IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (Digital Trends) 10/09/2009

Sony release new Blu-ray BDP-N460

Leica displays new M9 and X1 cameras

Cuban post offices OK'd for Internet access

Cuba has authorized public Internet access at post offices across the country, though it has yet to apply what would be a landmark loosening of cyberspace rules in a nation where information is strictly controlled. A decree posted on the Web site of the government's official gazette this week authorizes Empresa Correos de Cuba to "provide access to public Internet to all naturalized persons." Many post offices already offer public computers, but they are linked to a national intranet — an extremely limited list of Cuba-only Web sites. Cubans there can send and receive international e-mail, but direct access to the rest of the Web is blocked, limits far stricter than those imposed even in China or S

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Microsoft, Tesco Team to Sell Downloadable Movies in UK

Software giant Microsoft is already in the video distribution business with its Xbox Live service, but today the company announced a new partnership with UK-based retailer Tesco to offer DVD-quality downloadable movies to customers in the United Kingdom, leveraging Microsoft's Silverlight technology. Although the companies didn't offer many details of the forthcoming service, they claim it will offer a "virtual DVD" experience at quality levels akin to standard DVD and Blu-ray discs, but with added interactivity and an enhanced viewing experience enabled by Silverlight.

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Epson Stylus NX515

Calling the Epson Stylus NX515 an all-in-one is a bit of stretch, considering it doesn’t include a fax machine. On the other hand, not everyone wants or needs to send and receive faxes, and eliminating that feature while retaining a flatbed scanner brings the price of this pretty and relatively capable printer down to just $150. As such, the machine is certainly recommendable, albeit only for certain tasks. Read on for more details on whether or not it fits your needs.

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Apple CEO Jobs on stage, discusses transplant

Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs has returned to his showman role, taking the stage Wednesday at a product launch event for the first time since his nearly six-month-long medical leave. Jobs, who had a liver transplant this spring, got a standing ovation. Looking thin and speaking quietly and with a scratchy voice, he told the audience he had received the liver of a 20-year-old who died in a car accident, and urged the crowd to become organ donors. "I wouldn't be here without such generosity," Jobs said. During the early moments of the event, the CEO outlined an update to Apple's iTunes software. Apple also issued a minor update to the iPhone software. Jobs had not appeared at such an event since last O

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Apple Packs a Video Camera into the iPod nano

At a press event today in San Francisco, Apple new iPod pricing, iTunes 9, and a new video-capable version of it's tiny iPod nano. The new iPod nano boasts the same small size as its predecessors, but now the back of each unit touts a video camera and a microphone—and the front of the unit also offers a slightly-larger 2.2-inch display. Users can shoot video directly on the nano, storing it in the units' 8 or 16 GB of flash memory; users can watch the video directly on the iPod nano or sync it back to their computers, where it's all ready to be uploaded to YouTube. iPod nano users can use the integrate

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Sebelius announces new food safety Web site

The Obama administration is rolling out a new Web site designed to streamline food safety information for consumers. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the new Web site — www.foodsafety.gov — on Wednesday during the Consumer Federation of America's food policy conference. The site will put food-related information from all federal agencies in one place, including recall and contamination alerts and tips on how to safely handle food. The Web site is a joint effort between HHS, the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. Sebelius says the site would help consumers who have been worried about product recalls. The consumer Web site is the second

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Asus Debuts Media-friendly N61, N71, and UL-series Notebooks

Taiwanese computer maker Asus has unveiled a bevy of new notebooks, including the UL-series—UL stands for "UnLimited"—and the media-focused N61 and N71 notebooks. All aim to offer strong performance and battery life—along with designs that won't get you kicked out of a coffee shop. First up, the new UL-series is comprised of the UL20, UL30, UL50, and UL80 notebooks; each feature Intel Core 2 Duo or Core Solo processors, with the UL20 and UL30 sporting battery-saving integrated graphics and the UL50 and UL80 offering a separate Nvidia GeForce G210M graphics controller with 512 MB of video RAM for handling g

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Do You Want to Know A Secret? Beatles Rock Band Is Out

It's September 9, 2009: do you know where Paul is? If you're like untold thousands of Beatles fans, the answer may be on your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or Nintendo Wii: The Beatles: Rock Band video game is now available worldwide, and the title is expected to be a top-seller throughout the remainder of 2009. The Beatles: Rock Band marks the first time the Fab Four have licensed their music for digital distribution: the Beatles have famously shunned iTunes and other music services. But The Beatles: Rock Band isn't just cuts from Beatles CDs set to the regular Rock Band video game: Harmonix has gone all out, offering remastered versions o

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Velocity Micro releases new Intel Coreأ‚آ™ i5 and i7 powered PCs

Palm to release cheaper sibling of Pre smart phone

Palm Inc., which revitalized its product line with the Pre smart phone launch in June, is hoping to keep momentum going with the release of a lighter, cheaper handset called the Pixi. The company said Wednesday that the Pixi will be available during the holiday season through Sprint Nextel Corp., currently the Pre's exclusive wireless carrier. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Palm would not divulge the Pixi's price tag, but confirmed it will be less than that of its big brother. Sprint shaved $50 off the Pre's price to $150 on Wednesday, including two rebates and a two-year service contract. "The combination of announcing a new device and changing the price on the Pre show we're aggressively pursuing new customers to

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The Palm Pixi: Thin Is In And Small Is All

Portable device maker Palm had bet heavily on its Palm Pre smartphone with its innovative webOS operating system focused on messaging and connectivity—but Pres haven't exactly been flying off the shelves, leading some to question whether the Pre is really enough of a game-changer to compete with the likes of Apple, RIM, and others in the burgeoning smartphone market. Today, Palm took the wraps off the Palm Pixi, the company's sleeker, smaller followup to the Palm Pre due from Sprint in time for the end-of-year holiday buying season…and has dropped $5

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EU says electronic retail sites mislead consumers

The European Union urged consumers on Wednesday to be wary of misleading selling tactics by online electronic goods retailers marketing items like digital cameras, game consoles, laptops and mobile phones. EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said an investigation by national and EU experts had found that 55 percent of 369 Web sites checked "are letting consumers down," using dubious selling techniques that had to be changed. She said they intentionally misled consumers over pricing, buyers' rights and how to contact the online retailers. "This is a Europe-wide problem ... There is a lot of work to be done in the months ahead to clean up this sector," Kuneva said. "Consumers des

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Lawmakers demand hacker escapes extradition to US

Three lawmakers say they'll demand that a senior UK official halts a British man's extradition to the United States to face trial for hacking into military computers. Gary McKinnon is charged with breaking into 97 computers belonging to NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense and several branches of the U.S. military soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He claims he was searching for evidence of UFOs. The 43-year-old McKinnon, who says he suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, lost a High Court appeal against his extradition in July. Michael Meacher, a governing Labour Party legislator, opposition Conservative David Davis and opposition Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne are meeting Home Secretary Alan John

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Asus Designo MS Monitor

The Asus name may not be the first that comes to mind when you think of high fashion meeting consumer electronics, but not for lack of trying. With the Eee Seashell, the notoriously budget-focused Taiwanese company put aside its focus on price and injected some much-needed style into otherwise bland devices. And now it’s taking the same approach to monitors. The Designo MS discards the basic black bezel other monitors routinely don in favor of a design th

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The Best Cell Phone Values

When the Motorola Razr first appeared in back in 2004, the angular marvel retailed for $500 from Cingular, and even that was only after a $100 rebate. Business execs swooned over them, celebrities flaunted them, and regular Joes emptied their bank accounts to get them. Little more than a year later, you could get one for free. So it goes in the fast-progress world of handsets, where yesterday's Ferrari becomes today's Festiva, but still does zero to 60 in under three seconds. It's easy to fixate on the latest week-old darling of the media world, and lay out most of next month's rent check for it, but those with patience will find the wake behind these trailblazers the easiest place to comfortably float by in the tech world

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Thursday, September 10, 2009

IT News HeadLines (Digital Trends) 10/09/2009

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