Dell Mini 10. Its version has an internal EVDO Revision A modem for 3G access and should usually pull between 600Kbps and 1.4Mbps downloads in real-world conditions. It also appears to be the original Mini 10 reviewed here with a 1.33GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and Windows XP Home.
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11/02, 8:20am
Hacked netbooks out of Snow Leopard beta
Apple may have taken out support for Atom processors in its latest beta seed of Mac OS X 10.6.2, one user says. Those testing it claim Apple has changed support in a way that breaks compatibility with the small Intel chips, including their ability to enter sleep mode through an unofficial extension. If it reaches the final build, the move leaves those making "Hackintosh" systems with little choice either to stay with 10.6.1 or else to wait for an unofficial fix.
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11/01, 5:45pm
Windows share drops in Oct despite Win 7
The launch of Windows 7 in October did nothing to stop an increase in Mac share online, the latest data from Net Applications shows. Although the Microsoft OS was on sale for nine days last month, Windows' combined share of Internet traffic actually dropped to 92.52 percent while Mac OS X profited directly, reaching a new high of 5.27 percent. Windows 7 did gain share and represents 2.15 percent, but its gain was more than offset by a full percentage point of Windows users abandoning Windows XP, in many cases opting for the Mac or other platforms.
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10/30, 4:35pm
Soyea Z5 combines 3G and Wi-Fi communications
China's Soyea has recently released a new Mobile Internet Device (MID), the Z5, which sports a 5-inch touchscreen with 800x480 resolution. Processing power comes courtesy of a 1.2GHz Intel Atom processor, and there is 1GB of RAM onboard. Internet access comes from either a Wi-Fi connection or 3G module with access from China Telecom. Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR is also present.
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10/30, 8:40am
ASUS chief confirms sub-$200 Android PC
ASUS chief Jerry Shen at an investor conference late yesterday said his company should have an Android-based smartbook on shelves by early 2010. Reversing earlier doubts about a market for such a system, Shen says a portable based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chip and the Google mobile OS should be the first "secret weapon" for the company and will likely cost just $185. The price is roughly half what most builders charge for an Atom-running netbook.
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10/29, 6:00pm
Apps on Win 7 PCs still slow vs Apple
A series of tests have revealed that even newer Windows 7 PCs are being bogged down by unnecessary software that makes them run much more slowly than Macs. Comparing factory versions of several notebooks versus clean models, PC Pro finds that Acer and Sony systems take about two whole minutes more to boot because of the "crapware," or third-party utilities and trial apps, preloaded out of the box. They also consume roughly 1GB more extra active RAM and also rob the system of as much as 2.4GB of space in Acer's case.
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10/29, 4:50pm
MSI shows 16-inch CR610 notebook with Windows 7
MSI on Thursday announced the upcoming release of the CR610, a 16-inch notebook PC running on AMD's Tigris platform with an Athlon II processor. Also, the PC ships with Windows 7 preloaded onto its 2.5-inch hard drive, which can be had in 250, 320 and 500GB capacities. Up to 4GB of RAM can be specified, with graphics handled by an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 chipset.
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10/29, 1:25pm
Intel updating Core i7 processors
While Intel hasn't publicly announced its plans, the chipmaker is set to replace its popular 2.66GHz Core i7 920 CPU with a 2.88GHz Core i7 930 early on into 2010, says a Thursday report. The new chip will be based on 45nm architecture, but Fudzilla says it will otherwise retain the current chip's quad-core, eight-thread design for the LGA 1366 socket. This is a contradiction to Intel's recent plans, which see the LGA 1366 multiplier sockets open only for Extreme Edition chips, such as with the recent 3.2GHz Core i7 960.
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10/29, 12:00pm
Sprint entering 3G netbooks with Dell
Sprint is on the verge of launching its own netbook deals with a model of its own, a source says today. The same insider that accurately leaked the provider's Any Mobile, Any Time plan now says a version of the Dell Mini 10 with built-in 3G data will sell through Sprint for $199 after factoring in a two-year data contract and a $100 up-front rebate. TechVi hears the system will ship November 1st and have the familiar 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM and 160GB hard drive of the Mini 10v.
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10/29, 9:40am
New ASUS USB 3.0 mainboards have record speeds
ASUS on Wednesday showed off one of the first USB 3.0 mainboards ever, the P7P55D/P7P55D-E, which also has a SATA 6Gbps interface for what's claimed to be record-fast transfer speeds: ASUS estimates that a 20GB HD movie takes less than 70 seconds to transfer at peak speed even with the new USB connection. Both use ASUS's hybrid processor, hybrid phase and hybrid OS technologies for faster overall performance with the ability to overclock chips, control active cooling and provide instant-on Internet access, respectively.
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10/28, 3:25pm
Sony VAIO LT, JS2 all-in-ones at risk
Sony this afternoon launched a recall of AC power adapters for two of its all-in-one desktops for a potential shock hazard. All VAIO JS2 and LT desktops sold between September 2005 and today that use a particular AC adapter, the AC19V17, are believed at risk of shocking owners following four reports outside of the US of the adapters short circuiting on their own. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recall affects about 69,000 devices that also include Sony's PRBX1 and PRFE1 VAIO Docking Stations for notebooks.
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10/28, 2:10pm
Lenovo shows pro all-in-one
Having just introduced its IdeaCentre B500 all-in-one, Lenovo today quietly provided a teaser on its Flickr account for a new ThinkCentre counterpart. The lone photo has few details but does confirm built-in speakers, a webcam and a wireless keyboard and mouse combo. Most ThinkCentre PCs are higher-end and are likely to involve Core 2 processors.
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10/28, 1:20pm
Microsoft Signature PCs arrive at retail
The Windows PCs at Microsoft's first retail stores are deliberately purged of the third-party apps they would normally carry, employees and eyewitnesses have confirmed. Product Advisor Jared Marino explains these systems, regardless of the brand, are considered Signature PCs and won't include any unnecessary third-party software. In exchange, they come preloaded with the normally optional Windows Live Essentials pack as well as extras like Bing 3D Maps, Security Essentials and the Zune client.
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10/28, 9:05am
Lenovo S12 Ion upgrade on sale
After a significant delay past its original summer goal, Lenovo on Wednesday began selling a version of its IdeaPad S12 netbook with NVIDIA's Ion graphics onboard. The upgrade comes in tandem with Windows 7 Home Premium and gives it enough visual power to support the full Aero Glass interface as well as to decode 1080p video and handle some more recent 3D. Lenovo also adds Bluetooth 2.1 for wireless peripherals.
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10/28, 7:50am
litl Easel netbook due soon
A new PC startup, litl, is known today to be readying an unusual netbook design with a rare customized operating system. An FCC filing for the Easel reveals a 12-inch system whose display can bend past 180 degrees and with a deliberately rounded, child-friendly look. However, it should also run a custom version of Linux with a "card" interface that lets users pick from blue cards for core apps and settings, black channel cards for news, weather and other widgets, and white cards for Firefox pages.
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10/27, 4:20pm
Hitachi, Toshiba join Sony in anti-trust query
Hitachi and Toshiba's optical drive divisions have also been implicated in a US Department of Justice investigation regarding possible antitrust abuse, according to another Monday WSJ report. As with Sony, not many other details were revealed, and executives at both Hitachi and Toshiba say they will fully cooperate with the investigations. Hitachi's optical drive business is a joint venture with LG, with Hitachi owning 51 percent of the operation, while Toshiba has the same split with Samsung.
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10/27, 4:10pm
Intel Pine Trail to double RAM, drop prices
Some of Intel's Pine Trail Atoms will finally escape Intel's 1GB RAM cap for netbooks even as they drop prices, a series of leaks have indicated in the past day. While the chip maker will still officially limit certain Atoms to 1GB of memory, the 1.83GHz Atom N470 will reportedly allow running 2GB of RAM. The limit should provide a large jump in performance for small systems, particularly those with more demanding operating systems like Windows 7.
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10/27, 10:05am
Dell intros first multi-touch rugged tablet
After only a brief tease, Dell today formally unveiled the Latitude XT2 XFR. It's characterized as the first rugged convertible tablet to use capacitive multi-touch and is seen as ideal for use outdoors or at work where natural gestures, such as pinching to zoom into a map or flicking to scroll through a page, are more preferable to a pen. It nonetheless still works with a stylus and has a more outdoor-ready display that's more readily viewable in broad daylight.
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10/26, 5:10pm
Tilera TILE-Gx100 may beat Intel
Tilera on Monday unveiled a new processor it hopes will unseat Intel from its overall lead in performance. The TILE-Gx100 counts on a massively parallel, 100-core architecture to handle many tasks at once and reportedly overcomes some of the problems of scaling inherent to many-core designs. Instead of using a data bus, the grid is treated as a mesh network with switches on each core to route data smoothly. The approach lets Tilera reach the core count without it stalling or without the added space dictated by the bus architecture.
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10/26, 2:25pm
Lenovo upgrades Idea PCs for Windows 7
Lenovo today sparked life in its IdeaCentre desktops and IdeaPad notebooks by refreshing them for Windows 7 and adding a few completely new models. The IdeaCentre B500 is one of the few all-in-one PCs built for gamers and high-end media use with both a Core 2 Quad, unnamed but dedicated graphics and a built-in JBL speaker system. It also brings a 23-inch 1080p display, 1TB of disk space and a motion remote for an unspecified price.
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10/26, 1:35pm
LG outs XNOTE R590 quad-core portable
Korea's LG has recently shown off its first netbook with Intel's Core i7 quad-core processor, the 15.6-inch XNOTE R590. Two models will be available, one with a 1.73GHz i7 and the other sporting a 1.6GHz version. Either version will ship with Windows 7 Home Premium and NVIDIA's GeForce GT 230M graphics chipset with 1GB of dedicated RAM.
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