September 17 - 8:50am EDT   Apple has seen the single largest jump in notebook market share of all top manufacturers in North America, according to a new DisplaySearch report. The company's spring 2008 market share in North America surged year-over-year from 6.6 percent to 10.6 percent, moving it up to fourth place in the market and handing the Mac maker the single largest jump in market share of the top five. This surge came at the expense of other established notebook producers, with Acer plunging from 18.6 percent to 14.4 percent over the same period while Toshiba also lost significantly, dropping from 11.4 percent to exactly nine percent. [full story]

July 8 - 10:45am EDT   The American music industry may be pressuring Dell and other computer manufacturers to disable stereo recording support in an artificial attempt to discourage piracy, say accounts from users. Users of Dell systems with SigmaTel chips in particular claim to be only allowed single-channel recording out of the box and are told that an official solution that restores stereo input will cost $99; Gateway and (in Europe) Packard Bell systems with the audio hardware are also said to be affected. [full story]

July 7 - 12:40pm EDT   Packard Bell is planning to take its first steps into the world of high-end gaming PCs, an announcement reveals. The company has announced the ipower X2.0, a revamping of its current ipower systems that is said to be aimed at garnering more attention. Foremost in the construction is a new case design, which adds highly angular corners to a glossy black finish. As with many gaming computers, owners can see the insides of the system through a translucent panel. [full story]

June 10 - 3:15pm EDT   Packard Bell today became the next system builder to update its line with newer platforms from AMD and Intel. The 13.3-inch EasyNote RS65 runs on a Centrino 2 chipset with an unspecified Core 2 Duo processor and joins the increasing ranks of ultraportables at its screen size, with a very thin and extremely stylized design; Packard Bell's signature circular trackpad sports hidden buttons while the rest of the system is backed by chrome trim and brushed black metal. Few other details are available beyond its use of a slot-load optical drive and HDMI video out. [full story]

March 17 - 12:05pm EDT   Typically associated with notebooks, Acer's plans for next year include some form of game machine, according to the company's senior vice president. James T. Wong explains, however, that the company is not merely working on a performance-tuned Windows PC, but something intended to compete with the current crop of dedicated consoles. Furthermore, the machine is expected to be based on "open standards," a term which may refer to the Linux operating system. [full story]

February 1 - 11:50am EST   Acer has successfully finalized its plans to buy control of Packard Bell, according to an update provided by the former company. First begun in August, the deal will give Acer a 75 percent stake in Packard Bell, handing control of the smaller, Europe-based PC maker to the larger firm. The deal was said to have been helped by Acer's recent acquisition Gateway, which reserved the right to counter-offer any potential bidders on Packard Bell. [full story]