New Microsoft BlueTrack Mice Are Way Cheap

Microsoft Hardware is introducing three sub-$30 mice in its BlueTrack line of peripherals.

Microsoft Hardware said Thursday that it has added three new mice to its current BlueTrack Technology-based line of peripherals. The new models will be dirt cheap, costing just under $30, and includes the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500, Wireless Mouse 2000 and Comfort Mouse 4500.

All three were touted with the ability to "virtually" track on any surface, designed for the mobile consumer who doesn't have the room or patience to carry a mousepad. Supposedly these guys even track on glass.

All three mice are now available for pre-order on Amazon starting today, however the 2000 and 4500 won't ship until March; the 3500 model ships in April.

The Olympics Chose Windows XP Over Vista, 7

Read on to hear about the Acer laptop vs. Soup incident!

As a Canadian, the winter Olympic games are a big deal to me. Not only are the games being held on home soil in Vancouver, but Canadian athletes are winning gold and the both hockey squads are performing at exceptionally high levels.

Also performing well at the Olympics is Microsoft, as all of the computers used at the event run Windows. It's not Windows 7, but rather the ever-lasting Windows XP.

Acer won the contract to provide the computers for the 2010 games and confirmed that it shipped more than 6,000 notebooks and desktops for organizers of the event – all of which pack Windows XP rather than the Windows 7 OS found on all of Acer's retail offerings today.

"It was the operating system requested by VANOC (the Olympic organizing committee) and Atos Origin" (the technology integrator managing the Olympics tech operations), said Todd Olson, who manages Acer's tech work in Vancouver, as quoted by CNet.

Olympic organizers opted to go with Windows XP because Windows 7 was "a bit too new to be used."

So far, Windows XP has been doing exactly what is asked of it, with the only notable computer trouble coming at the hands of a bowl of soup rather than software. The incident came when an Olympics worker went into an excited cheer and spilled soup all over a laptop. The worker then shut off the laptop and later found that it still worked.

Acer offered to replace the machine, but the worker declined a new one as she didn't want to part with a notebook hearty enough to survive a bowl of soup.

Windows 7 Anti-Piracy Update Now Live

New patch checks for more activation hacks.

Earlier this month, we detailed that Microsoft was prepping a Windows 7 Update that would improve Windows Activation Technologies to detect more than 70 known and potentially dangerous activation exploits.

Those paying attention to their Windows Update will see that the patch KB971033 is now live. It's not explicitly named anything to do with Windows Activation Technologies, as it's simply termed as an "Update for Windows 7."

Microsoft previously pointed out that this update is completely voluntary and users can decline the update when it appears (though we can't imagine why legitimate users would worry). Of course, if a hack or exploit is found, Windows 7 will alert the user by removing the desktop background and pop up periodic reminders of just how non-genuine it is feeling.

LG 1st To Get Official Win 7 Touch Certification

LG's In-Cell Multi-Touch LCD panel gets a prize from Microsoft.

Far East Gizmos reports that LG Displays is the world's first to receive Microsoft's official Windows 7 Touch Logo certification for its in-cell touch screen panels. The current display receiving Microsoft's new stamp of approval is the 13.3-inch Capacitive In-Cell Multi-Touch LCD panel for notebooks.

In addition to providing support for two simultaneous touch inputs, LG's panel has built-in touch sensors rather than standard films used in other touch-screens, reducing light reflection and brightness declines. This makes the panel ideal for outdoor use.

"Until now, the [Capacitive In-Cell Multi-Touch] technology had limited use in smaller devices like mobile phones," said LG Display’s CTO and Executive Vice President, Dr. In-Jae Chung. "We believe Microsoft certification is a testament to the product’s excellence. We will continue to apply superior touch functions to larger IT products like notebooks and monitors to lead consumer and market trends."

As Softpedia explains, Microsoft's certification program is a means to establish compatibility and quality of multi-touch screens. This is also a good way to boost the sales of a particular screen. After all, Windows 7 consumers may purchase a certified screen before considering an identical panel --one without the stamp--sitting on the same shelf.

SanDisk Shipping New G3 SSD With ExtremeFFS

It's Extreme, FFS!

Flash memory company SanDisk is looking to be more than SD and CF cards. SanDisk announced that it is now shipping its G3 Solid State Drives to retailers in North America and Europe.

On the performance front, the G3 boasts sequential performance of up to 220MB/sec read speed and up to 120MB/sec write speed, which the company likes to describe as "twice as fast as a 7,200 RPM HDD." Those running Windows 7 will appreciate that the G3 supports the TRIM command.

SanDisk bills the G3 as a "rugged drive" that can endure up to 80TB of data written to it over its lifetime. Perhaps more unique to the G3 is SanDisk's file system technology for SSDs, which it calls the ExtremeFFS, or Extreme Flash File System.

The memory company explained, "ExtremeFFS incorporates a fully non-blocking architecture in which all of the NAND channels can behave independently, with some reading while others are writing and garbage collecting. Another key element of ExtremeFFS is usage-based content localization, which allows the advanced flash management system to 'learn' user patterns and over time localize data to maximize the product’s performance and endurance."

SanDisk previously said that this technology could result in improvement in random write performance by up to 100 times in best case scenarios. In the G3 announcement, however, SanDisk said that ExtremeFFS has the "potential to accelerate random write performance and thus extend the endurance of SanDisk G3 SSDs…"

SanDisk G3 SSD is available now in U.S. and UK e-commerce sites in 60GB and 120GB capacities with prices of $229.99 and $399.99 respectively. The drive will be available at retailers in North America and Europe soon.

Warid Plans to Play Facebook

Warid has ultimately decided to take Facebook as a serious medium. Not through a conventional fan page with a simple game, while offering iPod Shuffle for the winners.

There is this one advert of Warid’s recent campaign – all you need is to complete the advert by fixing the picture. One who will complete the advert in least time will get the prize.

Looks application is still under development. We have seen couple of enhancements in previous 2 days, but it still lacks few things, for instance, application doesn’t recognize when a user completes the picture. You need to press the submit button in order to alert application for response. Top Ten Score button on front is yet to display the list of top scorers.

In terms of online marketing, such applications can be very handy. Good thing about Facebook games is that they can get popular with not much effort and time with invite feature (condition: If game is good and interesting).

However, we will have to see how Pakistani companies in general and cellular companies in particular will use online media for generating sales, instead of just reaching out the masses for building brand image.

PCWorld: AT&T 3G 67% Faster Than Competitors

AT&T customers are no strangers to spotty coverage and slow 3G, and it's something competitors have had no problems pointing out in the past. However, in a recent series of tests by PCWorld, AT&T has come out on top for 3G speeds.

PCWorld today reports that after generating disappointing results in last year's tests, AT&T's 3G download speeds are 84 percent better than the numbers from eight months ago. In fact, AT&T has come out on top in the site's tests. With download speeds 67 percent faster than its competitors', AT&T is ahead of Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

According to PCW, AT&T last year posted speeds of 818 kbps across 13 cities. Tests conducted in December 2009 and January 2010 show the network's average download speed has increased to 1410 kbps.

Verizon came first last year and this year, was a close second to AT&T. The network's download speeds increased by 8 percent over last year's numbers. Sprint was found to be "upgrading its network capacity fast enough to meet the demand" being presented by smartphone users and PCWorld reports that T-Mobile's speeds are competitive with what Sprint and Verizon offers in most of the test cities. In fact, in one city (New York) T-Mobile’s network delivered download speeds that are usually associated with 4G networks.

Sony Patents Universal Game Controller

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week made public a patent application from Sony. Dated August 2008, the application details a universal controller with a twist.

Up until now, universal remote controllers haven't been very notable. Most commonly produced for people who often lose track of their remote, universal controllers are a  useful but boring affair. That is, until learn about Sony's plans for an LCD-equipped universal controller for consoles.

Sony's USPTO application covers a controller that features a touchscreen LCD that would display a controller key layout of the users choice. In the patent application Sony talks of a PlayStation layout, a Nintendo game console layout, and an Xbox layout, meaning the controller would work with outside consoles.

It seems like something a lot of people would be really into, but then again, many could be completely against the touchscreen aspect of things. Since the advent of touchscreen phones, a lot of people have discovered that they just can't do without physical buttons.

Intel: We Were Hacked Too

Intel comes forth and says that it too was hacked around the same time that Google was.

While the hacking of Google was widely publicized, it wasn't the only firm under attack from nefarious groups. In fact, Google said that a supposed twenty other companies were targeted by hackers around the same time that the search giant was hit.

Today, Intel told reporters that it was also the target of a hacking attempt around the same time of the attack on Google, but denied any connection to that incident.

"The only connection is timing," Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said, quoted byReuters. The representative also added that Intel gets targeted by hackers on a "very regular" basis. Intel declined to say from where the hacks originated.

Mulloy was asked whether Intel had spoken with Google with regards to the hacking incidents, to which he replied, "Our security folks work very closely and collaboratively throughout the industry."

Intel later told reporters that it did not lose any information, though it does seem unusual for the company to confirm a hacking incident specifically from last month if attempts are made on a regular basis.

Nvidia Branded PC: GeForce PC Kit is for DIY'ers

Nvidia's put its name on a DIY kit for those looking to build a modest PC.

Nvidia typically provides the underlying technology for systems makers and enthusiasts to integrate into computers, but the graphics company has unveiled a DIY barebones PC kit for beginner hobbyists.

The GeForce PC kit is an Nvidia-branded computer kit that sets itself apart with a CoolerMaster Elite 334 Nvidia Edition case with a green-tinted window. That part aside, the rest of the system is mostly off-the-shelf items with an Intel Pentium E5300, GeForce 9800 GT, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 500W PSU, 250GB HDD.

Here are the full specs:

The whole package retails for just under $500 from CompUSA or TigerDirect. Interestingly, Nvidia's support page for technical Support, RMA requests, replacements and warranty issues for the GeForce PC Kit directs users to TigerDirect, signaling it as the manufacturer.

Microsoft Giving Away Custom MacBook Pros

Hard to believe this is happening, but it's true.

While the Windows-using world is gearing up for the release of Office 2010 this summer, Mac users will have to hang on for another year before getting their own new office suite in 2011. But it appears that Microsoft wants to show the Mac-using community that it still loves them and is giving away two custom-colored 2.53GHz MacBook Pro laptops.

The MacBook Pros will come with a custom paintjob in one of the colors of the software icons (blue, purple, orange or green). Of course, each winning laptop will also come with a copy of Office 2008 for Mac.

As detailed on the official webpage for the contest, entries are accepted via Twitter following or retweeting @officeformac. The contest is open to all in USA and Canada (except Quebec).

While someone may cry sacrilege at Microsoft for giving away an Apple product, there is some amusement value of a repainted MacBook Pro bearing a Microsoft Office logo right above the glowing Apple.

Google officially allowed to buy and sell electricity.

Back in January, Google put in a request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the regulatory body that oversees the power grid. Applying under a subsidiary called Google Energy, the search giant was seeking permission to buy and sell electricity on the wholesale market.

However, Google Energy is not about entering the electricity market. Rather, Google is just eager to reduce its carbon footprint. At the time, a Google spokesperson told CNet that Google wants to buy the highest quality and most affordable renewable energy wherever it can.

"Right now, we can't buy affordable, utility-scale, renewable energy in our markets," said Google rep Niki Fenwick. "We want to buy the highest quality, most affordable renewable energy wherever we can and use the green credits."

The FERC today granted Google Energy market-based rate authorization. This means Google has been approved for the sale of energy, capacity, and ancillary services at market-based rates. However, the Commission clarified that neither Google Energy nor its affiliates "own or control any generation or transmission" facilities.

CNet's Candace Lombardi writes that it is not unusual for large corporations to be granted the authority to trade in the wholesale electricity market for the purpose of managing their own energy costs. However, it seems Google hasn't quite ruled out entering the energy business.

"We don't have any concrete plans. We want the ability to buy and sell electricity in case it becomes part of our portfolio," Fenwick told CNET News in January.

FCC Filings Point Toward PS3 Slim Refreshes

A recent FCC filing points towards a possible refresh for the PS3 Slim.

PS3 News reports that Sony has slipped two new PS3 Slim models though the FCC under its old pseudonym Sand Dollar Enterprises. The new models are labeled as the CECH-2101A and CECH-2101B and as far as we know, the only difference between the two is HDD type.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Sony has plans for a specs bump for the PS3 Slim just yet. PS3 News reports that the wireless specs on the "new" PS3 Slims include 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth, identical to the current models. The site goes on to speculate that the filing could just be because Sony found a new manufacturer for some of its wireless components, and was forced to pass the PS3 Slim through the FCC again.
Still, it's nice to dream of an upgrade.

Sony Ericsson: We Refused to Build Google Phone

I knew there had to be a reason why it looked like every other Android phone out there.

So far a lot of the Android phones on the market have been made by HTC. So, when Android fans learned the Nexus One was yet another HTC device, they were a little disappointed. Some had hoped they'd see something truly different from Google and when the Nexus One launched, it seemed the only truly different thing was that you could purcahse the device through Google.

However, it seems HTC may not have been Google's first choice either. Sony Ericsson has said the search giant approached the company to make the phone but Ericsson said no. Crave reports that in an interview for a Swedish newspaper, Sony Ericsson chief, Bert Nordberg, said that Google had approached his company about making the Nexus One but he had refused because Sony Ericsson wanted release phones under its own brand only. Nordberg went on to say that Sony prefers to rely on its own efforts to make it in the US market.

Despite the Google snub, Ericsson has plans to release Android devices under its own brand. The company has plans for a handful of Android devices to be released this year. Crave reports that the first of these, the Xperia X10, is expected to be released later this month.

Kingston's 256GB USB Flash Drive is $1,108

A USB flash drive larger than your console's hard disk drive.

Living in the U.S. and in search for a USB flash drive with massive capacity? Kingston is finally shipping its 256GB drive to the United States with data transfer rates of 25MB/sec. read and 12MB/sec. write.

The model known as the DataTraveler 310 replaces the 256GB DataTraveler 300, released in July 2009 to the Asia/Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.

“We saw an opportunity to push the capacity envelope for USB Flash drives in the marketplace. Customer feedback and our research determined that this is a great solution for designers, engineers and architects who have a need to easily store and transport large data files,” said Andrew Ewing, USB business manager, Kingston. “For the enthusiast who wants easy access to their full media library, the DataTraveler 310 can store up to 365 CDs, 54 DVDs or 51,000 images. This device makes an entire collection of data easily portable.”

For those thinking of packing this massive drive with sensitive information, the DataTraveler 310 features Password Traveler software, which allows the user to create and access a password-protected privacy zone. The secure area of the drive can account for up to 90 percent of the drive’s capacity and does not require administrator rights.

If you want one of these, you'd better have $1,108 sitting around.

Corsair USB Padlock 2 Has 256-bit AES, Keypad

Don't forget your PIN for this USB flash drive.

Flash drives are great for toting around data, but they can also be easy to lose. While those worried about security can use a third-party encryption software to keep things locked down, Corsair makes it easier than ever with its Flash Padlock 2 USB flash drive.

The Flash Padlock 2 employs a user-definable PIN code that is entered using the integrated numeric keypad to unlock the drive and access the data. The data is secured by a 256-bit AES data encryption and cannot be compromised by disassembling the drive to gain access to the flash ICs.

The built-in nature of the keypad is handy for those who want to access the data without running external software. This could be useful when plugging the USB stick into a consumer device such as a TV or game console. If one should forget his or her password, there is software to completely reset the drive to a blank state.

“USB flash drives are the floppy disk of the 21st century, and their capacity and convenience allows us to carry our lives with us wherever we go,” stated John Beekley, Vice President of Technical Marketing at Corsair. “The Flash Padlock 2 provides valuable protection against loss of personal or corporate data as well as identity theft, allowing us to carry the most personal of data with complete peace-of-mind, and in a rugged, portable, convenient format.”

The Flash Padlock 2 has a capacity of 8GB and will retail for around $60.

Investigation Could See iPhone, Blackberry Ban

No more iPhones or Blackberrys? Say it ain't so!

Back in January, Kodak filed a complaint claiming Apple and Blackberry maker, RIM, were both infringing upon a patent owned by the camera company. Kodak alleged that Apple's iPhone and any Blackberry with a camera use a method for previewing color images and processing images that is covered in a Kodak patent. In its complaint, Kodak asked the FTC to block the importation into the U.S. of the allegedly infringing products.

Given that Kodak has filed similar suits against Samsung and LG in the past and currently licences out the technology to Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia, it's a safe bet that there is at least some truth to Kodak's claims. All the more interesting, then, that the ITC is currently investigating the situation and could block the sale of iPhones and Blackberrys in the U.S.

The U.S. International Trade Commission announced on Wednesday what it would launch an investigation into whether or not Apple and RIM are infringing on the patent. The USITC reiterates Kodak's wish to issue an exclusion order and cease and desist orders but says it has not yet made any decisions on the merits of the case.

In January Kodak said it had warned both Apple and RIM about their infringements before filing the complaint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsRKXfkTlC4

Google's been on somewhat of a spending spree as of late and this week, the company continues its shopping binge with the acquisition of reMail, a company responsible for an email search application for the iPhone.

For those of you who haven't heard of reMail, it's basically an iPhone app that downloads all your mail to your phone to provide offline search for mail. Though it sounds daunting, the reMail team can reportedly squish 100,000 emails into 500 megabytes, which is just a sliver of the space on your phone. A search through the iPhone's mail app might take 10 seconds but reMail can perform the same search in just two so you can imagine how useful it was for people who had ponied up the cash for it.

While financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, it looks like Google first and foremost wanted reMail removed from the App Store. reMail CEO Gabor Cselle blogged about the acquisition and informed users that he would be taking up residence as product manager on the Gmail team. Cselle detailed that he and the team at Google had "decided to discontinue reMail's iPhone application." reMail is no longer available from the App Store.

So, who wants to bet we'll see reMail for Android in the very near future?

Hotmail Breached; Microsoft Now Investigating

Hotmail showed other people's inboxes.

Microsoft said that it is investigating a security snafu at its Hotmail property that occurred earlier this week. Some Hotmail users report that, upon logging into their account, they would see the inbox that belonged to someone else.

Microsoft quickly issued a statement: "Microsoft is investigating reports of a limited number of instances in which Windows Live customers may have access to other customers' accounts when accessing their account through mobile web browser. Microsoft takes customers' privacy seriously, and immediately upon learning of these reports, we started an investigation."

The company hasn't yet revealed what, if anything, it has discovered yet, but pledged to take appropriate action once it has completed the investigation.

Most Windows 7 PCs Max Out RAM, Choke

RAM, bam, thank you ma'am!

When I pay the money to drop at least 6GB of RAM into my system, I want it all to be put to use. Compared to Windows XP, both Windows Vista and Windows 7 make more active use of system memory. But according to Devil Mountain Software's community-based Exo.performance.network (XPnet) CTO, Craig Barth, that sort of RAM management results in undesirable performance.

According to the Computerworld report, XPnet found that 40 percent of its Windows XP machines ran into low-memory situations, while 86 percent of its Windows 7 machines are regularly consuming 90 percent to 95 percent of their available RAM.

Barth said that the hungry RAM consumption of Windows 7 result in slow-downs. "The vast majority of Windows 7 machines over the last several months are very heavily-memory saturated," he said. "From a performance standpoint, that has an immediate impact on the machine."

"This is alarming," Barth said of Windows 7 machines' resource consumption. "For the OS to be pushing the hardware limits this quickly is amazing. Windows 7 is not the lean, mean version of Vista that you may think it is."

Alarming findings aside, XPnet observed that Windows 7 PCs sport an average of 3.3GB of RAM, compared to 1.7GB for Windows XP and 2.7GB for Windows Vista machines.

We recall that the design of Windows Vista (and by extension, Windows 7) has it consuming more RAM for practical, useful purposes rather than letting it sit idle. Nevertheless, we have contacted Microsoft for an official answer to this memory issue. More to come.

Asus Wants to be Another Apple; Has Killer Product

An 'Apple' for the PC enthusiast. Could it be a match made in heaven?

We know that, when it comes to design, Apple has a distinct flavour in its offerings – many of which appear to be polarizing in various tech camps. Regardless of how you may feel, Apple's design strategy is often influential throughout the industry, with both good and bad being taken. (The unibody metal designs are superlative, while the glass covered LCD screens are awful.)

Rather than just look upwards at Apple's trendy style, Asus is now aiming to achieve a status on the very same level. According to a report from Digitimes, Asus chairman Jonney Shih said that the Taiwanese computer company is aiming to become "another Apple." Instead of adopting a closed-ecosystem like Apple, however, Asus aims to do it with the help of open source platforms with ARM and Google software. Of course, Microsoft and Intel will be there too.

Shih also added that Asus will have a "killer product" ready for a June debut, though the brief story didn't go any further beyond that.

Best speculations right now point to an Eee Tablet that'll undercut the Apple iPad at below $500 levels but provide better capabilities with an Nvidia Tegra 2, giving it 1080p video muscle.

Or maybe it's just the Eee Keyboard finally releasing.

Intel and Nokia Join Forces to Make Linux OS

Intel and Nokia today revealed a new operating system that the two plan to put on smartphones, netbooks and tablets.

Last year Nokia and Intel announced that they would collaborate on several projects; but at the time, neither offered much information on what those projects might be. Today we've got a little insight into what the Nokia-Intel partnership is all about: Software.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the two companies announced a Linux-based operating system called MeeGo. MeeGo is actually just a mash-up of Nokia's Maemo OS and Intel's Moblin. Nokia and Intel have said the open source OS will run on both smartphones and netbooks, with support for ARM architecture and Intel's line of Atom CPUs.
At the moment, there are very few details available but it will be interesting to see how this goes. The OS will more than likely have a better chance on smartphones than netbooks. Microsoft is still dominating the netbook OS market because it has the advantage of familiarity. Still, we can't say much until we see it in action. Watch this space.

Google Introduces Buzz-kill Link to Gmail

Want to disable Buzz completely, delete all you Buzz posts and eliminate your Google profile? Now you can.

Google has update Buzz for the second time in several days. On Thursday Google made a few minor changes to the service regarding certain privacy settings. On Saturday, Google made some major changes to the service, including rethinking the decision to set people up with followers without their consent.

Last week, Google educated Buzz users on how to switch their following and followers lists to private. By default these are set to public and so, anyone who views your Google profile can see who's following you and who you're following. Given that who you follow and who follows you is selected by Google based on who you email the most, a lot of people were pretty mad that Google was revealing their most used contacts.

In a blog post published this past Saturday, Google refers to, "a new Buzz start-up experience." This time the company has made some bigger changes, doing away with the 'instant friends list' approach completely. Instead of setting you up with followers and people to follow, Google will present you with a list of suggested users; meaning you get to pick and choose who you follow and who you ignore.

Google has also added a Buzz tab to settings in Gmail. Before everything was all spread out: The switch to decide not to display your followers lists was buried in your Google profile settings, the "turn Buzz off" link was way down at the bottom of your Gmail window, and anything to do with private and public Buzz updates were inside the Buzz tab. Google has made things a littler easier by endeavoring to put all the Buzz related settings in one place.

Google will also no longer connect your Google Reader and your Picasa account with Buzz. Previously, anyone who signed up for Buzz had to manually disable this. If they did not, anything they shared on Reader would be posted in their Buzz stream and Google would show any updates to Picasa albums and in some cases, Twitter.

Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of a "Disable Buzz Completely" link. When exploring Buzz for the firs time, people were prompted to set up Google profiles. If they decided they didn't like this new social-media effort from Google, they could switch it off via a "switch off Buzz" link at the bottom of their Gmail page. However, what most people don't realize is that this link does not undo all of your previous Buzz activity. It merely hides the Buzz tab and stops the constant stream of Buzz updates to your inbox. Your Google profile is still live, all your Buzz posts are there and if you didn't set your followers lists to private, people can still view them. This 'out of sight out of mind' approach has been replaced by a more permanent solution that carries the warning, "This will disable Google Buzz in Gmail and delete your Google profile and Buzz posts. It will also disconnect any connected sites and unfollow you from anyone you are following.

Samsung Confirms Chrome-Based Netbook

Samsung Australia confirmed that the company is working on a Chrome-based netbook.

Samsung Australia has confirmed that it's currently working on a netbook using Google's Chrome OS. However according to Channel News, the device won't be incorporated into Samsung's 2010 lineup until later this year.

Phil Newton, head of Samsung IT Australia, told Channel News that the device will feature a 12-hour battery life, built-in WiFi and 3G connectivity, a default 2 GB of RAM, and at least 64 GB of HDD space. Newton also added that the Chrome-based netbook will be similar to Samsung's Pine Trail N210, which features a 10.1-inch LED screen.

Channel News was unable to confirm the processor and chipset, but speculates that the device will use Qualcomm's 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor.

Google Pays Apple $100,000,000/Year for Search

Recent reports suggest that Apple and Microsoft could team up to offer Bing on the iPhone, robbing Google of the cozy default position it currently holds.

Today we learn that Google is actually paying a lot of money for the privilege of appearing as the default search engine in Safari. The Business Insider cites people familiar with the matter who say Apple's contract with Google earns the Cupertino-based electronics company $100 million a year.

If the Bing rumors are true, it's very likely that Microsoft is offering Apple more money, hence the latter's decision to give Google the boot. However, it's also possible that with Google now firmly established in the smartphone market and presenting a real threat to the iPhone, Apple just wants to switch search providers for the sake of keeping away from the competition.

Motorola to do Splits in 2011

Motorola has finally provided more details regarding the company's plans to split into two independently trading companies.

In 2008 Motorola said it would spin off its mobile division into a separate company. At the time, Motorola's phone division wasn't doing too well. Following the rise and fall of the RAZR, the company had had very little success in the cell phone market. The revelation that Motorola was dividing itself in two was largely seen as Moto segregating one division that was dragging the entire company down.

Since that initial announcement in March 2008, Motorola phones have been quite successful. Along with the DROID, the company has several more Android phones scheduled for launch this year. However, Motorola has confirmed that it will go ahead with plans to spin off its mobile arm. The company has said it is aiming at the first quarter of 2011 for its planned separation.

Microsoft Details Office for Mac, Includes Exchange

Microsoft has provided details of the next iteration of Office for Mac.

Microsoft detailed Office for Mac 2011 at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco yesterday and revealed that the new Office suite would be available in time for the holidays.

This particular release of Office for Mac will, for the first time in 10 years, include Microsoft Outlook. Outlook will replace the much disliked Entourage, a client which does not offer Exchange support.