Are you a fan of Linux? If you are, you have probably already installed the latest version of Ubuntu (9.10) and are currently working your way around all of the new features.

We have found an interesting article from Computer World for you to read now, which gives 5 solid reasons why they think Ubuntu 9.10 is already ‘better’ than Windows 7 - released on October 22nd.

The first reason is security, as they have stated that Windows 7 is still prone to a whole selection of malware programs, and still requires users to constantly keep on top of security updates, or risk being hacked.

Other reasons they have stated is the Cost, the simplicity of installing Ubuntu 9.10 and Ubuntu’s support for Hardware.

You may agree with the reasons mentioned there, you may not. It is still a very interesting article to read. Take a look, then give us your thoughts afterwards.

Reviews have already started to come in for the BlackBerry Bold 9700, so we thought that we would take a look at a few of them and see what the consensus is. We already know that the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is the follow on to the much-loved original Bold, so has some big boots to fill.

We know that the new Bold will be coming to AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S., but we still wait to learn which UK network will offer the 9700. Read more on this story here.

The new Bold is now the size of a BlackBerry Curve, but RIM has squashed in 3G surfing and push email. The first review on offer is from FoneHome, they start off by claiming that the Bold 9700 is “one of the best handsets ever built.” This is a huge claim, so you will need to read the full review to learn more.

PC Adviser also managed to get their hands on the BlackBerry Bold 9700, they state that it is now slimmer and lighter than the original Bold and the inclusion of a trackball is a nice touch by RIM. However, the true test will be if users will warm to the smaller QWERTY keypad.

PC Pro were also given the opportunity to review the new Bold, they also pickup on the smaller keyboard and worry that its smaller size could prove a problem, as it was the size of the keypad that original Bold users loved.

These are just three reviews of the new BlackBerry Bold 9700; feel free to offer us your own review.

When automakers take a concept vehicle to a motor show, they offer all kinds of information about what the future production model would come with. However, every so often a car maker, let’s say Honda shows off a concept vehicle with no details, such as the Honda Skydeck Concept.

This vehicle was on show at the recent Tokyo Motor Show, but Honda said that this six-seat MPV Hybrid is theoretical. So what do we know about the vehicle so far, well we know that the front doors have a swing-open design, much like a Lamborghini.

The interior of the car looks like something from the future, the first two rows are cantilever mounted to a center tunnel, the second row of seats are able to slide forward and can be stored under the front seats.

Autoblog reckon that the front styling of that shovel scoop grille looks a little like the one found on the CR-Z coupe. Visit their website now to see more photos of the Honda Skydeck Concept.

A recent article posted on TechFlash is reporting that Microsoft will be laying off additional staff, the source of this information is a reliable source, however there has been no official announcement so far.

It is thought that the additional job cuts will take place throughout the remainder of this week, TechFlash seem to believe that the number of cuts will be in its hundreds, but not thousands.

In January Microsoft announced plans to cut 5,000 jobs over 18 months, it seems that these recent job cuts will not be a total shock to employees as they have been rumored for weeks.

To see full details on the job cuts check out TechFlash.

Just in case you needed any further reminders to pick up the new BlackBerry Bold 9700, we have the official video teaser to show you now, straight from RIM themselves.

Ever since the Bold 9700 was announced, we have been kept you informed on all the relevant stuff, specs, availability and so on. We even told you about the white version of the Bold 9700, which you can read up on here.

As for the video though, its short and straight to the point really. If you have owned a BlackBerry Bold in the past, then the phone will probably appeal to you a lot more.

In our opinion though, there are a lot more exciting phones on the way that you might be best off saving your money for.

Let us know if you plan to pick one up.

We have another of those unboxing reports for you to take a look at now, this time for the BlackBerry Bold 9700 handset, which should now be shipping to customers in the U.S this week.

As reported from ElectricPig, their Bold 9700 handset has just arrived and they have wasted little time in unboxing the handset and putting all the juicy pics up for all to see.

A quick reminder of specs if you need them: It features a 2.4-inch display screen, 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash, Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, GPS and a snazzy leather case on the back.

The phone will ship on the new BlackBerry OS 5.0, so customers who pick one up can expect a nice new feel to the phone in the way of interface changes and messaging layout.

Head over to Electric Pig for the pics.

Turns out that many retailers are starting to turn their back on the Royal Mail, as it looks as if the strike may continue throughout this month. One UK retailer in particular has told us that they will be using a different courier than usual, in order to ensure that copies of Modern Warfare 2 arrive in time for the November 10th release date.

This retailer just so happens to be Play.com, probably one of the most popular sources for online game sales. We’ve bought from them in the past and can definitely remember them sticking with Royal Mail with previous orders.

One strike too many though it seems, we can’t blame them. November 10th shall be forever known as ‘Modern Warfare 2 day’, nothing shall get in the way!

Below is a portion of the email we received:

”To ensure we get your order to you by the release date of Tuesday 10th November we will be dispatching this with a courier and not Royal Mail”

Let us know your thoughts on this

Source: Email

The new Bang & Olufsen BeoTime looks like a musical instrument, but it is fact an alarm clock come remote control. The device from the audio experts has a huge number of tricks, but it needs to have for its £300 price tag, ouch.

The Bang & Olufsen BeoTime is a wireless alarm clock that also allows you to control your Bang & Olufsen’s home entertainment system, yes ok a remote control. The device has a built-in alarm tone allowing you to choose which tone you wish to be woken up too.

The BeoTime can also switch on your BeoVision 10 TV, or sound system, the device is very small but very clever. The BeoTime is very light as it is made from aluminum, and the D-pad has a nice quality feel to it, again, it needs to have for the price.

There are three small screens that are all backlit and will dim depending on the ambient light. The Bang & Olufsen BeoTime even has an internal accelerometer, so it knows which way to set the screens. For more information and to view a host of photos, visit Electric Pig.

All the top wireless carriers from around the world have all got together to discuss its preferred way how they wish to deliver voice and SMS services on LTE (Long Term Evolution). Some of the carriers include AT&T, Telefonica, Orange and more as well as cell phone makers as well.

All the companies have now agreed on a technical profile for LTE One Voice initiative. The profile defines an optimal setting for existing 3GPP-specified functionalities, this will be used by all network carriers and cell phone makers to make certain that the LTE voice solutions is compatible with all devices.

The conclusion of these talks has concluded that the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) looks to be the best solution; this is the best for meeting customers’ demands. This is said to be the most reliably and will offer the best quality.

Now that this technical profile has been met jointly by these companies, the industry will now be able to guarantee international roaming for LTE voice and SMS services will be seamless and offer continuity. For more information on this, visit AT&T

Over the last few weeks we have heard quite a lot regarding the upcoming BlackBerry Bold 9700, we have heard that the handset should be coming to T-Mobile USA and AT&T, however we have not heard much regarding a UK release.

There has been a little confusion as to whether the handset will be released on T-Mobile on November 16th or November 18th, we are still currently unsure which release date is trustworthy.

Now that the hype for the handset is getting quite large we thought we would ask our readers there preference, therefore feel free to answer the following question in the comments section below.

What US / UK carrier would you prefer to see the BlackBerry Bold 9700 released on? Please explain your answer.

If we go back to the start of the year you would have been shocked to see a wireless charger for your iPhone, BlackBerry or other device. Now as we come to the end of the year, these products seem to be getting all the more common, the latest being the Duracell Mygrid.

The first device to start the trend of this year was the Palm Touchstone, but up to that point would only work with the Pre. The next was the Powermat; this device was different as it could charge up multiple devices at once.

The Duracell Mygrid is much like the Powermat, as you only have to place the device on the mat for it to start charging. The Mygrid supports up to 8 devices, all of which will have to use an adapter, which you slide the desired device in to.

Adapter sleeves are available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, two BlackBerry handsets, and certain models of Nokia and Motorola cell phones. It will take time for more sleeves to come available, but we are certain that they will come.

The mat looks as though it will only can only charge two devices at a time, but MyGrid state that the device can charge up to four items at a time.

For more information, visit www.gadgetress.com

Earlier today we announced that Apple have now confirmed that there are over 100,000 applications available at their App Store, these applications started off pretty basic but have soon developed to cover a wide range of functionality.

Not only has the App Store been great for the iPhone/iPod Touch, but it has also been great for developers, due to the amount of iPhone users out there many developers have made successful business by creating applications.

We thought that this would be a good time to ask our readers what were their top 5 favorite apps at the App Store? Please leave your answers in the comments section below.

Just to get your memory going here are a few applications which have seen success at the App Store, Bejeweled 2, Tetris, The Sims 3, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D, Monopoly: The World Edition, Guitar Toolkit, Weather Pro, Wunder Radio, Spotify, Slacker and the list goes on…

We have some good news to deliver to Bell customers out there, as we’re pleased to report that the long awaited HSPA network has now gone live for customers, meaning Rogers now has added competition on the HSPA game in Canada.

As reported from BGR, a great-looking list of handsets that we expected to launch alongside HSPA have indeed become available, and they include favorites such as the Apple iPhone (all versions), BlackBerry Bold 9700 and Samsung Omnia II.

They also have a few handsets not classed in the ‘non smartphone’ category in the way of the LG Xenon, Samsung Impact and the Nokia 2730.

Head over to BGR for full pricing details, as well as details on the types of calling plans that will be available on offer.

What are your thoughts on Bell’s rollout of HSPA?

For those of you waiting for the BlackBerry Tour 9630 to be available from US Cellular, the wait is now over, the handset is now live on their network.

The Tour 9630 turned up on US Cellular’s website about a month ago, however until today it has not been available, if you are thinking about purchasing the handset you may want to check out these reviews.

US Cellular are offering the handset for $199.95 when you agree a two-year deal (this price takes into account a $70 mail-in rebate), the contract requires you to sign-up to a minimum calling plan of $39.99 per month and a minimum data plan of $24.95 per month, check out IntoMobile for more information.

Are these prices too excessive in your opinion?

Following on from our post yesterday which informed you about a pirated version of Modern Warfare 2, which is already in circulation for use on modded Xbox 360 consoles, Microsoft has today issued a fresh statement in relation to the news.

While not actually pointing out MW2 in their statement, it’s blatently obvious that they are talking about the Modern Warfare 2 pirates, as we also mentioned yesterday that Microsoft were currently ‘investigating’ the situation further.

As VG247 reports today though, Microsoft have made a fresh warning to all of those planning to bypass a retail copy in favor of a pirated version.

You can read the whole statement over at VG247, but we couldn’t help but post the juicy bit underneath. Let us know your thoughts on Microsoft’s statement.

”All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live.”

SlashGear have recently pointed out that Verizon Wireless have recently increased the cancellation fees when canceling contracts for“Advanced Devices”.

Chances are these “advanced devices” are high-end smartphones and laptops, Verizon are now looking to charge up to $350 for an early termination, however this decreases by $10 per month completed.

Obviously the reasons are financial, however many believe this has been brought on prematurely due to people taking Verizon up on their buy-one-get-one-free BlackBerry deal, it is thought that some people exploited this deal by terminating the contacts, paying the fees and then selling the handsets at a profit.

To be honest I feel Verizon are well within their rights to charge large amounts for early terminations, at the end of the day an agreement was made which has not been fulfilled, check out SlashGear for more information.

What do you think about the increased termination fees?

We have been asked by one of our readers when the new Palm Pixi (aka Pixie) will be released on the Verizon network. The reader is a Palm Treo owner and is waiting for the new handset to arrvive but was unsure when this is.

We do not have an official release date for the handset yet, but we recently mentioned that the Pixi will be released sometime in mid-November on the Sprint, but no idea on the Verizon carrier. We ask if any of our readers have any more news on this.

The Palm Pixi is aimed at women users and looks like a BlackBerry love child. The 2.63-inch multi-touch capacitive touchscreen display has 320 x 400 pixels and comes with a 2-megapixel camera. Other features include GPS, 8GB of internal memory, 3.5mm headphone jack and changeable covers.

The Pixie has something in common with the Palm Pre, it can use the Palm TouchStone wireless charger. According to Trusted Reviews, the new handset will run on the webOS, which is much improved thanks to a few updates since its launch.

When it comes to technology NASA and Apple are at the top of their game, so it comes as no surprise that NASA has decided to launch an app on the Apple iPhone. The best thing about the new app is that it is free, and allows you to see an overview of the path and progress of NASA’s space exploration.

The information is given to you in real time and is a great way to see how your money is being spent. According to Geek.com, NASA has spent some time developing the application and if you thought that the app is just for geeks who love astronomy, then you would be mistaken.

The app offers up-to-date information on current missions and is easy to access thanks to its fast nimble user interface. The app will allow you to gain access to all the stories from NASA and other information that NASA is undertaking.

The NASA iPhone app will also make use of the live trackers on the International Space Station (ISS) as well as their other space vehicles. Users will even have access to more than 1,300 images from NASA spaceflights and more than 5,200 Astronomy Pictures. For more information, visit Geek.com

Apple have just announced that they have today passed the 100,000 mark, in terms of number of applications currently available to download on their ever growing mobile App store.

As reported from Apple Insider, the figure applies to apps available for both the iPhone and iPod Touch. It is also worth pointing out that this figure has been reached only a year and a half after the Apple App Store first debuted.

Naturally, Philip Schiller - Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing had something to say on the big news, stating:

“The iPhone SDK created the first great platform for mobile applications and our customers are loving all of the amazing apps our developers are creating.”

It will be interesting to find out just how many of those Apps became available after the release of iPhone OS 3.1.

More details over at Apple Insider. Let us know your thoughts on Apple’s milestone.

Macware has announced the release of MacTuneUp 3.6; this is a free update for Snow Leopard users who run the Mac disk utility software. The software helps to find problems and then fix them; it will also restore hard disk space and help to give you a better Internet and network connection.

Macware MacTuneUp 3.6 also helps to prevent your system from coming instable in just a few easy steps. If you are running Snow Leopard, then you can download the update to this software from Macware support center.

Some of the new features include Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard support, increased application performance for those who have an Intel Mac. MacTuneUp 3.6 will also help to resolve any issues when displaying certain Unix manuals.
The full version of MacTuneUp can be purchased from Apple retail stores and other major retail outlets, such as Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, Fry’s Electronics and many more.

For more information, visit www.macwareinc.com