Posted 03/12/10 at 09:16:15 AM by Paul Lilly

MSI is pretty stoked about the latest entry to its gaming notebook line, the 17-inch GE700. The new notebook couples an Intel Core i5 processor with ATI Radeon HD 5730 graphics (with 1GB GDDR3 memory), along with a few other noteworthy goodies.

Among them are two "cinema-class" speakers and a subwoofer, an HD webcam capable of 720p video up to 30fps, two hard drive bays for up to 1TB of storage, MSI's exclusive GPU Boost technology (switch between the integrated and discrete graphics solutions), HDMI output, eSATA, 4-in-1 memory card reader, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Windows 7 Home Premium.

MSI put a bit of attention into the GE700's styling, including a "super-cool exterior" with a glossy black finish. You'll also find luminescent touch-sensitive hotkeys.

No word yet on price or availability.

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Posted 03/12/10 at 09:00:43 AM by Paul Lilly

Citing sources from motherboard makers, news and rumor site DigiTimes says there's a shortage of mobo components, including multilayered ceramic chips (MLCCs), solid capacitors, LAN connectors, and other odds and ends. The reason, sources say, is because of recent labor shortages.

In response to the shortages, Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and ECS have all begun "aggressively placing orders" in an attempt to avoid having the component shortages affect overall shipments.

The good news is that the labor situation is expected to improve after April, by which time the mobo market will have entered the slow season. The tight supply of components will also improve, but component makers fear that their performance will be affected in the second quarter as top-tier mobo makers halt any new orders to avoid a surplus in inventory.

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Posted 03/12/10 at 08:47:51 AM by Paul Lilly

Short and to the point, Apple this morning has started accepting pre-orders for its upcoming iPad tablet, which will be available on April 3 (Wi-Fi) and late April (Wi-Fi + 3G).

As a reminder, pricing breaks down as follows:

• 16GB Wi-Fi: $499
• 32GB Wi-Fi: $599
• 64GB Wi-Fi: $699
• 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G: $629
• 32GB Wi-Fi + 3G: $729
• 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G: $829

Shipping is free, and Apple's wording makes it sound like the tablet will be delivered on the day of its release (or April 5 if Saturday delivery isn't available in your area). If you don't want to chance it, you can also opt to reserve a copy at your local Apple Retail Store and pick it up between 9AM and 3PM.

So, who's in for one (or two, which is the pre-order limit)?

Pre-order Page

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Posted 03/12/10 at 08:22:31 AM by Paul Lilly

More bad news for Microsoft, who again was found guilty of willfully infringing on i4i's patents, this time by the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals.

Microsoft is quickly running out of avenues. This latest verdict is the second time an appeals court affirmed i4i's patent win, which requires Redmond to fork over more than $240 million in damages, as well as remove a feature in versions of Microsoft Word 2007 that lets people create custom XML documents.

"A reasonable jury could have concluded that Microsoft 'willfully' infringed the 449 patents based on teh evidence present at the trial," the judges wrote. "Similarly, there is no evidence Microsoft ever made a good faith effort to avoid infringement, internal emails show Microsoft intended to render i4i's product 'obsolete' and assure 'there won't be a need for [i4i's] product.'"

So is it time to throw in the towel? Not quite. According to InfoWorld.com, the panel will now circulate the document to the rest of the judges on the appeals court, who will then decide whether honor Microsoft's request for an en banc review. If the request is approved, all 12 appeals court judges will reconsider the case.

"From our perspective, there are only so many more avenues for appeals for them," said Loudon Owen, chairman of i4i.

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Posted 03/12/10 at 08:02:29 AM by Paul Lilly

Nobody really talks a whole lot about Nokia anymore, not with sexy smartphones like the Motorola Droid and Google's  Nexus One stealing all the spotlight. Part of the problem is that Symbian, even though it dominates the market, hasn't kept pace with other OSes. Look for that to change with Symbian 3.

According to Nokia, "it is about renewal" with the upcoming OS and the new phones that will be built around it. Symbian 3 should be "functionally complete" by the end of Q1. It will include a more polished UI that's easier to use, an improved homescreen, a podcast manager, and a bit more pep, among other features. According to David Rivas, a vice president at Nokia, Symbian 3 will help get his company back on track.

And as for Android? Rivas claims his company has a more "open" stance around Symbian and MeeGo than Google does with Android.

"Anyone can go to the Symbain website and see what features will be coming months in advance," Rivas explained. "Show me where you can do that with Android."

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Posted 03/12/10 at 07:39:53 AM by Paul Lilly

In this week's edition of Extreme Tech Makeover, Hewlett Packard will spend $40 million overhauling its image. Helping them do that is rapper Dr. Dre, who will appear in one of the new ad spots.

"Most people think we are just a printer company," says Michael Mendenhall, HP's chief marketing officer. "Awareness of what we do has not kept pace with [our] expansion."

That expansion includes scooping up companies like Electronic Data Systems and 3Com, and to help push the message that HP is a multi-talented company, the $40 million "Let's Do Amazing" ad campaign will feature several different celebrities. In the one starring Dr. Dre, the rapper talks about how HP rebuilt his PC to make his music sound better. Ad spots like this will help give the company what it lacks, which is "a real differentiation in personality and distinction."

Look for the commercials during high-traffic broadcasts, including the NCAA March Madness championship and series finales of shows like "24."

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Posted 03/11/10 at 10:04:11 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Firefox 3.6 has recorded over 100 million downloads during the past 50 days, according to a new post  by Melissa Shapiro on Mozilla's official blog. Now, Mozilla wants Firefox loyalists still holding onto older versions of the browser to make the leap to the latest version. To this end, people running older versions will begin seeing a pop-up message to inform them about the latest version and urge them to update.

They will have to pick either one of the three options available to them: Ask Later, No Thanks, or Get the New Version. Mozilla also tried to address a widespread apprehension that already installed Firefox add-ons and Firefox 3.6 may prove to be incongruous. “It’s fast, stable, compatible with over 90% of the thousands of Firefox Add-ons, and contains new features such as lightweight themes and plugin version checking,” Shapiro wrote in a clear bid to allay such fears.

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Posted 03/11/10 at 08:26:45 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Paris-based Darkworks is wandering the floor at GDC making some pretty big promises. They say their upcoming TriOvis for Games SDK will allow developers to build in 3D support to 2D games. The real benefit would be that it would not require the purchase of a 3D capable display.

Darkworks is saying that all the 3D-ification happens in the software and the special 3D glasses. Apparently, this means those not wearing glasses would see a regular 2D image without the blurring of a 3D image. The technology will be available for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

If this proves to be a feasible option, we may see DLC for existing games that enable 3D with the TriOvis system. Darkworks has said that the process of adding TriOvis to an existing game is very simple, taking anywhere from a few days to a week. We are really floored by the possibilities here. Let’s hope this is for real.

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