Microsoft Has Sold 300 Million Windows 7 Licences

We already know that Windows 7 has seen a much more positive reception than its predecessor, Windows Vista. Last summer Microsoft announced that it had shipped an impressive 175 million Windows 7 licenses. So how are sales now that the OS has been available for more than a year?

As part of its quarterly earnings call yesterday, Microsoft revealed that the company has now sold 300 million Windows 7 licenses. 

“To put that in perspective, 300 million is roughly the combined number of households in North American and in Europe!” writes Brandon LeBlanc on the Windows blo. “Or, to put it another way, if you lined up 300 million Windows 7 product boxes, they would stretch nearly 1.5 times around the Earth,” he said.

Feeling Emotional? Get an Emoticon Keypad

If you find yourself constantly filling your emails, instant messages, and work memos with smiley faces :) You may enjoy one of these awesome emoticon keypads, developed by Lavatelli.

One of the great features of this keypad, currently in its prototype stages, is that it will be full customizable allowing users to create their own favorite emoticon masterpieces.Although the two to three key strokes it takes to produce one emoticon may not be particularly taxing, Lavatelli's emoticon pad will be a great novelty gift. In addition, we'd imagine those giant bubbly emoticon buttons would be extremely satisfying to press, just look at them! The buttons themselves will have customizable glowing options to add some color to the personality of the emoticons.

If you've been following the news lately, you've heard about all of the new smartphones, tablets, tablets and more tablets from CES 2011, but it's particularly refreshing to see some unconventional, out of the ordinary gadgets such as this keypad. Unfortunately there's no additional information on pricing or when they will be available but we'll be sure to keep an eye out for it.

Google Cloud Print Beta Launched

Google users can now send email or other documents to a home/office printer from a mobile device.

Monday Google launched the public beta of Google Cloud Print, a free service that enables users with a Google account to print email, pictures and other media from a mobile device. Currently Google Cloud Print is only available to Chrome notebook owners and those using the latest Chrome web browser beta on the Windows Platform-- Linux and Mac support is coming soon.

Microsoft Files Suit Against TiVo

The argument between Microsoft and TiVo continues.

Microsoft accuses TiVo of patent infringement in four cases and filed a trade complaint to prevent TiVo from importing its set-top boxes to the U.S. The patents relate to program schedules, program selection, interface controls as well as DVR use based on program rating.

iPad 2 Production Starts February, iPhone 5 May

Looks like the iPad 2 and iPhone 5 are right on track.

Monday China's Commercial Times (Google Translate) reported that Apple's manufacturing partners will begin iPad 2 production next month in a "small pilot."

Commercial Times said the number is expected to grow in the second quarter of calendar 2011, and could possibly exceedthe peak seen with the original iPad tablet back in Q4 2010. Apple will reportedly keep Foxconn as its largest manufacturing partner while Pegatron and Apple's other typical suppliers will still play a vital role in the tablet's manufacturing process.

Google to Launch Groupon Clone, 'Google Offers'

Say hello to Goopon!

A while back there were rumors doing the rounds that said Google was gearing up to buy Groupon. However, the deal apparently fell through because Groupon rejected Google’s multi-billion dollar offer (rumors range from $2.5 billion to between $5.6 and $6 billion). Google clearly saw something big in Groupon, just like it saw something big in YouTube and all of the other companies it’s acquired. And it seems the company was not content to just sit back and let Groupon be the fat-cat of the online deals world. 

HTC to Launch Tablet in March; 2 More in June

HTC has captured a pretty respectable portion of the smartphone market thanks, in large part, to Google’s Android OS. However, the company is not just about smartphones. This spring we’ll see it branch out into the tablet business.

Digitimes is reporting that HTC will launch its 'Flyer' tablet in March. The first of three planned tablets for 2011, the Flyer is said to look like an enlarged HTC Desire and will run Gingerbread, aka Android 2.3, when it first launches. Users will reportedly be able to upgrade to Android 3.0/Honeycomb, the version of Android specifically developed for tablets, once it becomes available.

Videogame Tricks You into Working Out

If playing your games keeps you from leading a healthy lifestyle, then maybe it's time to put two and two together.

For many, exercise and videogames are mutually exclusive. But this hasn't stopped attempts at tricking gamers into shedding all those extra Cheetos' pounds. So far, the legendary Dance Dance Revolution has helped gamers keep their heart rate up for over a decade now, but what about strength training? Takei Scientific Instruments may have the answer, called the Smart Trainer.

Windows 8 Surfaces in NDA Presentation

It is about time that we are learning a bit more about the next Windows: An Italian website has obtained the slides of what appears to be a presentation that was given by Microsoft under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

There aren't many new features discussed, but it appears to be clear that Microsoft is taking clues from Apple in creating a much stronger brand value and perception "people will pay for." There are several slides that are reminiscent of traditional Apple ideas and there is one slide that explicitly analyzes Apple's OS strategy.

Portal 2 Played on Intel HD With Motion Control

We're finding more videos buried inside our SD cards.

We got to see some of the newest technology at CES, and for many of us we like to see how the bleeding edge can better entertain us.

Intel's Sandy Bridge-based Core processors are the latest thing from the largest chipmaker in the world, and its integrated graphics are the best from the company yet. It won't erase the need for a dedicated GPU just yet, but it's got some 3D muscle.

T-Mobile Rips on iPhone 4 for Both Verizon, AT&T

T-Mobile says no 4G = no good.

AT&T's got the iPhone, and now so does Verizon. Furthermore, the CDMA version of the iPhone on Verizon gives hope to Sprint also getting it on its CDMA network. So which company is left out of the reach of the iPhone 4? That would be T-Mobile.

Google's Stunning Voice Translation App

We've always dreamed of something like this.

Technology has enabled greater levels of communication than ever. Even right now, we're conveying a piece of information that wouldn't be easy to do so without the internet.

The internet has truly changed the way we communicate. We may still have barriers to communication such as differing languages, and there have been online text translators available for free online for years. The next big step is a live translation of spoken language from one to the other.

Windows Phone 7 Eats Your Bandwidth Alive

Microsoft may have a huge problem, literally, with its Windows Phone 7 (WP7) operating system.

Paul Thurrott reports that his WP7 phone sends "huge chunks of data seemingly in patterns." Prompted by an AT&T email that he was close to his 2 GB data limit, he found that his data usage consistently increased over the months. According to the BBC, other reports claim that WP7 phones send between 30 and 50 MB of data every day and have idle data usage between 2 and 5 MB per hour.

If that is true, then we hope that you are not stuck with AT&T and especially not with a 200 MB data plan. Using a WP7 phone could get rather expensive. Microsoft said it is investigating the problem and release a fix, if necessary.

News Corp. is Thinking of Selling MySpace

Is News Corp. ready to ditch MySpace?

MySpace has had a rough couple of years. Though it was once considered the leading social network, it has been trailing in the shadows of Facebook and Twitter for quite some time. Earlier this week the site announced the downsizing of its workforce. The move saw 47 percent of MySpace staff laid off. However, it seems News Corp. may have more than just fat-trimming on the cards for MySpace.

Rumor: Sony Revealing PSP2 This Month

Rumor has it that Sony plans to reveal the PSP2 in Tokyo later this month, just weeks ahead of the PlayStation Phone.

In a surprising turn of events, trade sources have revealed that Sony plans to announce the PSP2 in Tokyo on January 27, 2011.

At this point, the PSP2 reveal won't be much of a surprise-- we've seen enough bits and pieces to know the device does in fact exist. We've also heard plenty of hands-on impressions from developers and the like giving praise about the specs and performance. Face it Sony, the secret is out. There's no denying it any longer.

Final Beta of Firefox 4 On The Way

t has been a long journey for Mozilla, but it seems that the finish line is in sight, at last.

Mozilla developers have posted the first builds of Firefox 4 Beta 10, which is planned to be the final beta before the release of Firefox 4 RC.

The pre-Beta 10 builds arrive as Mozilla is getting ready to put Beta 9 into a freeze and release the software possibly later this week. Even with the revised release schedule in place, Mozilla has fallen behind again: Beta 9 was originally planned for a December 16 release. However, the most recent Beta was not published until December 22.

MSI Graphics, Motherboards Make Big Bang

Thunder before the storm!

MSI brought a pile of new products to CES, including its complete line of LGA-1155 products, but the one product that brings it the most pride is its Big Bang Conqueror. Supporting AMD's next-generation desktop processor (can we even say Bulldozer?), three of its four PCIe x16 slots are spaced perfectly for hosting a trio of Radeon HD 6970 graphics cards in CrossFireX. As we await further announcements from AMD concerning the next CPU architecture, its faithful can rejoice that the firm already has a test CPU for its AM3+ socket!

Dell Venue Will Be Available Unlocked in U.S.

Good news for those who abhor the the Venue Pro's physical QWERTY keyboard.

Dell has confirmed that yes, the Dell Venue will be coming to the U.S. later this year. Unfortunately, the company was a little skimpy on details as far as pricing and a release date are concerned. However, it did mention that when it does finally hit U.S. stores, the device will be sold unlocked.

Razer Pitches Switchblade Mobile Gaming PC

azer showed off a new idea of a mobile gaming computer, which the company claims achieves, for the very first time, a "phenomenal" combination of mouse+keyboard functionality in a mobile device.

Razer showed off a new idea of a mobile gaming computer, which the company claims achieves, for the very first time, a "phenomenal" combination of mouse+keyboard functionality in a mobile device.

The Switchblade, which looks a bit like a clumsy netbook, integrates a 7" touch screen, as well as a layer of adaptive tactile screens for the keyboard. Razer also considers a dual-screen layout.  The keyboard reconfigures itself automatically for each game that is played. The result is stunning, while you may wonder whether seven inches are enough for a decent gaming experiences - and whether the integrated Atom processor can deliver the punch necessary in a device that caters to hardcore gamers.

Robot Braces Itself Like a Human

Since robots have already attained or surpassed our strengths, now they're going for our weaknesses.

We tend to take a lot of things for granted about our body. No, we’re not talking about the nation’s propensity towards obesity, we’re talking about how we move around, like say, grabbing onto a desk for support. Sébastien Lengagne realized this is exactly it’s time robots learned how to give themselves a little helping hand.

Lengagne took an HRP-2 and programmed it to recognize if certain objects can provide stability during certain actions, like sitting, It then calculates the precise movements required to complete its action. Ok, so does this make it weaker than other, more well-balanced robots, or is this HRP-2 just trying to lull us into a false sense of security?

Digital Clock Looks like Relic from Fallout

These retro clocks are ready to survive a Chinese invasion and a nuclear holocaust.

Part of the charm in the Fallout games is the strange ‘50s lo-fi tech married with nuclear weaponry circa 2161.Now you can enjoy that very hybrid of Cold-War and modern technology outside of the videogame world, thanks to the Nixie, a set of retro-looking clocks from BDDW.

Samsung Develops 30nm-class DDR4 DRAM Module

Samsung has developed the industry's first DDR4 DRAM module.

Tuesday Samsung Electronics said that it has successfully developed the industry's first DDR4 DRAM module using 30nm class process technology.

The new DDR4 module can achieve data transfer rates of 2.133 Gbps at 1.2V and also makes use of a new technology called Pseudo Open Drain (POD), which allows the module to consume just half the electric current of DDR3 when reading and writing data.

Lenovo Launches ThinkPad With AMD Zacate APU

A new generation of netbook?

Lenovo this morning took the wraps off of a few new ThinkPads. One such model is the new entry ultraportable ThinkPad X120e laptop, the first commercial laptop to feature an AMD Fusion "Zacate" E-Series Accelerated Processing Unit (APU).

"Multimedia elements like audio and video have become important parts of our world, and businesses are embracing this trend in digital content," said Dilip Bhatia, vice president, ThinkPad Marketing and Product Operations, Lenovo. "We've optimized the ThinkPad X120e to not only give businesses an excellent experience creating and consuming multimedia content, but we've also made key improvements to an area that has plagued laptops: battery life."

Thanks to the AMD Zacate, Lenovo boasts that the APU gives 65 percent faster graphics performance, while also extending battery life by up to 30 percent over the previous models. The X120e is now rated for more than six hours of use.

The X120 sports an 11.6-inch screen and a full-size keyboard and weighs under three pounds.  The ThinkPad X120e laptop will be available beginning in February starting at under $400.

The 3DS Virtual Girlfriend Who Stays Faithful

Dating sims are nothing new, especially in Japan. Originally they were mostly PC games, but now they're in the mainstream – and one is being made for the Nintendo 3DS.

Project LovePlus is one such new title, and it will use the front facing camera of the 3DS to identify the player through facial recognition software. The feature is called the "Boyfriend Lock" which will keep the game's character faithful to the owner.

Intel Intros New Ultra-Compact 310 SSD Series

Intel's new line of SSDs offers X25 performance at one-eighth the size.

Wednesday Intel announced the release of its ultra-compact 310 Series of SSDs. The new line promises X25-performance at just one-eighth the size, measuring a mere 51-mm by 30-mm and only 5-mm thick. The drives also weigh just 10 grams, making them ideal for dual-drive notebooks and AIO desktops, single-drive tablets and low-power, rugged embedded industrial or military applications.