In the next few weeks, Lenovo is expected to formally announce its SL series of notebooks aimed at small-to-medium sized businesses. According to IDG News Service, the machines will be priced between $699 and $1,199 and will feature online backup services and LoJack anti-theft technology. The SL series also looks to loosen its necktie "with […]

In the next few weeks, Lenovo is expected to formally announce its SL series of notebooks aimed at small-to-medium sized businesses. According to IDG News Service, the machines will be priced between $699 and $1,199 and will feature on the web backup services and LoJack anti-theft technology.

The SL series also looks to loosen its necktie “with a more stylish look and multimedia features such as a connector to display high-definition video and software for video creation” but the relatively low price brings tradeoffs that might alienate certain would-be business buyers, most notably, “the SL laptops will not come with the proprietary docking stations usually found on enterprise ThinkPads, but will include a USB-based port replication system.”

Via [crunchgear]

Share This

Share This

I have basically no information on this pic, but it’s pretty arresting, isn’t it? World’s colliding. It’s strange to think about coming in contact with modern technology such as a laptop for the first time; for most of us, knowing how to use a trackpad and enter a website address into the location bar is a given. [Pixdaus]

Via [Gizmodo]

Share This

Share This

The NYT piece goes into great detail with quotes from random lawyers across the country and mostly just filler, but what you need to know is that only 2,676 angry citizens out of the eight plus million that purchased the game filed a complaint headed up by Seth R. Lesser and a few other lawyers. […]

The NYT piece goes into great detail with quotes from random lawyers across the country and mostly just filler, but what you need to know is that only 2,676 angry citizens out of the eight plus million that bought the game filed a complaint headed up by Seth R. Lesser and a few other lawyers. Lesser and his pack of wolves are seeking $1.3 million in compensation for their time and efforts while T2 lawyers have stated they need only spend $30,000 or less to clean up the mess. That total for T2 is to basically reissue copies of San Andreas without the smut, which already happened. It was originally rated “Mature”, but later went to “Adults Only” when retailers stated they would stop carrying the game.

I see Lesser’s point in that tiny kids shouldn’t be playing games like this with violence and smut and whatever else, but, let’s be honest here, this guy just wanted to see a huge payout and it just isn’t there. The numbers talk for themselves, right? Less than one percent responded. That’s all you really need to know. The rest is just lawyer jargon, but feel free.

Via [crunchgear]

Share This

Share This

“Yesterday up in the air I snapped a sat that wasn’t there”— so might photographer Trevor Paglen state about his show at the University of California at Berkeley Art Museum. It’s a series of pics of 189 secret satellites: the ones that officially “don’t exist.” Dubbed The Other Night Sky the pics are time-lapse images of the snoop-sats moving through the night sky, made with a custom star-tracker. Apparently it’s his attempt to draw similarities between government secrecy and Galileo’s historic tangles with the Catholic church. Found with the help of an amateur astronomer, each photo is of a named spy sat, and they’re quietly beautiful—if you can forget the eerie spying aspect. The show runs until September 14. [Wired]

Via [Gizmodo]

Share This

Share This

Open operating systems, for most folks, means that the operating system is essentially free. The average personal user knows that Linux is free, as in beer, while Windows costs money. The case is the same for mobile OSes even though, until very recently, the idea of purposely using an open OS has been a fairly nebulous concept.

To be clear open mobile OSes have been around for years, starting most prominently with the QTopia project that ran on ARM hardware found in many PDAs and phones. The Linux kernel plays well with nearly any platform, making it best for small installations.

With the announcement of an “open” version of Symbian coming soon, let’s take a look at what open means to the average consumer.

Read more…

Via Mobilecrunch

Share This

Share This

Various tracks from the upcoming “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith” game have been trickling out, but we finally have the definitive list of the 40+ tracks that’ll be included when the title ships on June 29th. Of the notable non-Aerosmith tunes: King of Rock by Run DMC, She Sells Sanctuary by The Cult, Hard to Handle by […]

Various tracks from the upcoming “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith” game have been trickling out, but we finally have the definitive list of the 40+ tracks that’ll be included when the title ships on June 29th. Of the notable non-Aerosmith tunes: King of Rock by Run DMC, She Sells Sanctuary by The Cult, Hard to Handle by the Black Crowes, Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent, and Sex Type Thing by Stone Temple Pilots.

Here’s the complete list…

Tier 1: “Getting the Band Together” (Nipmuc High School)
1. “All the Young Dudes” by Mott the Hoople (cover)
2. “Draw the Line” by Aerosmith
3. “Dream Police” by Cheap Trick
4. “Make It” by Aerosmith (re-recorded)
5. “Uncle Salty” by Aerosmith

Tier 2: “First Taste of Success” (Max’s Kansas City)
6. “All Day and All of the Night” by The Kinks (cover)
7. “I Hate Myself for Loving You” by Joan Jett
8. “Movin’ Out” by Aerosmith (re-recorded)
9. “No Surprize” by Aerosmith
10. “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith

Tier 3: “The Triumphant Return” (The Orpheum)
11. “Complete Control” by The Clash
12. “Livin’ on the Edge” by Aerosmith
13. “Love in an Elevator” by Aerosmith
14. “Personality Crisis” by New York Dolls (cover)
15. “Rag Doll” by Aerosmith

Tier 4: “International Superstars” (Moscow)
16. “Bright Light Fright” by Aerosmith
17. “King of Rock” by Run-D.M.C.
18. “Nobody’s Fault” by Aerosmith
19. “She Sells Sanctuary” by The Cult
20. “Walk This Way” by Run-D.M.C. featuring Aerosmith

Tier 5: “The Great American Band” (Half Time Show)
21. “Always on the Run” by Lenny Kravitz
22. “Back in the Saddle” by Aerosmith
23. “Beyond Beautiful” by Aerosmith
24. “Dream On” by Aerosmith (re-recorded)
25. “Hard to Handle” by The Black Crowes (cover)

Tier 6: “Rock N Roll Legends” (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)
26. “Cat Scratch Fever” by Ted Nugent
27. “Mama Kin” by Aerosmith (re-recorded)
28. “Sex Type Thing” by Stone Temple Pilots
29. “Toys In The Attic” by Aerosmith
30. “Train Kept A Rollin” by Aerosmith
–> 31. “Guitar Battle vs Joe Perry” by Joe Perry

Bonus Songs (The Vault)
32. “Combination” by Aerosmith
33. “Kings and Queens” by Aerosmith
34. “Let The Music Do The Talking” by Aerosmith
35. “Mercy” by Joe Perry
36. “Pandora’s Box” by Aerosmith
37. “Pink” by Aerosmith
38. “Rats In The Cellar” by Aerosmith
39. “Shakin’ My Cage” by Joe Perry
40. “Talk Talkin” by Joe Perry
41. “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith

via SlashGear

Via [crunchgear]

Share This

Share This

Nokia announced today that it is offering to buy the 52% of Symbian that it doesn’t already own for around $410 million. Software developed by Symbian is the most widely used on high-end mobile phones and Nokia plans to make the code available free to other manufactures. Nokia hopes to make Symbian software the industry standard worldwide.

If the purchase is successful, Nokia will form a foundation with handset makers Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo to make the software available royalty-free. Nokia currently pays Symbian over $250 million a year in licensing fees. The foundation will combine their three different version of the Symbian software for advanced, data-enabled phones into one open platform.

AT&T Inc., LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co., STMicroelectronics N.V., Texas Instruments Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC will also join the foundation, Nokia stated.

It is easier to develop new software for Personal computers because over 90% run Windows. The mobile phone industry is more fragmented, with many competing platforms. This causes software developers to spend much more time writing applications for the various platforms and raises costs for handset manufactures and carriers that have to deal with the different systems.

If Nokia is successful in its takeover of Symbian, it will enter the race for an industry standard. The LiMo Foundation and Google’s Android are two other major competitors that’ll give away its handset software.

Symbian already has over 60% of the world’s smart-phone market. This gives it a big start in the race towards standardization if the sale goes through. Nokia stated it expects the sale to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval.

Symbian Foundation

Via Mobilecrunch

Share This

Share This

Seventeen Again Is About: A Popular high school senior Mike O’Donnell (Zac Efron) seemingly has it all. He’s a star athlete headed straight for a college scholarship when he decides to give it up to settle down with his high school girlfriend Scarlet. Twenty five years later, an adult Mike (played by Matthew Perry) finds his life is not exactly what he expected. He’s separated from h…

Share This

Share This

Virgin Mobile USA announced that it is starting an unlimited calling plan that’ll be available July 1. Unlimited calling will cost $79.99 per month but doesn’t cover unlimited text messaging. Unlimited texting can be added for an additional $10 a month. The prices don’t include taxes and other fees that can add up to $10 a month, depending on what part of the country the customer lives.

MobileCrunch reported in February that the major carriers in the United States started their own unlimited calling plans. (See: Mobile Warfare). Virgin Mobile has been slow getting to the mobile battlefield but is hoping that it can boost sales with its new plan. Both AT&T and Verizon Wireless have seen more customers upgrade to unlimited plans than downgrade from more costly plans.

Virgin Mobile doesn’t own a network in the United Says. Instead, the company buys airtime from other carriers, and is one of the largest “mobile virtual network operators” (MVNOs) in the country. Virgin Mobile has around 5.1 million customers with an average revenue per user of $19.93 per month. This revenue is less than half the average of the major carriers that own their own networks.

Virgin Mobile USA

Via Mobilecrunch

Share This

Share This

BGR, like he usually does, has word from Motorola insiders that a new flagship model is coming and that it will make or break the mobile division. Didn’t that already happen? “Alexander” as it’s being codenamed comes equipped with an 8-megapixel camera, GPS and few other goodies. Look for it to hit the streets in […]

BGR, like he usually does, has word from Motorola insiders that a new flagship model is coming and that it will make or break the mobile division. Didn’t that already happen? “Alexander” as it’s being codenamed comes equipped with an 8-megapixel camera, GPS and few other goodies. Look for it to hit the streets in October. All other purported specs after the jump.

* Originally a 5 megapixel camera, but possibly scrapped since the ZN5 is out. It looks like it’s going to be an 8 megapixel camera phone. At least that’s what is floating around in the R&D labs…
* The device will have a built-in NVIDIA chip which will handle both video and 3D graphics.
* It will have GPS
* It might possibly be a touch screen but that has not been confirmed to us just yet.
* The phone is rumored to run UIQ as the OS, “probably version 4.0 or higher.”
* It’s called a “Dark Project” phone because of the secrecy surrounding it.
* Release right now is set for October, but as always, that could change.
* Again, this is stated to be Moto’s last massive attempt at getting back their market share and reclaiming victory. If this doesn’t work out, we’re told it’s all over for them and they will sell the company.

Via [crunchgear]

Share This

Share This