Chrome OS Now Available, Go Get It [Chrome]

This one came out of nowhere. Chrome OS is now available for download. It's not the final version, but a beta.

2009-10-21: New Chrome OS 0.4.223 beta is available now!

Chrome OS is a brand new free operating system built around the revolutionary Google Chrome browser.

The project aim is to provide a lightweight Linux distribution for the best web browsing experience.

Featured software in Chrome OS:
GNOME 2.24 desktop environment
Google Chrome 4.0.223 web browser
Google Picasa 2.7 photo manager New!
OpenOffice.org 3.0 office suite
GIMP 2.6 image editor
Flash Player 10.0 plugin
and much more!

System requirements of Chrome OS:
Processor: Intel Pentium, Xeon or newer; AMD Duron, Athlon, Sempron, Opteron or newer
RAM: min. 256 MB
Hard disk: min. 1 GB
Graphics card: supports most modern graphics cards

[Google]

Via: Gizmodo

Apple to bring changes to retail stores

As the holiday season brings additional shoppers to Apple's retail stores, they'll be making changes to ensure a pleasant experience for the new customers, ifoAppleStore reports.

First, they're going to ditch the color-coded Starfleet uniform T-shirts, which shoppers have found confusing. Instead, all employees will wear the same color. Next, the handheld checkout devices will be swapped out for specially-equipped iPod touches. A new scanner accessory will interact with point-of-sale software on the iPods. Best of all, employees will be able to accept cash from customers right where the stand, eliminating the often time-consuming walk to the cash register.

Watch for these changes at an Apple Store near you.
TUAWApple to bring changes to retail stores originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I Want to Have Twins Just to Get Them These T-Shirts [T-shirts]

So cute those two and their t-shirts. Mine would say cmd + c and cmd + v, however. [The Daily What]

Via: Gizmodo

Nokia N97 firmware 2.0 hits the tubes, is ready for your attention

Got an N97? Yeah? Reckoned that Nokia has forgotten about your loyalty and moved all of its focus onto the N900? Fret not, dearest early adopter -- the engineers in Espoo are making good on a promise to clear out lots of bugs in the aforesaid handset with firmware 2.0, and if we're seeing this right, it's available now to download all over the world. We know, you 5800 owners are clamoring for the same type of TLC, but for now it looks like the pricier sibling is getting its due. Hit the read link and get your download going, and make sure to report back on your kinetic scrolling experience, cool?



[Thanks, Daniel]

Nokia N97 firmware 2.0 hits the tubes, is ready for your attention originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Microsoft borrows Apple Store blueprint, manager (video)

Anyone who witnessed the opening of Microsoft's first retail store in Scottsdale must have been feeling a bit of deja vu at the whole experience. It started with the camping and the long meandering lines leading to a raucous countdown. When the doors finally opened, customers were greeted with sturdy high-fives from overly-enthusiastic employees dressed in their casual, every-man uniforms. Inside were products placed on tables within easy reach of a curious public as well as an 'Answer Bar' where presumed geniuses will tenderly solve customer issues. Failing that, you can always sign-up for the in-store events and training sessions scheduled throughout the day. Sound familiar... maybe a bit too familiar? But the icing on this plagiaristic cake is Lisa Seigneur, a former Apple retail store manager who famously (in our circles, anyway) introduced Oprah to Bono's Product RED iPod nano in Chicago -- the very same Microsoft Store employee who handed out free Zune HDs to those early campers in Scottsdale. Video evidence after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft borrows Apple Store blueprint, manager (video)

Microsoft borrows Apple Store blueprint, manager (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

University Makes Twitter a Required Class for Journalism Students

Worried that too many tweets are mere pointless babble? So is Australia’s Griffith University, who recently made Twitter education part of the mandatory courseload for journalism students.

According to a senior lecturer at the University, “Some students’ tweets are not as in depth as you might like.” The solution? Make Twitter writing practice a compulsory part of the course curriculum for would-be journalists.

University officials cited increasing demand from employers for new hires well-versed in social media, and Twitter’s importance in global events like the Iran elections earlier this year.

While we perhaps would have given up a prized appendage to have anything as cool as a Twitter course available back when we were in school during the Pleistocene Era, the Griffith U students’ reactions have been mixed. Some students had no idea what Twitter even was (sort of proving the point of needed education for future journalists!), and a few outspoken J-schoolers who felt the class was “a waste of time.” Clearly kids these days don’t know how good they have it.

What’s your take: should Twitter fluency be required for future journalists? Or is it impractical to expect students to inject “more depth” into their tweets?

[Via PSFK] & Mashable

---

Reviews: Twitter

Tags: education, journalism, twitter

Microsoft retail store opening in AZ copies freely from Apple Stores

The day is Thursday, October 22nd. You're in Scottsdale, Arizona, and you walk into a brand new store being opened by a multinational corporation that produces technology products, including popular operating systems for computers and mobile phones, music/media players, and 'cloud' email and storage services for consumers.



As you walk into the store, employees in brightly-colored t-shirts cheer and applaud. The store is spacious, with large wooden tables placed far enough apart that the opening-day crowd, standing on a hardwood floor, isn't packed into the place. At the back of the store is an 'Answer Bar,' where you can ask questions about the operating system on your computer.



No, Apple didn't open a new Apple Store in Scottsdale on the 22nd. Instead, this was the opening of the first Microsoft Store. As expected, the stores draw heavily on the highly successful Apple Store concept; the stores are opening near Apple Stores, the former real estate chief for Apple (George Blankenship) was hired to consult on location and placement of the stores, and Microsoft has even attempted to hire away Apple Store managers to run their retail outlets.



The personal shoppers are a blatant rip-off of Apple's Concierge concept, and Personal Training is an echo of Apple's One-to-One training. The Microsoft Store website has similarities to the pages for individual Apple Stores, down to a scrolling list of in-store classes and events (the list for the Scottsdale store is empty at this time).



It's fascinating to see that Microsoft has decided to copycat the Apple Store concept, but it remains to be seen if the execution will be as successful for Microsoft as it has been for Apple.



[via MacRumors]

TUAWMicrosoft retail store opening in AZ copies freely from Apple Stores originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Windows 7 student upgrade installer not working for many

The Windows 7 launch seems to have gone off mostly roses and sunbeams, but we're hearing today that quite a few people have had issues installing the downloadable $29 student upgrade edition on 32-bit Vista -- apparently the file doesn't unpack to an ISO, but instead to an executable and two bundles that don't function properly, and eventually the process errors out with a 64-bit app trying to launch on 32-bit systems. It's possible to create an ISO using some hackery, but the install process seems to be 50/50 after that -- we've heard of both success and further crashes. For it's part, Microsoft says it's looking into things, so hopefully a newly repackaged download will be forthcoming -- every party has its ups and downs, right?

[Thanks, Tom]

Read - Original thread
Read - Microsoft response

Filed under: Software

Windows 7 student upgrade installer not working for many originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You Are Not Tripping: This Car Is Real [Image Cache]

I thought the Lexus LF-A Crystallised Wind looked awesome before, but this spectacular image from the ongoing Tokyo Motor Show takes 'awesome' to a completely new level. The I shouldn't have popped those pills this morning level. Without the lights:

It doesn't look too shabby either. The Lexus LF-A Crystallised Wind was made of acrylic glass for the Milan Design Week exhibition, back in April at Milan's Museo della Permanente art gallery.[Daily Telegraph]

Via Gizmodo

The hits just keep coming: now there's a new Apple Remote

In the universal scheme of things, it's not a big thing, but it's a welcome update. Apple has announced a new Apple Remote that has aluminum niceness and works with the iPhone, iPods with the Universal Dock, and iMacs introduced since 2005 that have a built-in infrared receiver.

According to Apple, the remote 'gives you total command of your music, photos, videos, and DVDs from anywhere in the room. It works with Front Row to make accessing the digital content on your Mac as simple as navigating your iPod.'

On an iPod or iPhone connected to a dock with IR you can 'experience your songs, slideshows, and more from across the room. Plug your iPod into the Universal Dock and choose a playlist, slideshow, or video. Then sit back, relax, and enjoy. Ready to move on to the next song? No need to get up. Just press the Next button on the Apple Remote. Getting a call on your iPhone? Press Pause, then pick up where you left off.'

It's a spiffy new design, with darker buttons instead of the all-white older model. Might make it easier to use when fumbling in the dark.

The remote will sell for U.S. $19.99 and is shipping in 2-4 weeks.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

TUAWThe hits just keep coming: now there's a new Apple Remote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST.

Mini gets a server-style upgrade

Apple has given the mini a bit of a bump this morning, including a mini without an optical drive, twice the storage and of course a copy of OS X Server. It is meant to be a solution for those small businesses out there that are too small to need an Xserve, as well as media enthusiasts who are looking for a quick and easy way to share their stuff. Since it lacks an onboard optical drive, it works with the USB Super Drive, originally meant only for the MacBook Air, for disc-required functions. The Mac mini server sells for $999US.

TUAWMini gets a server-style upgrade originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:40:00 EST.

First Look: New iMacs announced, and they're incredible!

TUAW may have had the date wrong (we guessed October 9, 2009), but the new iMacs we were looking for finally showed up today. The 20' and 24' models are gone, replaced by 21.5' and 27' iMacs with a true 16 x 9 HD aspect ratio. It's also obvious that Apple intends for the new iMacs to end up on the desktops of a lot of designers, since the line now includes the first quad-core iMac ever.

The pricing for the iMac line starts at the same US$1199, but that's where the similarities stop. The displays are now backlit by LEDs, providing better energy efficiency. The 21.5" model has a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, which is the equivalent of a 1080p HDTV. That screen size is actually 90% of the resolution of the old 24" iMac. Resolution on the 27" model is 2560 x 1440 pixels. Both of the new iMacs use the IPS display technology for excellent color fidelity and a very wide (178°) viewing angle.

For the first time, iMacs now have an SD card slot located below the optical drive slot on the right side of the computer. The systems will ship with Apple's new wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse, or you can get wired models as a configure-to-order option at no extra cost.

All of the new iMacs can be loaded with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 2 TB of storage. The new low-end model, at US$1199, is running a blazing-fast 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor and comes with 4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive, and an Nvidia GeForce 9400M video card. The US$1499 model of the 21.5' iMac bumps storage up to 1TB and upgrades video to a Radeon HD 4670 card. The US$1699 27' model has the same features as the US$1499 21.5', but of course has the 27' display.

At the high end of the line will be an iMac that won't be released until next month -- a $1999 27' that is powered by a 2.66GHz Intel Core i5 quad-core processor. That model also has a Radeon HD 4850 video card built in. If you wish, you can swap out the Core i5 chip for the even more powerful Core i7 processor.

The Core i5 is based on the Linfield processor, which is part of the same Nehalem family found in the existing Mac Pro line. The Core i5 features a turbo mode, which means that the chip can shift from a slower clock speed with four cores to a faster mode with two cores active. The turbo mode speed of the Core i5 processor is 3.2 GHz, while the turbo mode speed of the i7 is a whopping 3.46 GHz.

What's really incredible is a new feature for the iMacs 27' models that allows them to act as external monitors or HDTVs. You'll be able to attach DVD players, Blu-Ray players, gaming consoles, or even other computers, and display them on the bright, clear, iMac display. Update: The 27' will handle DisplayPort-based input, with adapters to be announced. The 21.5' model will not support video input, based on the spec page.

The last iMacs were released in March of 2009, with a 20' model powered by a 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo available at US$1199, and 24' models with 2.66, 2.93, and 3.06 GHz processors at US$1499, US$1799, and US$2199.

TUAWFirst Look: New iMacs announced, and they're incredible! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:35:00 EST.

Apple's newest peripheral is the Magic Mouse

As rumored, Apple has just introduced a new mouse called the Magic Mouse. This mouse will bring Multi-Touch capabilities to desktop Macs for the first time, something that the iPhone has had since its release in June 2007 and the MacBook Air since it was released in February 2008.

It loses the scroll ball found on the Mighty Mouse, but adds support for scrolling gestures. This mouse is also wireless, using Bluetooth, and has a four month battery life. This mouse is available for $69 in late October, and requires Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8 or later.

TUAWApple's newest peripheral is the Magic Mouse originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:25:00 EST.

Apple Store down for updates, new iMac and more on the way?

Apple Store down for updates, new iMac and more on the way?: "

And here we go: the Apple Store is down, presumably to update it with all the new gear we're expecting today. New iMacs, plastic MacBooks, multitouch input peripherals, maybe a new Airport Express -- we could get everything, we could get nothing. You'll know as soon as we do.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Peripherals, Software

Apple Store down for updates, new iMac and more on the way? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments"

Apple COO: Everyone Else Still Playing Catch-Up to the First iPhone

When asked about increased competition to the iPhone, like the new Android offerings, Apple COO Tim Cook was characteristically confident: “We think people are trying to catch up with the first iPhone released two years ago,” he said.

Cook continued to point out that the 85,000 apps in the App Store far exceed the offerings of any of the other smartphone platforms.

Whether Android 2.0 is iPhone 1.0 or not (and we think not), it’s clear Apple still feels they have the lead on innovation and new technologies that consumers want to use.

In a sense, of course, this is true. One could argue that every smartphone released to the market since June 2007 has been a response to the iPhone. This isn’t to suggest that everything in the original iPhone was revolutionary (it wasn’t), but the combination of full web-browsing plus multi-touch screens and ease-of-use — not to mention the platform-specific application store — is something that virtually every other smartphone has tried to emulate in the last two and a half years.

What has really driven the iPhone as a product and as a brand hasn’t been the technical features of the phone, but the apps. When you compare what is available elsewhere with what is available for the iPhone, both in quality and quantity — it’s not as stark as pre-App Store to post-App Store, but it isn’t on the same playing field.

The iPhone 3GS is selling like hotcakes too. Although sales were up a “mere” 7% year-over-year (and keep in mind that it was Q4 last year that the iPhone came to many international markets for the first time), the sell-through rate was 38% higher than last year and Apple had a very difficult time keeping its channel inventories stocked. Even now, Apple remarked it wished it had more stock in the channel, especially with the impending iPhone China launch.

Still, something tells me that Apple won’t be content to sit on its laurels and to underestimate the competition. Apple knows it has to continue to innovate if it wants to retain its lead on the competition.

What do you think of Cook’s statement? Are other smartphones still playing catch-up to the original iPhone? Let us know!

Via Mashable

Google Street View Gets a New Vehicle: The Trike

Google Street View Gets a New Vehicle: The Trike: "

What do you get when you add another wheel to a bicycle and slap an omnidirectional camera on top? A Street View Trike, that’s what.

While collecting imagery for its Street View project, the folks at Google realized that some places are inaccessible with the standard Street View Car, so they invented this special trike which can collect imagery from scenic running and cycling trails, college campuses and similar locations.

To keep poor Google trikies (trikists? trikers?) from wandering around aimlessly, you can tell them of locations worthy of being photographed. You can nominate locations within six categories: Parks & Trails, University Campuses, Theme Parks & Zoos, Pedestrian Malls (ie: outdoor shopping areas, boardwalks), Landmarks and Sports Venues (ie: golf courses, racing tracks, stadium grounds). Nominations are open until October 28 and can be submitted over at www.google.com/trike.

Check out the video below for a cool introduction to the Street View trike project.

---

Reviews: Google

Tags: google street view, trike

Via Mashable

Did Digg Buy Kevin Rose’s WeFollow Twitter Directory?

Back in March, well-known tech icon and Digg Founder Kevin Rose made some waves in the Twittersphere when he launched WeFollow, a user-generated Twitter directory.

Anyone on Twitter could be added and categorized by tweeting at @WeFollow and using relevant hashtags to describe the person (#tech, #entrepreneur, #celebrity, etc.).

It was an interesting experiment by Rose. And, with his massive Twitter reach, it quickly became a hit in the Twittersphere. That was March. Since then, WeFollow has shed more than half of its initial traffic, according to Compete. But while we haven’t heard anything new about WeFollow for months, we have noticed a subtle change to WeFollow.com: the copyright message has changed. It looks like WeFollow is now the property of Digg.



The following image is from the footer of WeFollow.com on March 22nd, not long after they launched. You’ll notice that the copyright is attributed to WeFollow.

Image Credit:Shinyai via Flickr

We’ve also confirmed that the copyright was attributed to WeFollow in June of this year as well. Now, take a look at the footer of WeFollow.com as it is presently:

Sometime between June and now, the copyright, and most likely the ownership, of WeFollow transferred to the social voting service. This raises a lot of interesting questions that we’d like to have answered:

- Was WeFollow its own company originally? Did it have any association with Digg when it first launched?

- Did Digg acquire Kevin Rose’s side project? If so, did it involve a payment or stock?

- Why was this done under-the-radar?

- Does Digg plan to do anything with WeFollow? If so, what?

WeFollow has a wealth of information on Twitter users and still gets a respectable amount of traffic. Digg could utilize that to really push into the Twitter space, but it’s tough to tell. The company clearly didn’t want to publicize the change, but exactly why we don’t know.

We’re currently awaiting a response from Digg to clarify some of our questions.

---

Reviews: Digg, Flickr, Twitter, WeFollow

Tags: digg, kevin rose, twitter, wefollow

Via: Mashable.com

Giant Android eclair delivered to Google by even bigger nerds (video)

By now you should be familiar with Google's confectionary codenames for its Google Android OS: version 1.5 (Cupcake), 1.6 (Donut), 2.0 (Eclair) and version x.x (Flan). What you probably didn't know is that Google honors each release by dropping a steaming hot foam facsimile onto its front lawn. Historically, the arrival of the giant Donut at the GooglePlex was followed by the 1.6 developer release of Android just a few days later. Don't get too excited though, last we heard Eclair wouldn't arrive until Q2 of 2010 for consumers. Video and another view of the nerds 'gone wild' just after the break.

[Via TechCrunch]

Continue reading Giant Android eclair delivered to Google by even bigger nerds (video)

Giant Android eclair delivered to Google by even bigger nerds (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analysts: Windows 7 may boost Mac sales

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Desktops, OS, Software, Odds and ends, Apple, MacBook

Most electronics industry analysis is obvious at best and misinformed at worst, but this one made us chuckle. Analyst firm Broadpoint AmTech has released a report that claims that, rather than diminish sales of OS X, Microsoft's impending release of Windows 7 may actually help sell Macs. They cite the chart above, which seems to show a boost (especially after Vista) in Mac sales right after Microsoft releases a new OS version.

Now, even they admit they're making connections here that probably aren't there -- there are tons of factors involved in both sales of Windows OSes and Mac computers (we'd just mention that Windows 7 seems to be getting fairly good reviews so far, and while no one would argue that Vista wasn't a disaster, I'd argue that iPods and iPhones were much better 'Mac sales helpers' after 2001 and 2007 than Windows would ever be), and there's no real evidence here that Microsoft's releases have any bearing at all on their competitors' numbers.

But it is a nice thought for us Mac faithful to hang on to anyway -- in the next few weeks, as Windows users vibe on their new and shiny and have their super fun release parties, we can know that if we just wait, Mac sales will eventually have their day.

[via Apple Insider]

TUAWAnalysts: Windows 7 may boost Mac sales originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gmail's 'Got the Wrong Bob?' Feature Keeps You From Emailing Nude Photos to Your Mom [Gmail]

Nothing's worse than realizing you sent those pictures of you in the shower to Mom instead of Mona. Trust me. Now, Gmail is here to help you out, making sure you're sending emails to who you intend to.

'Got the Wrong Bob?' is a new Google Labs feature that you can turn on in Gmail. It works by analyzing groups of people that you usually email together. For example, if you accidentally include your boss Hank in with your normal key party invite group when you meant to invite country singer Hank Williams Jr., well, Gmail will ask if you meant this Hank instead of that Hank. This will in turn save you a boatload of awkwardness (or a magical night where you learn more about your boss than you ever thought possible, but that's neither here nor there).

So go ahead, check it out and see if it works. It certainly can't hurt, right? [Official Gmail Blog via Esquire]

Bug tracker: Snow Leopard guest accounts eating files?

Filed under: OS, Software, Troubleshooting, Snow Leopard

There's a few threads on Apple's Discussion Boards describing a problem that's affecting some Snow Leopard users. An issue with the Guest account feature in SL appears to be chomping down on user data with extreme prejudice. Cnet/MacFixIt first took notice of the issue back in early September, but a 2nd report & a link from 9to5Mac have raised the threat level quite a bit.



According to affected users, the guest account's logout wipe -- a standard feature intended to prevent guests from leaving files on the machine -- is inadvertently clobbering the home directories of the non-guest accounts, with catastrophic results. One user writes, 'I hadn't used my Guest Account since upgrading to snow leopard, and I accidentally clicked it instead of my user account this morning, to find that when I logged into my normal account ALL my files, settings, mail etc had been reset.'



Worse of all is that he's not the only one.



MacFixIt reports that it isn't an epidemic, but readers have described the same issue in the comments to their post. For now, we offer this simple advice. First, make sure your backups are current. Secondly, turn off the Guest account feature if you're not using it (simple instructions here); some suspect that the issue is triggered by having it turned on prior to the SL upgrade. If and when the culprit is identified and squashed, we'll let you know.



Thanks to everyone who sent this in.



[Via Engadget]

Dell Adamo XPS First Look: So Thin It Could Slice a MacBook Air in Half [Dell]

Dell Adamo XPS First Look: So Thin It Could Slice a MacBook Air in Half [Dell]: "

We've seen it teased, but now we've seen it in real life. No real details, but it is really effin thin, like it could slice a MacBook Air in half. And a belly shot, even closer:

Via: Gizmodo

What is a browser?

"I've been trying to explain to my mom for months what a web browser is, with little luck. After a few rounds of failed attempts, I grew curious about people's general understanding of web browsers. So I decided to conduct a highly-scientific (read: not scientific at all) survey of my friends and got the following results:


As it turns out, my mom's not the only one who is confused about web browsers — even though the browser is one of the most-used programs on computers.

For my mom, my friends and everyone else who may be wondering about web browsers, I created a one minute video to help explain what they're all about about:



I've also created a simple site, WhatBrowser.org, that gives even more information about browsers. On this site, you can see which web browser you're using, explore links to browser diagnostic tests and read some useful tips for getting the most out of your browser.

Lots of our time each day is spent online, and every page on the web is experienced through the browser. Unfortunately, most people don't realize that there are many browsers out there, which differ on features like speed, security and extensibility.

So, the next time you find yourself as the informal tech support for your family and friends, make sure to explain why their browser matters — and of course, what it is!

Posted by Jason Toff, Associate Product Marketing Manager and son of Alla Toff

Via: The Google official blog

Chrome OS coming to netbooks as early as next month?

We've heard vague allusions to Chrome OS hitting devices in the near future, but with Google's official stance that it won't be ready until sometime late next year, well, we were a little skeptical. Now we're hearing reports that Chinese netbook manufacturers are doing everything they can to get little Chrome lappies running a 'preview edition' of the OS out onto the Asian markets by sometime next month, and we're still skeptical -- but intrigued. These devices from a company called Lemote run a MIPS-based CPU called the Loongson, which currently powers a custom flavor of Linux named, get this, Loonux. That OS has been receiving criticism for things other than its title, so it's not surprising that the company is interested in trying something new, apparently even if that new thing is still half-baked and rather doughy in the middle. That these devices currently sell for under $200 is even more intriguing, but even if they do indeed get a bit of shine next month don't expect to find one locally -- at least not for that price.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

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XP Mode is ready, will be a free download on October 22

Microsoft Download Center, October 22 -- add that to your already-busy Windows 7 release party itinerary. That'll be the quickest and most painless way to enrich your hot new OS with the now finalized code for XP Mode, a virtualized Windows XP environment for those who just can't let go of their legacy software. The solitary hitch is that you'll need to have purchased a copy of Windows 7 Professional or higher to get in on the fun, but you already knew that, right? Oh, and you might also want to check that your hardware manufacturer hasn't disabled virtualization as part of some overzealous security / party-pooping measure.

[Via Ars Technica; Thanks, Eugen]

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TDK stacks 10 layers on a single 320GB disc

Even though we have yet to see the long-hinted 100GB and 200GB prototype Blu-ray discs as real products, TDK is looking beyond that, ready to display 320GB ten-layer platters at CEATEC 2009 that can be read and written with current blue laser technology. Key in stacking so many layers is improving the transmittance of the outermost layer as seen above - that nearly clear one on the right doesn't require a more powerful laser to get through. The only thing we can't see? When or if any of these will actually be released.



[Via Hot Hardware]

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Google Acquisitions and Investments Map Shows How Much Google Likes Buying Stuff [Data Visualization]

Google sure has a lot of money! And man, does it like to spend it! This map shows all of Google's acquisitions and investments, detailing just how vast and diverse Google's interests are. [Meet the Boss via The Awl]