Hardware

Google has announced a new beta version of Google Sync that lets iPhone and Windows Mobile users synchronize their Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar events with the Web, PCs, Macs and, of course, their mobile phones. The key innovation with the new Google Sync is that it will let users transfer dat...

AMD announced the release of its latest round of Phenom II microprocessors Monday. The five new additions include both triple-core processors and quad-cores that are part of AMD's "Dragon" platform line of desktop PC chips announced last month. Among AMD's offerings are three quad-core and two tripl...

OPINION

Super Bowl Swings at 3-D and Misses

Last week was an unusually interesting week. We started the week with one of the biggest 3-D attempts ever -- both Super Bowl ads and an episode of "Chuck," both of which showcased the problems with 3-D. At the same time, I was playing "World of Warcraft" in 3-D, and that was working just fine. Towa...

We actually are seeing a large number of turnarounds going on in the industry, and all are overshadowed by President Obama's effort to turn around the country. Last week's vote on the stimulus package would indicate things aren't going well for Obama because, while it passed, all Republicans voted a...

Windows 7 is coming, and even major Apple fans like Walt Mossberg are saying some rather surprising things about it. With the layoffs and financial results that Microsoft announced last week, you have to wonder whether it will be enough to light a fire under the market like Windows 95 did. A lot has...

Virtualization software provider Citrix and chipmaker Intel announced a deal Tuesday that will see them teaming up to develop the industry's first application and desktop delivery solutions optimized for desktops with Intel's Core 2 processors and laptops featuring Centrino 2 chips with Intel vPro t...

Netbook computers remind me of travel toothbrushes and portable air mattresses. You use them only when you need to move a lot, like when you're on the road or camping or running around at a trade show. They're just not nearly as functional or comfortable as the at-home version. But when you're on th...

Intel is reportedly preparing a new consumer ultra low voltage platform aimed at small, highly portable notebook computers. The new push will focus on ultra-mobile PCs priced between $700 to $900. Consumers should look for the new platforms in hardware beginning in the second quarter of 2009. Intel ...

A new simulation by Sandia for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration has found that trying to use too many cores for multicore supercomputing processing just leads to slower, not faster, computations. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corp., a...

The winter holidays are over, and brittle Christmas trees and empty champagne bottles aren't alone in many consumers' trash heaps. There are also used computers, televisions, cell phones and other gizmos that have been replaced with fancier models. Those piles may be somewhat larger than in recent y...

TECH BLOG

The Small Wonders of a Smaller CES

As the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas continued on Friday and through the weekend, it became clear that the official attendance count at this year's gadget fest will likely reflect significant shrinkage. In addition, runaway hits -- things that really managed to shake the ground everyone was...

This was the first chance since Steve Jobs returned to Apple that Microsoft had to slam-dunk Apple. The biggest thing at Macworld was Tony Bennett. Windows 7 was releasing in Beta and reports have been glowing, with a number of the folks I travel with actually living on the pre-beta code and raving ...

Samsung, like a whole lot of other TV makers displaying their wares in Las Vegas this week, is emphasizing the Web capabilities of its new TVs. Among those features is what Yahoo calls the "cinematic Internet," which allows television viewers to use the remote control, rather than something like a w...

Sony introduced its latest entrant to the ultra mobile PC class of computers on Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas. Billed as the world's lightest 8-inch notebook, the Vaio P Series Lifestyle PC is roughly the size of a business envelope and about as thin as a cell phone. H...

LIVE FROM CES

Asus Fattens Up Its Little Notebook Lines

As of a few nights ago, it was still possible to get a room at a decent place on the Las Vegas strip at a bargain rate. That was a good sign for travelers but a bad sign for the Consumer Electronics Show -- not to mention the city's hospitality industry. When everything falls into place, CES is supp...

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