Linkz Technology

Nine Inch Nails iPhone App Awaits Apple's OK

2009-04-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame has revealed details on a new innovative iPhone app currently awaiting approval from Apple that's offers fans a range of interactive features. The pioneering musician, known for openly embracing the post-CD era with music and video downloads including torrent distribution, fan remixes and the power of social media, has been developing the app since last

Microsoft Office 2007 Update Due

2009-04-11T10:24:00.001-07:00

Microsoft Corp. announced Thursday that it will start pushing Office 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) to customers this month. In an entry to the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) blog, Cecilia Cole, a Microsoft program manager, said that the service pack would be posted to the update service in April. She did not name an exact date, but said that more information would be published on an

Archos 5 firmware adds GPS car holder support, new file browser

2009-04-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

We tell ya, the Archos 5 is becoming more inviting by the week. Late last month we saw a much-wanted high-def video plug-in come to light, and now an even newer firmware is adding a few more fantastic amenities. For starters, the v1.6.53 software adds GPS car holder support -- something the Archos 605 acquired last April. Essentially, it enables the device to comprehend

Sony patents PSP-controlled spy car

2009-04-11T10:14:00.001-07:00

Check it out, all you budding G. Gordon Liddys -- if the usual assortment of spy gadgets isn't doing the job, Sony's got something in the works that should be right up your alley. According to a little site called Siliconera, Sony's European arm has filed a patent for a remote-controlled car uses the PSP as an interface. This bad boy is equipped with a camera that feeds video back to the hand

MSI's Wind U123 netbook gets unboxed

2009-04-11T10:13:00.001-07:00

We already caught MSI's upgraded Wind U120 (which goes by U123, if you must know) sitting pretty at CeBIT last month, but the crazy cats over at PortableMonkey have gone and got a model fresh in the box. Needless to say, this retail edition (which is hitting Japanese shelves any moment now) didn't stay packaged up for long, but we are happy to say that we've been cordially

Gigabyte T1028 netbook / tablet gets the hands-on treatment

2009-04-11T09:50:00.001-07:00

We've already seen Gigabyte's T1028 netbook / tablet up close, and even gotten a glimpse of the user manual, but the folks at UMPC Portal have now finally come though with a proper hands-on of the device, which looks to confirm that it does indeed deliver the goods, if not quite justify its $600+ price tag. What's more, as welcome as that swiveling touchscreen is, it looks like it's the little

How would you change HP's MediaSmart Server ex485 / ex487?

2009-04-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

Now that you've had a few months a stream all manners of media throughout your home and backup your small cadre of computers via one of HP's new MediaSmart Servers, we're interested in seeing just how you'd change this bad boy. HP popped in a faster processor and a bit more RAM in order to make sure these, um, actually worked as advertised, but we're certain even that

Packard Bell's new DOT S and DOT M netbooks for Europe

2009-04-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

Acer-owned Packard Bell is taking Acer's latest and greatest netbooks and rebadging them for the European market. The 10.1-inch DOT S swipes most of its specs from the Acer Aspire One D250, while the DOT M (pictured) goes for the 11.6-inch Aspire One's guts. There do seem to be a few aesthetic differences, however, with a fancy textured palm rest, silver touches to the

Apple releases iPod Shuffle VoiceOver Kit 1.0.1 upgrade

2009-04-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

You know what really gets on our nerves? When we're listening to Van der Graaf Generator (look it up!) on our newfangled iPod Shuffle and it pronounces the band's name wrong. Seriously, this is an important function. Without it working flawlessly, how are we going to know the names of the tracks we purchased on the iTunes store and placed on the device ourselves?

Intel applies "stars" ratings to processors, processors lose self-esteem

2009-04-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

It looks like those confused by the multitude of Intel processors out there needn't linger in indecision any longer, as Intel itself has now come up with a new scheme that it hopes will help simplify the buying process significantly. As you can see above, that consists of a new rating system that gives processors between one and five stars, which Intel says indicates "relative performance, not a

Wearable blood pressure monitor: portable and fashionable

2009-04-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

We've seen some wild ideas when it comes to blood pressure -- including, yes, underpants -- but this newest device, a small monitor attached to the hand, which can be worn 24 hours a day for continuous monitoring, strikes us as having the potential for extreme usefulness. The monitor works differently than regular old blood pressure cuff, using a method called pulse wave

Apple anxiously awaits the selling of their billionth App download celebration

2009-04-10T13:53:00.001-07:00

Apple's going all out in anticipation of a landmark for the company -- the downloading of one billion apps in the App store. Not bad for nine months of work, if you think about it: over 110 million a month, in fact. About 27 million a week... well, you get the idea. Oh yeah, they're giving away a bunch of stuff too, so be sure to check that out if the mood strikes you.

iFrogz EarPollution DJ Style headphones urban-hipster review

2009-04-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

Look at that will you, just look at it. That's a pair of $50 iFrogz EarPollution DJ Style (heavy on style, light on the DJ) headphones we've been testing for the last week. As you can tell by the colors, graphics, faux-chrome accents, and over-the-top bulk, these headphones are meant to communicate a statement just as tersely as they'll strum your cochlear nerve. If you

Sprint employees now training with the Palm Pre?

2009-04-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

We're not totally sure here, but it sounds like Sprint employees are now being trained on the anxiously awaited Palm Pre. Over at PreThinking, they seem to have gotten their paws on an internal Sprint email that says that "employees can expect training to start in April as well as multiple communications to get them excited and ready to help our customers" for the Pre. Being of a curious nature,

Samsung sneaks Q2 PMP onto the scene with 50 hours of battery life

2009-03-12T09:59:00.001-07:00

Looking for a PMP that can hang with you for every last minute of the long weekend, eh? Just in case MSI's MS-5552 is a bit too aged for your tastes, Samsung has quietly introduced a newcomer (the Q2, but not that Q2) which promises 50 solid hours of audio playback on a single charge. Specs wise, we're looking at a 2.4-inch QVGA display, built-in microphone, FM radio

iPhone OS 3.0 is coming, preview on March 17th

2009-03-12T09:54:00.002-07:00

We just got the announcement, iPhone OS 3.0 is coming. Set your clocks, mark your calendars. It's going down March 17th. Apparently, we'll get a sneak peak at the new OS, as well as a look at a brand new version of the SDK. Exciting stuff indeed, and we'll be there live at 10am PST (1pm EST) with the liveblog. Apple's calling this an "advance preview of what we're building," so we're not

LG's Rumor 2 escapes rumor phase, goes live on Sprint

2009-03-12T09:54:00.001-07:00

Tough luck, guys -- the secret's out. LG's long rumored Rumor 2 has finally launched exclusively on Sprint, bringing with it a slide-out QWERTY keypad, QVGA display, 1.3 megapixel camera, a removable backplate and your choice of Black Titanium and Vibrant Blue shells. As for availability, you can find the Black Titanium at Sprint's website on March 15th, while the Vibrant

Samsung's HMX-R10 HD camcorder aims for April release

2009-03-12T09:53:00.001-07:00

Samsung's devilishly cute HMX-R10 camcorder stole the hearts of many at CES, but ever since, we've been aimlessly wandering about Sammy's website attempting to locate clues on pricing and availability. Thankfully, it seems some answers are starting to surface, and we've only got a month or so before we discover whether these whispers were laced in truth. Reportedly, this

Vodafone's music catalog goes DRM-free for mobiles and PCs

2009-03-12T09:47:00.002-07:00

We were wondering (seriously, it has been on our conscience at night) which carrier would be the first to go completely DRM-free in respect to its music catalog, and now Vodafone has stepped in to claim said throne. This week, the operator has inked deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music to bring tunes to handsets and PCs sans any nasty

New iPod shuffle first hands-on

2009-03-12T09:47:00.001-07:00

We just nabbed one of Apple's new button-free iPod shuffles, and in case you were wondering: yes, it's really small. We're gonna play around a bit with the VoiceOver navigation and get you our full impressions in a few, but at first glance we think this is totally usable, especially for the shuffle's sweaty target demographic. Also: it's really small.Update: In-depth

Samsung Q1EX UMPC reviewed, dismissed

2009-03-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

Rats. Just when we thought that someone had figured out how to make a winning UMPC configuration for consumers, out comes a review to pan it. While the Samsung Q1EX sounds good on paper with its 7-inch resistive touchpanel with 1,024 x 600 resolution, 1.2GHz VIA Nano processor, 4.5-hour battery, and $775 price tag; Laptop Mag was unimpressed when it came to go-time.

Microsoft: Windows 7 No 'Magic Bullet' for Enterprises

2009-02-12T02:22:00.000-08:00

Microsoft warned enterprise customers this week that the migration path from XP to Windows 7 won't be any easier than it is to Vista, and offered recommendations for how companies can move from older versions of Windows to one of its newer client OSes. "Moving from XP to Windows 7 is not a magic bullet," said Gavriella Schuster, a senior director of Windows product management, in an interview

2009-02-12T02:20:00.000-08:00

FriendConnect, the Google service that lets Web publishers add social networking features to their Web sites, has gained a new feature that aggregates basic social media functions in a toolbar that can be added to Web pages.The "social bar," as Google calls it, puts functions like logging in, editing profiles and settings, activity streams display and discussion wall postings into a strip that

Garmin-Asus announces Windows Mobile-based nuvifone M20

2009-02-12T02:17:00.001-08:00

We'd been secretly holding out hope that Garmin-Asus would pull an Android piece out of its pocket in time for MWC next week, but it's looking pretty unlikely with the announcement of the M20. The second model in the nuvifone series following the G60, the new piece runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and features a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen, quadband EDGE / triband HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps,

Sony Ericsson exec dismisses rumors of a schism

2009-02-12T02:16:00.000-08:00

Despite some nasty financial losses and a rumored smackdown of a PSP phone proposal, the Sony Ericsson joint venture is apparently as strong as ever. That's what Senior Marketing Manager Richard Dorman is saying, denying any talks of a split. He also noted that both companies had been losing money in their respective handset division prior to the assimilation, and the