Technology Update News

Filed under: Laptops

There are two kinds of Dell rumors: sure things, and ones that aren’t sure things. This one falls in the latter camp, so proceed with caution. We’ve got a tipster who says a friend of his from Dell handed him this shot of what is purportedly a new XPS M1330 / M1530 design. As you can see, pretty much the same old fare… but what’s this? A large glossy touchpad? Here’s our hunch: Dell is tired of drawing inspiration from Apple after the fact, and decided to turn the tables by capitalizing on one of the most persisten (and outlandish) Apple rumors in existence. A good capacitive touchscreen for the trackpad on a laptop would undoubtedly be a blast if it was done right, with the right software support, and at least seems like a good gimmick. Or maybe it’d just be lame. We won’t go further than that, this could just as easily be a Photoshop, but we will be keeping an eye out.

Update: False alarm, turns out this is just a still from an NVIDIA Tegra demo on YouTube. Thanks, shiv, for pointing this out in comments. Boo, tipster, boo.

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CNET - The owner of an opposition Internet news site in Russia’s volatile Ingushetia region was shot and killed Sunday after being detained by police.

Owner of opposition Internet news site in Russia’s volatile Ingushetia region shot and killed after being detained by police.

AFP - Microsoft will slash the price of its Xbox 360 video game console in Japan by almost 30 percent to try to boost sales amid tough competition from rivals Sony and Nintendo, a report said Monday.

AP - For the most part, the callers were calm, patiently asking for the fastest path out of New Orleans or some other Gulf Coast city as Hurricane Gustav twisted its way to the northwest.

Long Zheng / istartedsomething:

Microsoft to launch “Skymarket” applications marketplace for Windows Mobile 7  —  If one of the most compelling features of the iPhone are the third-party applications then it’s a sad fact for Microsoft since Windows Mobile has supported third-party applications since the last ice age.

Filed under: Cellphones

After what feels like centuries of waiting (and suffering through that painful CeBIT demo), we finally get to see the Meizu M8’s OS in action… and it’s not as bad as you think. Sure, the interface is totally derivative of the iPhone, and there is that pesky cursor floating around, but all-in-all it looks like the company has managed to knock out a decent — if incredibly familiar — UI for its long-delayed phone. Still, there’s some low rent hilarity in this video. Our favorites? The smattering of soft porn pictures and video, and Meizu CEO and all-around bon vivant Jack Wong revealed in a reflection… wearing a face mask! Don’t believe it? Check the clip after the break (and freeze frame of Mr. Wong).

[Thanks, Patrick P.]

Continue reading A functional Meizu M8 UI, CEO Jack Wong finally caught on video

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Back in 2006, Oscar Diös heard there was a dead Boeing 747-200 built in 1976 on one of the runways at Arlanda Airport, the largest international airport in Sweden, north of Stockholm. It was once…

newVideoPlayer(”/marufightingbots_giz.flv”, 475, 376,”"); Naoki Maru may live in Hikone, north of Kyoto, down the road from a samurai castle full of katana swords and armor, but for him, the ancient…

Reuters - Microsoft Corp will cut the
price of its Xbox 360 game console in Japan by about 30
percent, aiming to gain market share from leader Nintendo Co
(7974.OS), the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.

Nick O’Neill / All Facebook:

Facebook Live Feed Kills Twitter & FriendFeed  —  Yes, I love calling Facebook the Twitter and FriendFeed killer but I seriously think they may have one-upped the competition on their latest release: the Live Feed.  You can sit and watch in real-time what is taking place with your friends across their profiles in an unfiltered manner.

Fred / A VC:

Web Services That Cater To Both The Publisher And The Reader  —  I’ve been noticing a trend lately that certain web services are starting to cater to both the publisher and the reader.  And I think this is an important direction for a host of reasons.  —  You have to build a service …

Filed under: Gaming

You know how it goes with Sony and PS3-related peripherals. A big introduction, followed by a slight delay, followed by a longer delay, followed by a little something to take the sting off. Here we have word from Noam Rimon, senior development manager at SCEA R&D, that the news-blasting (and uncomfortably named) Life with PlayStation will once again be delayed. According to Noam, Sony is “still pushing some paperwork” on the service, though he gave no expected time frame for the actual launch. Nevertheless, he softened the blow by announcing once and for all that it will indeed be free (and accessible directly from the XMB) whenever it finally goes live. Gotta take the good with the bad, we guess.

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Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:

The Net Neutrality Debate All On One Page  —  Are you confused about Net Neutrality?  Who isn’t?  Some people argue it is necessary for continued innovation on the Internet, and point to Comcast’s bandwidth metering as a sign of things to come.  Others claim that it is unnecessary regulation …

Believe it or not, this beautiful Gorenje fridge is an official Apple-licensed Made for iPod refrigerator. And believe it or not, it’s not just a speaker and a dock glued to a glossy black fridge:…