July 03 - 09:20am EDT   Demand for notebook hard drives should lead to a shortage of disks throughout much of the summer, integrated circuit producers GMI Technology and Weikeng Industrial warned on Friday. As sales agents for hard drives from Hitachi, Toshiba and Western Digital, they tell DigiTimes that their clients hadn't anticipated demand and didn't adjust until it was too late. Hitachi and Western Digital were fiscally conservative due to the economy and didn't expand until early spring, while Toshiba is simply seeing very high demand for a single-platter 250GB drive. [full story]

July 02 - 03:25pm EDT   Sony's PlayStation product planning head Naoya Matsui today told Japanese publication GameBusiness that the company had always planned a version of the PSP without the UMD drive. He claims that the company had wanted downloadable games from the handheld's launch in 2004 but that it wasn't feasible until the PSP Go due to infrastructure. It was necessary to have not just simple download to the system itself but a means of getting games from a PS3 to the PSP as well as an easier sync process for loading games, movies and music. [full story]

July 01 - 04:05pm EDT   Other World computing has launched new Memory upgrades for Apple iMacs (Early 2008 models) and the 2009 White MacBook 13". The iMac offerings include a new DDR2 800MHz 4GB module and 6GB kit, allowing for a 5GB or 6GB setup that is not available from Apple. The 4GB memory module is $150 and the 6GB combo, which includes both 4GB and 2GB RAM modules, costs $170. OWC also has 2GB and 1GB options at substantially reduced pricing vs. Apple factory charges. The memory sticks carry a lifetime OWC warranty. [full story]

June 30 - 11:55pm EDT   In brief: Microsoft's Mac Business Unit, known as MacBU, has launched a new promotion for students, with discounted prices on Office 2008 Home and Student Edition for Mac. TeamViewer’s online communication and collaboration software is now available in six different languages. Blackmagic Design has released Videohub 4.0, a software update for its Videohub routers that allow users to connect and all editing workstations or decks to be controlled directly from a computer. [full story]

June 30 - 09:35am EDT   Lexar today put out a pair of memory cards aimed at those who need high capacities with more advanced cameras and phones. The 32GB Platinum II SDHC is one of the first cards to make use of Micron's particularly dense 34 nanometer flash memory and takes advantage of it to provide the capacity while still transferring data at about 60X. Although rated as a Class 4 (minimum 4MB/sec) card, the Platinum II is claimed by Lexar to write at a minimum 9MB per second and thus to work well for some RAW photo shooting as well as up to 12 hours of video for HD camcorders. [full story]

June 29 - 01:50pm EDT   PQI has recently released the Cool Drive U360, which connects two computers via their USB ports and allows high-speed (claimed to be 17MBps) file transfers between them. A flash drive in capacities ranging between 4GB and 16GB holds software that syncs folders in the two computers as well as Outlook data when using a Windows PC. Shared folders can also be browsed on either end of the link. [full story]

June 28 - 07:40pm EDT   JAMF Software has announced Casper Suite 7, an update to its client-management platform designed to inventory, image, update, and maintain Mac computers. The software provides a framework to enforce software licensing compliance, security standards, energy usage or other organizational rules and requirements. New features includes the ability to track an application`s use on a per-machine basis, along with licensed software templates, improved directory-binding support, enhanced iPhone functionality, and tools enabling drive partitioning and Boot Camp when imaging. [full story]

June 27 - 10:05am EDT   App4Mac has released two new software updates, Sequence 2.1and Twin 1.1. Sequence allows users to capture and save an image or movie of their screen, in a variety of different formats to the clipboard. Version 2.1 of the program delivers improved preferences, enhanced performance and user feedback, support for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and a variety of bug fixes. Additional features provide a voice recording function, and the ability to simultaneously record from a webcam and the user’s screen. Each video or screenshot can be e-mailed or uploaded to the web for sharing with other users. [full story]

June 26 - 04:15pm EDT   With the recent switchover of digital SLR cameras to SD memory cards for storage instead of the larger CompactFlash cards, PhotoFast has released a product meant for photographers who would like to use their microSDHC cards in their CF card slot-equipped DSLRs. The CR-7100 will support up to 16GB capacity microSDHC cards commonly use in cellphones. [full story]

June 26 - 02:30pm EDT   Corsair recently announced it has added two new products to its Performance Series solid state drive (SSD) family with the 128GB P128 and 64GB P64. Basically smaller capacity versions of the recently released 256GB P256, they offer the same 220MBps read speeds, with the P128 also sharing the same 200MBps write speed. The P64's write speed is rated at a lower 120MBps. [full story]