Into Tech

EU competition regulators say chipmaker Intel abused its dominant market position in Europe and may fine the firm.

Intel and the One Laptop per Child foundation bury their differences and agree to work together on the project.

Apple has decided to ignore the growing displeasure of certain users of its new DRM-free, iTunes Plus service. I scribbled a bit about this yesterday and while I assumed that Apple would have to comment on why DRM-free music is tagged with a customer’s name, account and email details, I may be disappointed. The company has already declined to comment on the issue to Wired [thanks for the heads-up, Cal].

Instead, it pointed them to a Jupiter Research analyst, Michael Gartenberg, who had been fully briefed on iTunes Plus. He said it could be used for proof of purchase tracking, prevent piracy, or facilitate upgrades through identifying existing tunes that could upgraded.

“In terms of sharing files, you’re not legally permitted to do that anyway,” he said. “You weren’t supposed to that in the first place. You’ve technically violated the service agreement. Just because you’ve taken away the locks on the doors doesn’t mean you can walk into someone’s house and walk away with the TV set.”

The privacy set are not amused. Fred von Lohmann, a senior intellectual property attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, commented:

“There’s absolutely no reason that it had to be embedded, unencrypted and in the clear. Some of the privacy problems, in light of this, is that anyone who steals an iPod that includes purchased iTunes music will now have the name and e-mail address of its rightful owner.”

Expect this to run for sometime and maybe, just maybe, Apple will someday deign to tell us peasants [a.k.a. customers] what’s actually going on. -Martin Lynch

[Wired]

news DRM itunes apple ipod

Panasonic has launched a new, compact digital snapper with a whopping 12.2 megapixels and the unusual ability to record high-definition video.

The new Lumix DMC- FX100 arrives in July and significantly boosts the company’s current high-end offering, which tops out at 7.2 megapixels. It can take photos in 4:3 mode and there are also four 16:9 widescreen modes with image resolution up to 4000 x 2248 pixels.

Video can be recorded at up to 1280 x 720 at 15 frames per second, but don’t expect to fit much on the 27Mb of internal memory. You will need some decent SD Cards to make the most of this feature. The camera boasts a brand spanking new and “exclusive” 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC lens features, with 3.6x optical zoom, f/2.8 brightness, 1/1.72-inch large CCD and Intelligent Image Stabilisation with Mega O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO Control.

There’s also an impressive high speed burst mode that will let you shoot 8 photos per second at full resolution. The FX100 has a 2.5in LCD screen, weighs 0.33lb and will be available in silver and black.

Jump now for a peek at the black version. No prices yet. - Martin Lynch

digital camera news technology photo panasonic

For those that burst into flames at the mention of a notebook running Windows Anything, you can now rest easy and sate your portable needs with Apple’s new MacBooks.

I say new, but I really mean, updated. The looks are still ‘lovable’ [according to Apple’s promo material] but the horsepower under the hood has been jacked up thanks to some Intel Core duo processors, 1GB of memory and larger hard disk drives, up to 160GB.

They are approximately 1in thick, have 13in screens, built-in 802.11n wireless networking and a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing. And don’t forget the new MagSafe Power Adapter that “safely disconnects when under strain” – i.e. you’ll still break your face when you trip over the power cord but at least you won’t trash your MacBook.

The three models are the white 2GHz and 2.16GHz models and a less girly-looking black one, running at 2.16GHz version. They are priced at £699, £829 and £949, respectively.-Martin Lynch

apple laptops macbook notebook

You’re no one these days without a glossy black finish on your products and Acer has decided that even average notebook owners deserve a little bit of style, thanks to some help from BMW designers.

Right on the back of Intel’s launch of its next-gen Centrino mobile processor yesterday – codenamed Santa Rosa - Acer has launched four new consumer lappies sporting its new ‘Gemstone’ styling. The glossy dark exterior and beveled edges mirror the bright pearl-grey finish on the inside. As laptops with normal prices go, these certainly are good looking beasts.

There are four models: the Aspire 5720, the 5920, 7720 and the high-end 9920, the latter sporting a massive 20in display, camera, digital TV tuner and HD DVD drive. They are also the first to get Dolby Home Theatre Virtual Surround-approved.

Selected models come with the option of using Intel’s TurboMemory technology – codenamed Robson – which uses Flash memory for faster access to the most used applications as well as a claimed 20 per cent boost to boot up times. No prices yet, but imminent. Jump now for another photo.-Martin Lynch

laptops acer centrino

SANTA CLARA, California (Reuters) - Web-based phone-calling
company Jajah has won Intel’s backing for its bid to blur the
distinction between phones and computers, the two companies
said on Wednesday.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft looked at possible
acquisitions to gain a foothold in the market for so-called
business intelligence software, but decided to build its own
business and compete on price against industry leaders, the
company’s business division president said on Wednesday.

The oddity that is the UMPC continues to gain traction, albeit really slowly, and sitting at the forefront of the drive is Samsung, which has just delivered the Q1 Ultra. Yesterday, we had Fujitsu enter the fray while Sony is commanding the high-end with its pricey Vaio UX-1.

Promising that’s it better than the overpriced original Q1- which was pretty slow, had no keyboard and poor battery life - this one is powered by either a 600MHz or 800MHz Intel processor, has 1GB of DDR2 memory and comes with an integrated split-QWERTY keypad, mouse, and user-defined function keys.

Battery life has been boosted to 4.5 hours [claimed] and performance speeds have been increased. There’s a 7in LED display with a native resolution of 1024 x 600 and a brightness rating of 300nits. On the comms front, it sports integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and an optional 3.5G HSDPA modem. It weighs 1.5lbs.

There are four versions of the Ultra on the way, and the first to arrive is the Ultra-V, sporting a 60GB hard disk drive, Vista Home Premium Edition, biometric fingerprint scanner, camera and a $1,200 price tag. A budget version, the $799 Q1 Ultra-EL, has a 40GB drive, slower processor and no camera and is due out in a few weeks. Remember, none of these attractive prices are a useful indicator of what they will cost over here, just prepere to be gouged.

The Ultra-XP, due in June, is aimed at businesses and will use the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition OS. Top of the range will be the Q1 Ultra-CMV, due in August, with in-built HDSPA modem and an 80GB HDD. No prices for those yet.-Martin Lynch

UMPC portable laptop samsung

This UMPC was little more than a concept a few months back but apparently it’s gotten the green light and will be launching later this year. This new look also seems to ditch this fold-out keyboard concept we covered at the tail-end of last year.

It’s a stylish little number that hides a QWERTY keyboard with sprung keys, without being too big and bulky. At least that’s the claim. A proper keyboard on a UMPC is a nice idea but will it arrive at a price point most of us can afford? Here’s the key specs:

Intel Sealey processor (800MHz)
1GB memory
40GB hard disk
SD reader
2 cameras
5.6-inch (1024 x 600) display
Comes with a two core battery but there’s an optional four core version promising 7 hours

I’ll have more UMPC stuff in the morning with details of the new and improved - and hopefully cheaper - Samsung Q1.-Martin Lynch

UMPC portable laptop fujitsu