NEC

ALSO NOTED: First look: Vista SP1; Mozilla patches Firefox vulnerability;

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> Mozilla patches Firefox vulnerability. Article
> NEC launches official Vista downgrade product. Article
> Open-source OS kernels created using .NET. Article
> Amid threats, U.S. federal government seeks 10% increase in IT spend. Article
> First look: Vista SP1. Article

And Finally... Microsoft responds to "Save XP" petition. Article

ALSO NOTED: Virtualizing the Xserve with Parallels; Storm Worm makes a Valentine's Day comeback;

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:59:51 -0500

> Virtualizing the Xserve with Parallels. Article
> Digital picture frame ships with Trojan. Article
> Storm Worm makes a Valentine's Day comeback. Article
> Gigabyte announces Eee-like laptop. Article
> Everex Cloudbook gets upgraded to 9" LCD. Article
> NEC shows off curved, 42" display. Article

And Finally... MacBook Air gets a manila folder-style case for real. Article

ALSO NOTED: Intel's 'Nehalem' roadmap gets leaked; The world's most powerful supercomputer?;

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:59:51 -0400

> Leopard drivers hint at Santa Rosa MacBooks. Article
> NEC's SX-9: the world's most powerful supercomputer? Article
> OS X Leopard gets hacked for use on commodity PCs. Article
> Zune gets hi-rez album art. Article
> Neonode N2 coming to the States. Article
> Durable UMPC gets unboxed. Article
> Intel's 'Nehalem' roadmap gets leaked. Article

And Finally... Just in time for Halloween: a corpse gets exhumed thanks to a missing SIM card. Article

USB 3.0 spec to arrive next year

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

First there was USB 1.0. Then there was USB 2.0. Can you guess what's next? That's right: USB 3.0. At the Fall IDF show in San Francisco, a consortium of vendors including Intel, Microsoft, HP, TI, NEC and NXP announced that a USB 3.0 spec would be released during the first half of 2008. The new spec will add a second fiber-optic channel to compliment USB 2.0's copper channel, boosting "data transfer rates more than 10 times" while maintaining backwards compatibility. That should finally put the old Firewire/USB argument to rest but don't throw out those Firewire 800 cables yet--though the spec is expected next year, USB 3.0 devices probably won't become commonplace until 2009 or 2010.

For more on the coming spec:
- see this Crave article

Lenovo in talks to acquire Packard Bell

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Though once a mainstay of the IBM-compatible clone world, vendor Packard Bell fell off the map when the company merged with NEC in the late '90s, amid complaints relating to the shoddy quality of the company's products. While the Packard Bell name completely disappeared in the U.S. in 2000, the brand has remained strong in Europe, where Packard Bell is currently the third largest seller of PCs to consumers. Looking to expand its marketshare in Europe, Chinese PC vendor Lenovo has confirmed that it is engaged in talks to acquire the Packard Bell brand. Lenovo is currently the third largest PC vendor in the world (with 8.3 percent marketshare, as of Q2) and a buyout of Packard Bell could bring the company one step closer to that coveted number 2 spot on the list.

For more on the impending buyout:
- see this Ars Technica article

ALSO NOTED: Dell tablet on the way?; Fon inks a deal with Time Warner Cable;

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 20:01:31 -0400

> OLPC shipments delayed until Q4? Article
> Dell tablet on the way? Article
> Route Skype calls to your mobile handset. Article
> NEC aims to build a "virtual client network". Article
> First impression: Ubuntu Feisty Fawn. Article
> Microsoft inks under the radar deals with Fuji Xerox and Samsung. Article
> WiFi rebel Fon inks a deal with Time Warner Cable. Press release
> Review: Lexar's 8GB ExpressCard SSD. Article

And Finally... A betting man's USB flash drive. Article

ALSO NOTED: Daylight savings change: no savings; Google takes on TV ads;

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:01:31 -0400

> Vonage's bid to escape Verizon patent infringement. Article
> Quad-core Xeons headed to NEC servers. Article
> Daylight Savings change: no energy savings. Article
> Microsoft starts testing office 2008 for the Mac. Article
> Google gets ready for prime time. Article

And Finally... Introducing the MacPack. Photo

Sony/NEC ready Blu-ray burners

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:01:33 -0400

Optiarc, a joint venture between Sony and NEC, has unveiled five new desktop and laptop drives for the storage gluttons among us. In a move that will surprise no one, they're all Blu-ray burners, even though the company initially announced that it may develop HD DVD products as well (whatever that means). The BD-M100A will fit nicely into your desktop tower, where it will burn Blu-ray discs at 2x as well as dual-layer DVDs. Its smaller siblings, the BD5500A, 5500S, 5600S, and 5710S, sport the same specs and interface with various portables using serial ATA and ATA. The drives start at just shy of 800 clams and should be available in July.

For more on the new Blu-ray burners:
- see this Gizmodo post

Intel readies yet another quad-core Xeon

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:01:39 -0500

AMD must really be hurting right now. Not only did Intel successfully launch a quad-core product (what's in a name?) first, but AMD's long-awaited 4x4 platform got whipped by Intel's dual-core Kentsfield in benchmarks. And now this: Intel has announced that they'll drop yet another quad-core part this month, the 2 Ghz Xeon 5335, which was originally slated to debut in February. "Almost all major OEMs (original equipment manufacturers)--including Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, IBM, NEC, Rackable and Silicon Graphics--will offer servers based on this part," said Intel spokesperson Erica Fields. Looks like Intel will have a real head start in the quad-core race, at least until Barcelona comes out next year.

For more on the new Xeon:
- see this CNET article

EMC plans for Web content management

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 20:01:36 -0400

Later this year, EMC plans to ship Documentum Page Builder, a new content-management system specifically designed for non-technical users--which in theory means less work for developers and webmasters. Its features include XML support for modular code and Dreamweaver support for porting code from that application. It's unclear how much Page Builder will integrate with EMC's storage software, although officials did indicate that integration is a long-term goal. Page Builder will start at less than the $100,000 mark.

For more on EMC:
- read this IDG News article

ALSO: NEC almost has a modular storage array. Article