Why would you want a high end graphic chip capability in a netbook?

AMD’s Atom-Rival Neo CPU Isn’t Really For Netbooks | Fast Company

The Athlon Neo chips will instead be based on AMD’s existing 65nm fab tech, similar to the previously-leaked Yukon architecture, but they’re smaller and will come combined with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 graphics. This, says AMD, makes them more powerful than Intel’s 45nm-tech Atoms, and allows for casual-game-level 3D graphics and smooth 1080p video playback–something that Atom-powered netbooks don’t do very well.

Why not?  It was only a few months ago I could not believe there were 16 gigabyte SD cards.

The 2TB Memory Card Arrives: Panasonic’s SDXC Format | Fast Company

The format of future memory cards, SDXC, just announced by the SD Card Association — of which Panasonic is a founding member — allows data storage in capacities between 32GB and 2TB.

I was a fan of Palm in its initial years.

Then it got distracted, and the innovation stopped.

Maybe it has something innovative now…. but does it have the resources to score a homerun?  Or just come up with an exciting products that hopes will make it a more attractive company or technology to buy?

Palm gets back into the game with touchscreen Pre, WebOS : Ben Patterson : Yahoo! Tech

Palm was under serious pressure to hit a home run at CES today—and boy, did it deliver. Running Palm’s gorgeous (if belated) new platform, dubbed WebOS, the touchscreen Pre could well be Palm’s savior, and perhaps its biggest hit.

So, as for the Pre itself (due on Sprint in the first half of this year, no pricing yet): It’s got a big, 3.1-inch 480 by 320 touch display (yes, with multitouch and an accelerometer), weighs in at 4.8 ounces, and comes with a curved, slide-out keypad. Yes, it does Wi-Fi and 3G (EV-DO Rev. A, to be exact), as well as GPS (with turn-by-turn directions courtesy of TeleNav), stereo Bluetooth, 8GB of internal storage, a 3MP camera, a 3.5mm headset jack, and a removable battery.

Instead of using DVD combo systems, many of us are now listening to mp3 and ipods, and
it is well. Why? Foremost because it is small and convenient, and you can bring
it anywhere you want.  But I think the
most important is that you can store thousands of songs inside one device, and
it is very convenient.  Most CDs can
store about a dozen songs, and although it is not really that much work to
change a CD, for most of us, it is a labor we would rather not do.  Just like the television set.  It is not really that much of a deal to go up
and change the channel, but now we all want to do using remote.  It is a small convenience, but something we
cannot do without.  For many of us,
changing a CD, and storing it back to the case is a little work which we find
irritating and frustrating.

Of course, if you have 
a lot of kids around the house, or you are a somewhat not very well
organized person, you tend to not return the CD to the case, and because of
that, it is not unusual to have CDs scratched badly, or even lost.

So it is great to buy the CD, and rip ( or transform it to
mp3 or wma files and store it on your computer, or your portable player).  However, you still do want to listen to it whether in the house or in the car, it is really better if you don’t
have to use headphones all the time ( be forwarned!  They say using   headphones excessively, and with a loud
noise may cause deafness!).

What’s the best thing to do? 
Well, if you have a DVD writer, you can copy all your mp3 files and burn
it to a DVD.  A DVD disc can store more
than 4 gigabytes of data, and based on the file size of mp3 music, that means
well over a thousand songs, or easily over 50 hours worth of music , or
equivalent of 50 CDs.  So if you get a
DVD player that can play also wma and mp3 music either in your car or in your
house, and you have a DVD burned, then that means it could well be days or
weeks before you even finish listening to one. 
Which means for every DVD that you burn, you get an equivalent selection
of songs that is even more extensive than what most mp3 players will hold.  After all, most DVD compo systems also will
give better sounds than most mp3 add-on players.

There are a couple of things wrong….

first is that you downgrade to Windows XP, not upgrade.

It seems now getting Windows XP is now getting more expensive than getting Windows Vista, and vendors are justifying the cost by calling it an ‘upgrade’?

Windows XP: The OS That Won’t Quit - PC World

Phasing out an old operating system is nothing new for Microsoft, but Windows XP is unique in that it may be too good to die.

This week, Dell announced it will offer systems with the aging Windows XP for a surcharge of US$150 over the newer Windows Vista–this only five months after it stopped offering XP on its Inspiron consumer desktop and laptop PCs.

That means on average, the computer price is cheaper…

IDC sees decline in US PC market next year (AP) by AP: Yahoo! Tech

IDC, which said last month it expects global technology spending to slow significantly next year, now forecasts worldwide 2009 PC shipment growth of 3.8 percent, with the value of those shipments falling by 5.3 percent. This is down considerably from IDC’s earlier projection, made during the second quarter, of a 13.7 percent growth in units shipped and 4.5 percent increase in PC revenue.

wow, an automated website earning $100 million….

 The Open Road - CNET News

Google’s vice president of search revealed this summer that Google News, a product that was put together in a weekend and that is run by automated search algorithms, generates $100 million in revenue for its business. That’s no small sum, especially when one considers the negligible investment and extremely high margins. What it demonstrates is that quality content does have great value. Only in this case, as has been pointed out, the $100 million is a bonanza enjoyed by Google, not the creators.

Its getting expensive to spam…. I hope spammers are sweating…. and restraining themselves.

Facebook wins $873M judgment against spammer (AP) by AP: Yahoo! Tech

Facebook has a won $873 million judgment against a Canadian man who bombarded the popular online hangout with sexually explicit “spam” messages.

The victory, sealed with a judge’s order issued last Friday, probably won’t yield a windfall for privately held Facebook Inc., whose revenue this year is expected to range between $250 million to $300 million.

I started using PCs 25 years ago, and PC magazine was one of the few sources of information and inspiration.  There was no internet then….

PC Magazine goes online-only (AP) by AP: Yahoo! Tech

After 27 years as a print publication, PC Magazine is ditching its print edition and going online-only in February.

The move, announced Wednesday, highlights the pressure on newspapers and magazines to protect their profit margins as more advertising dollars flow to the Web.

Look Ma! the 10th most powerful computer in the world runs on Windows Server!

Windows HPC hits top 10 among supercomputers - Network World

Windows HPC Server 2008, a 64-bit system that shipped Nov. 1, came in at No. 10, achieving 180.6 teraflops with 77.5% efficiency at the Shanghai Supercomputer Center and Dawning Information Industry Co.