Hi tech gadgets | Gadget review

Google may run fine with the new music search feature.

2009-10-29T15:20:00.001+07:00

Google Inc. started out 13 years ago as a simple search engine, but it has grown into a behemoth that has shaken up dozens of industries, including computers and cellphones. On Wednesday, it jumped into the music industry. The Mountain View, Calif., Internet giant unveiled a music search feature that lets users play millions of songs for free with an option to buy or rent them from several

Microsoft Exec Warns On Windows 7 Upgrade Hack

2009-10-29T15:18:00.001+07:00

Just because something is technically possible doesn't mean it's legal. That's the message Eric Ligman, global partner experience lead inMicrosoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s Worldwide Partner Group, is sending this week to bloggers who claim to have found a way to circumvent Microsoft's rules and perform a clean install of Windows 7 using upgrade media. Cost savings is the motivating factor here: The

Verizon: Who Needs the iPhone?

2009-10-29T15:16:00.001+07:00

To stay ahead of AT&T and Apple, Verizon is placing a big bet on Android smartphones and other new gadgets Can Verizon Wireless keep its spot as the leading wireless company in the U.S. if it doesn't have the industry's hottest phone? Lowell McAdam, the company's chief executive, is trying to make the case that it can. Two years ago, Verizon Wireless passed on the chance to become the

GPS system puts Droid phone on the map

2009-10-29T15:13:00.001+07:00

When it comes to GPS car navigation, the new Droid phone from Verizon Wireless could change everything. That's right -- from a phone. Mounted to the windshield with an optional holder, it provides a voice-activated GPS system with so much potential that mainstream GPS companies may have to scramble to catch up. Someday. It's not quite there, however, as a consumer-friendly navigator.

2 Deals Hint at Revenue for Twitter

2009-10-22T14:04:00.001+07:00

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter gets 55 million monthly visitors, it has raised $155 million in venture capital, and it has generated intense interest from Hollywood to Iran. But it hasn’t earned much revenue and certainly no profit.Back-to-back deals on Wednesday to make the company’s steady stream of posts available to Microsoft and Google’s search engines may point to a potential new source of cash.

It's Official: Microsoft Launches Windows 7

2009-10-22T14:03:00.001+07:00

Microsoft on Thursday formally released Windows 7, its latest in a long line of computer operating systems that are meant to bridge the gap between man and personal computing machine.Windows 7 promises a streamlined interface, support for touch screens, and security features that, while robust, don't interfere with users' day-to-day interactions with their computers, the software maker

British Royal family now on Twitter

2009-07-12T12:23:00.001+07:00

Buckingham Palace has noted today that the British Royal Family has now joined Twitter, just another addition in the long line of big names that have joined the micro-blogging site. The Twitter account is @BritishMonarchy and is now publicly available after spending a couple of weeks in private testing . According to the BBC, the family signed up "to harness the popularity of

The iPhone's Distinctive Dozen

2009-07-12T12:22:00.001+07:00

Since the App Store opened its doors a year ago, more than 50,000 iPhone apps have found a place on Apple's virtual shelves. And we have to be honest here--a solid majority of those 50,000 apps are not all that memorable. But just as assuredly, there are more than a few apps that have made a name for themselves in the past year and, in their own way, helped make the App Store the success story

Microsoft Won't Offer Windows for Smartbooks

2009-06-03T17:28:00.001+07:00

Microsoft doesn't plan to offer a version of Windows for so-called "smartbooks," leaving the space open to Linux, Google's Android and other operating systems.Smartbooks are a new class of device built around ARM-based chips from companies like Qualcomm, Freescale and Texas Instruments. A number of PC makers are working on smartbook designs, which are targeted at the space between smartphones and

Nintendo unveils sensor, 'Wii Fit Plus' at E3 video game expo

2009-06-03T17:26:00.001+07:00

To keep the Wii on top, Nintendo intends to keep its finger on the pulse of the game-playing public.Tuesday at the E3 video game expo, the company showed an add-on that wraps around the finger to takes a player's pulse.Though no specific games or uses (or price or availability) were revealed, the Wii Vitality Sensor is "another entirely different way of thinking about games," says Nintendo global

Links for 2009-05-05 [Digg]

2009-05-06T00:00:00-07:00

Nikon Coolpix S5 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom
Review Nikon Coolpix S5

Salesforce Tweets a Bit Too Loudly

2009-03-24T13:56:00.001+07:00

Salesforce.com is implementing a new customer service tool for businesses, but is it a tech savvy move or just plain creepy? Salesforce.com today announced a beta program for its Service Cloud that incorporates Twitter. The Service Cloud is a program for businesses that takes advantage of online knowledge bases, communities, social networks, and now Twitter to provide customer service and help.

Best Free Apps and Services for Your Phone

2009-03-24T13:47:00.003+07:00

Whether you're on the go or on the sofa, these nine free downloads and services will make your phone experience more enjoyable and productive.We'll show you, among others, a service that will identify music for you; a mobile app that will sync audio notes, text messages, and phone photos to the Web and desktop versions of the same note-taking software; and a download that acts like a Hollywood

OnLive could threaten Xbox, PS3, and Wii

2009-03-24T13:47:00.001+07:00

SAN FRANCISCO--Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, look out. Your traditional video game console business model may be in danger. It's too early to tell how much danger, of course, but a start-up called OnLive announced a brand-new game distribution system Monday night that, if it works as planned, could change the games game forever. OnLive, which was started by WebTV founder Steve Perlman and former

Salesforce.com to let customers track comments

2009-03-24T13:46:00.001+07:00

Salesforce.com Inc., the biggest seller of online customer-management software, introduced a feature that lets customers track comments posted on Twitter Inc.'s Web site. The software - called Salesforce CRM for Twitter - can find, monitor and analyze comments and complaints made about a company's products, San Francisco's Salesforce.com said Monday. The feature works with Service Cloud, a Web

Premium Article ! Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button. Options Premium Article ! To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the n/a site. Subscribe Registered Article ! To read this article in full you must be registered with the site. Sign In Register Govt spends £500k changing from Windows XP to Vista

2009-03-17T23:02:00.000+07:00

Published Date: 17 March 2009 JUST under half a million pounds has been spent on changing the government's IT system from Windows XP to Vista. David Callister MLC queried in Tynwald today (Tuesday) why the decision had been taken to transfer from to Vista, which he said had proven to be the most '

Mac OSX Native Giga File Player

2009-03-17T23:00:00.000+07:00

Soundlib's new G-Player is a Mac OSX native Giga file player designed to play the large banks that require disk streaming. The company say that G-Player allows you to quickly modify some program parameters (ADSR, VCA, VCF...) without having to edit and save the giga file. G-Player works on Mac OSX as an AudioUnit plugin, VST plugin and standalone application. Here's all the details from Soundlib.

American Idol(R) Finalists Coming to Apple App Store

2009-03-11T20:19:00.000+07:00

SEATTLE, March 10, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME: undefined, undefined, undefined%) and Zumobi, today introduced the first-ever official American Idol(R: 21.62, 0, 0%) application for Apple's revolutionary iPhone and iPod touch. "American Idol Season 8 Exclusive" follows this season's American Idol Top 13 finalists in their quest to be named the next American

Move Your Data to a Safer, Separate Partition, Part 2: Vista

2009-03-11T20:18:00.002+07:00

Restoring Windows to its brand-new condition (an occasionally necessary job) generally involves losing everything on the hard drive system partition. That includes your documents, photos, and everything else we collectively call data. Moving your data to a separate partition therefore adds an extra layer of security and convenience. Last week I explained how to do this surprisingly difficult

A Rocky Start for Obama's Broadband Push

2009-03-11T20:17:00.000+07:00

On Mar. 10, Dan Spatz joined hundreds of other people who crammed into a 500-seat auditorium at the Commerce Dept. building in Washington, D.C. The crowd of executives, entrepreneurs, and local officials had gathered for the first public hearing about how the federal government plans to distribute $7.2 billion in grants and loans to improve broadband Internet access in the U.S. Spatz, a city

Apple orders 10-inch touchscreens for third quarter: source

2009-03-11T20:15:00.002+07:00

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Apple will take third-quarter delivery of newly developed 10-inch touchscreens from Taiwan, a source said on Wednesday, amid talk the U.S. firm is developing a touchscreen PC. Taiwan touchscreen specialist Wintek already makes small screens for Apple iPhones, and has received orders for the larger ones that are roughly the same size as those used in mini PCs, said the source

Links for 2009-03-06 [Digg]

2009-03-07T00:00:00-08:00

Best Buy Offers $99 IPhone to Some Reward Members
If US$99 for an 8GB iPhone sounds too good to be true--well, it kind of is. The latest offering comes from Best Buy, which is selling both the 8GB and 16GB iPhones for $100 off their respective retail prices. And unlike similar past deals from AT

Best Buy Offers $99 IPhone to Some Reward Members

2009-02-24T22:13:00.001+07:00

If US$99 for an 8GB iPhone sounds too good to be true--well, it kind of is. The latest offering comes from Best Buy, which is selling both the 8GB and 16GB iPhones for $100 off their respective retail prices. And unlike similar past deals from AT&T, these are brand new phones, not refurbished units.Of course, there's a catch. There's always a catch. In this case, the deal is only applicable if

AOL's social strategy: Merge Bebo, AIM, all else

2009-02-24T22:11:00.005+07:00

AOL has been fairly criticized for its purchase of Bebo in 2008 for $850 million. Since the acquisition, Bebo has been rolled into a group at AOL called People Networks. As we wrote yesterday, Bebo now has spiff new features. But that doesn't make it worth $850 million. I sat down with Joanna Shields, president of AOL People Networks, about the division's longer-term strategy. Shields was brought

HD movie purchases coming to Vudu

2009-02-24T22:11:00.003+07:00

Most video-on-demand set-top boxes let users rent or buy downloadable movies. But high-definition movies have been rental-only, thanks to limitations from the movie studios that own the content. But owners of Vudu's on-demand box will now be able to buy a limited selection of HD movies from independent studios Firstlook, Magnolia, and Kino. The initial roster of 50 high-def movies includes such

Yahoo executive joins Hearst amid reorganization

2009-02-24T22:11:00.001+07:00

NEW YORK (AP) — A Yahoo executive in charge of news and information is jumping ship to media conglomerate Hearst Corp., as a major overhaul of management at the search company is expected to hit this week.Neeraj Khemlani, 38, will join Hearst as its vice president and special assistant to the chief executive for digital media on March 23. It is a newly created position.Khemlani's job will be to

Apple Looking to Free the iPhone from AT&T?

2009-02-24T22:09:00.001+07:00

The IT Examiner reports that while Jobs is away from his spot as CEO of Apple the interim CEO is looking to free the iPhone from the grips of AT&T notoriously spotty network. The publication cites an unnamed source that claims Apple will announce an iPhone for Verizon soon. Of course, we have been hearing that a second iPhone model will be coming soon for years, so take this rumor with two grains

Links for 2009-02-16 [Digg]

2009-02-17T00:00:00-08:00

Xperia X1 gets Skype, CNN panels
A year after it launched its Xperia X1, Sony Ericsson used the 2009 GSMA World Congress in Barcelona to launch launch new panels for the high-end smartphone. All panels will be available for download from Sony Ericsson in mid-March.
Can Asus' touch device give us a taste of the future of Wind
The Eee has evolved again into a neat Apple iMac-like desktop PC, but where the £200 Eee Box offered a barebones approach, the Eee Top is a PC/monitor combo with touchscreen input.