25th September 2006 Archive

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Sony probes Los Angeles Airport laptop blaze

Who's battery was in that ThinkPad?

Sony has revealed it is investigating the recent self-immolation of a Lenovo ThinkPad T43 at Los Angeles Airport. The fire was apparently caused by the notebook's battery, which may have been a Sony-made component. As yet, the manufacturer of the battery in the LAX fire - which took place during the weekend of 9-10 September …

PCs 25 Sep 2006, 07:02
~~Dell~~ Apple to ditch Intel for AMD?

Analysis Same old (inaccurate) speculation, different names

Apple is the new Dell. Yes, now that the PC giant has finally, after a decade of speculation, signed up to buy processors from AMD and end its Intel-only policy, we can now expect ten further years of similar rumours that Apple's about to adopt the Athlon too. Last week, AMD CEO Hector Ruiz indicated Apple "wants choice". The …

Bits 'n' Chips 25 Sep 2006, 08:02
UK firm touts phone-friendly Bluetooth media player

UK digital music player specialist Advanced MP3 Players (AMP3) has launched a compact music and movie device fitted with Bluetooth technology not only for wireless stereo audio but also to allow the gadget to interact with a mobile phone. The StormBlue A9+ looks a bit like a phone with its handset-size 2in, 220x x 176, 262, …

Media players 25 Sep 2006, 08:02
Asus to update HD DVD laptop for Core 2 Duo

ATI's strained silicon GPU on board too

Asus is preparing to update its W2 mobile multimedia notebook, equipping the new machine not only with a range of Core 2 Duo mobile microprocessors but also ATI's new Mobility Radeon X1700 chip and an HD DVD drive with HDMI output. Called the W2P, the new machine builds on the W2J announced by Asus earlier this year. …

PCs 25 Sep 2006, 10:02
Elgato EyeTV Hybrid USB TV tuner for Mac

Review All you need to make a Mac a media centre?

There are plenty of compact, USB-connected TV tuner dongles for the PC but nowhere near so many for the Mac. Elgato's EyeTV Hybrid is to be welcomed then, not only by owners of portable Macs looking for a handy tuner but by anyone who wants to turn a Mac Mini into a DVR or a media centre system... As the gadget's name …

Gadgets 25 Sep 2006, 11:02
Man saves laptop from battery blaze

Brave or foolhardy? You decide...

An HP notebook was left damaged but not destroyed last week when it became the latest laptop to suffer a battery meltdown - the hasty removal of the power cell prevented a notebook fire like the one that took out a Lenovo ThinkPad two weeks ago. This time the incendiary incident was captured on video. According to witnesses, …

PCs 25 Sep 2006, 14:27
Fujifilm lines up face-detecting compact camera

Spots mug, snaps it

Fujifilm's F31fd is the company's first compact digital camera equipped with the ability to spot faces in the frame then to focus in on them and set the right exposure accordingly. The gadget can cope with up to ten mugs at once, the company claimed. It's got anti-blur technology built in too, and is ready for low-light …

Gadgets and Gizmos 25 Sep 2006, 15:40
AMD boycotts Intel

IDF Cancels hack hijack

The Intel Developer Forum, like having gas after eating beans, is one of those things that you can always count on. Twice a year, Intel's top executives spend a Monday before the show refining their gripping speeches. Their faces are primed to receive makeup. Their throats are lubricated with the finest teas Aramark can acquire …

Bits 'n' Chips 25 Sep 2006, 22:05
Seagate ships breast cancer benefit pocket drive

750GB DVR unit too

Seagate will donate ten per cent of the purchase price of a limited edition pink version of its Pocket Hard Drive external disk to US breast cancer charity the Komen Foundation, the storage company said today. It also said it has begun shipping a 750GB HDD for DVRs. The $109 pink Pocket Drive packs in 6GB of USB-connected …

Storage 25 Sep 2006, 23:23
Buffalo readies 1.2GHz DDR 2 DIMM set

Can reach PC2-10000 level, retailer claims

Japanese memory retailer CFD has said Buffalo will soon ship DDR 2 memory modules clocked to a whopping 1.2GHz, claiming the parts can be set to run even faster: 1.25GHz for a PC2-10000 rating. Sold under the Firestix brand, the 1.2GHz - aka PC2-9600 - is available in two two-DIMM packs, on with a pair of 512MB modules, the …

Bits 'n' Chips 25 Sep 2006, 23:45