Google Drop Microsoft Windows OS on Staff Computers

June 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Back in January, Google [GOOG] had problems in China with hackers. The hackers cause problems because of loopholes in Internet Explorer, the Microsoft [MSFT] browser. We now hear that Google is dropping Microsoft operating systems from it’s staff PC’s. The move is a security effort said one anonymous employee and he went on to say that Google is now giving staff choices between Linux or OS X to use as an OS.

For the rare circumstances where employees want a Microsoft operating system PC, the installation apparently will now require CIO approval.

The move also is said to be a step in the direction of Google moving all staff to it’s own operating system ie, Google Chrome OS. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

Hitachi 7mm Thick Laptop Hard Drive Unveiled

June 1, 2010 by 1 Comment

Hitachi has created a range of new hard drives that measure just 7mm thick. The new super slim drives are 2.5 inches in size.

Two versions have been launched called the TravelStar and the CinemaStar. The two versions are built for different tasks. The TravelStar drives were designed to function in laptops and other portable devices while the CinemaStar drives are optimised for media such as audio and video streaming.

Each model has low power consumption requirements as well as shock resistance, quiet acoustics and of course, they are just 7mm thick making them a good candidate for the new Intel Canoe Lake laptops that could potentially measure just 15mm thick in total. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets

Apple to Give Factory Workers 0.7% of iPad Profit

June 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Apple [AAPL] appears to have responded to the problems found in factories where the Apple iPad is built. Recently there has been a number of suicides and although it’s difficult to judge the exact cause of the suicides, Apple has stepped up to offer 0.7% of iPad profits to those assembling the device. This will bring about a 20% raise to each worker on the line.

A small cut to Apple’s profit margin may make a big difference in workers’ lives

As well as cutting 0.7% of it’s profits for iPad assemblers, it is also believed that iPods and iPhones workers will also get a rise.

Apple has it’s products mainly built by Foxconn where other companies products are also built from the likes of HP, Dell, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft to name a small group of them. It isn’t clear if Apple will set a standard here for other companies to follow or if they will be the only company to do this. [Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad

Dell Streak Tablet Prices Revealed for UK

June 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Carphone Warehouse in the UK has announced that they are to be the exclusive independent retailer of the Dell Streak Tablet that is launching on Friday June 4.

The Dell Streak is available on the O2 network when it launches although Carphone Warehouse are offering their own tariffs which will see the Streak Tablet being free if you sign up for a £25/month mobile broadband contract, and also free if you sign up for a £35/month voice and data contract. You can also pick up the device for £429 standalone.

It isn’t clear if these tariffs are cheaper, more expensive or the same as what O2 will offer, so before ordering make sure you check out the prices direct from O2. When O2 release those prices we’ll update you. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tablets

Intel Canoe Lake can Halve Netbook Thickness

June 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Intel is working on a new generation of Atom chips, this time called Canoe Lake. The new CPU’s aim to halve the thickness of netbooks with possibilities of just half an inch being achievable.

The downside of the new Intel Canoe Lake is that there won’t be much more power than the current Intel Atom’s used although the slimmer design makes netbooks slightly thicker than an iPhone possible.

The new CPU platform uses thermal cooling rather than fans and this is what allows the netbook to be slimmer. What the thermal cooling also achieves is a netbook that also runs cooler than what we see today. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops

Qualcomm 1.2GHz Dual-Core Snapdragon Chipsets Coming Soon

June 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There’s a new Snapdragon processor launching soon. It’s actually starting to ship now and is called the Qualcomm Dual-Core Snapdragon. It runs at 1.2GHz and is designed for high-end smartphones.

The MSM8260 has HSPA+ and the MSM8660 has support for multi-mode HSPA+ and 1xEV-Do Rev. B. GPS is integrated on both and 2D/3D is supported by the GPU with Open GL ES 2.0 and Open VG 1.1. Both will do 1080p video encoding and decoding and can support up to 1280 x 800 pixels at 24-Bit.

We also hear that another Snapdragon will be launching later this year that will be designed for larger screen devices such as tablet PC’s and the likes. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Microsoft Windows Phone 7 on 30 Million Handsets by end of 2011

May 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Microsoft [MSFT] has put out a prediction which says that Windows Phone 7 will be on 30 million handsets by the end of 2011. The information comes from a slide presentation shown at ReMIX in Paris France recently.

The sales of 30 million handsets with Windows Phone 7 installed comes from a couple of areas. First is a prediction that the smartphone industry will rise from 14% this year to 40% by next year along with a mix of what Microsoft believes it can sell in the next 18 months (or however short that duration is based on when it launches).

Challenges of course come from the likes of iPhone OS 4.0 that is launching perhaps next month, and Google Android which is seeing 100,000 devices a day being shipped at the moment. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

iWeight iPad Digital Scale

May 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Loads of crazy apps can be found on the iPhone and iPad. This list includes a portable heater, a torch/flash light and many other apps.

The next doesn’t actually exist and has been designed for a bit of fun. The image shows a person standing on an iPad screen with some scales underneath on the screen showing the weight. Of course this app will never be made as it will never work with this iPad and obviously you’d damage it if you tried. [Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad

Nintendo GameBoy Arcade Mod

May 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

This GameBoy Arcade Mod is designed to be a home to your old Nintendo Gameboy. The mini arcade units are each hand built and ship from from China within 20 business days.

The reason it takes a while to get to the customer is that each one is hand-built after the order has been made and payment received. On the back of the arcade unit the GameBoy slides in. Below that are connections for power and sound allowing you to keep your gameboy running from the mains and listen to some louder speakers. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

MSI WindPad 100 Unveiled at Computex 2010

May 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Computex opened up today and as we expected, a number of new tablets were on show. We already covered the new ASUS Eee Pad that will be launching Q1 next year. This next one is the MSI WindPad 100. This Tablet runs Windows 7 and has a 10 inch screen.

The tablet is powered by an Intel Atom Z530 processor that runs at 1.66GHz, it has 2GB of RAM and has 32GB of storage on an SSD.

The WindPad 100 uses Windows 7 Home Premium although MSI has made a number of customisations that bring the Wind Touch UI layer to the device making it more tablet friendly, well that’s the plan if anything. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tablets

Apple iPad – Two Million Sold Since Launch

May 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Less than a month ago, Apple [AAPL] announced that over 1 million Apple iPad units had been sold. Now on May 31 the company now announces that 2 Million iPads have been sold since launch on April 3.

It took less than 60 days to sell 2 million iPads which is quite an impressive achievement. This was probably helped with the international iPad launch that happened on Friday May 28 where the iPad went on sale in the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Another nine countries will be added to this list in July with more countries later this year.

‘Customers around the world are experiencing the magic of iPad, and seem to be loving it as much as we do, said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. ‘We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad

Google Android 2.2 Froyo hacked on to HTC EVO 4G

May 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Just a few days ago a team managed to root the HTC EVO 4G. Gaining root on the HTC EVO 4G has moved things on to the next logical step… that is to get Android 2.2 Froyo working on the device. Google [GOOG] only launched FroYo recently, so the OS is brand new and not even available yet on devices through the official channels except for a few installs here and there on to Google Nexus One phones recently.

Android 2.2 Froyo was ported on to the HTC EVO 4G by Richard Ross. It is believed that the phone seen in the video is one of the devices handed out to all attendees at the Google I/O event held a couple of weeks ago. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones