Toshiba Qosmio Q30 with HD DVD-R now on sale

Japanese tech giant Toshiba has announced that they are now selling their Qosmio Q30 notebook computer in the Japanese market.

This is the first notebook in the market to feature a HD DVD-R drive. This drive is the read-only version of the HD DVD format and supports disks with storage capacity of up to 15GB of data.

Toshiba’s Qosmio G30/97A is an upgraded version of the existing Qosmio laptop computer already available in several markets.

It features an Intel Corp. 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor along with a 17-inch widescreen display with 1,920 pixel by 1,280 pixel resolution.

It also features a 320 GB hard disk, digital TV tuner and HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) output.

Toshiba is selling this notebook in Japan for around US$3,085. They have not revealed their plans on a potential international launch.

Toshiba reveal plans to develop a new 51 GB format HD DVD disc

HD DVD format developer Toshiba has said that they are now submitting specifications to the standard’s overseer for a new 51 GB format HD DVD disc.

This is now likely to further expand the controversy on which format of the two (Blu-Ray and HD DVD) is better. Blu-Ray has dominated the HD DVD format in terms of storage space capacity.

Toshiba claims that addition of a third layer onto the present configuration of HD DVD disc would allow the increase in capacity. Current generation of HD DVD discs allow storage capacities of 15GB and 30GB.

The Blu-Ray format provides a maximum storage capacity of 50GB at the moment. Toshiba’s new disc format would slightly exceed this capability.

Toshiba has however yet to prove the technical feasibility of the new technology. They are planning to launch this new format by the end of the current year.

Apple TV to now arrive in March

Apple Inc. has announced that they are delaying the launch of their Apple TV device till next month. The device was earlier supposed to be launched in this month itself.

The company has not detailed the reason behind this delay in the launch of the Apple TV device.

Apple TV has been designed to enable streaming video and other content from computers to TVs. It is being sold at a retail price of USD 299.

Apple spokeswoman Lynn Fox said in a statement on this delay: “Wrapping up Apple TV is taking a few weeks longer than we projected, and we now expect to begin shipments mid-March.”

Apple TV and the iPhone are the two major launches from the company which the consumers are waiting for eagerly.

Intel to make 45-nanometer microprocessors at their New Mexico plant

Microprocessor industry giant Intel has said that they plan to invest as much as $1.5 billion to upgrade a New Mexico plant.

This would be done to enable this unit to start manufacturing chips with the 45-nanometer production process. With this, Intel would be able to manufacture smaller processors at this factory enabling it to expand production.

Both Intel and AMD have been working hard on shrinking the size of the microprocessors used in computers to help boost their processing speed and make them more efficient.

Intel incidentally has also set aside around $8 billion to upgrade existing and build new plants for the 45-nanometer standard.

The company is also due to begin 45-nanometer production this year in Oregon.

Free and Legal Music Downloads – Free MP3s Online

By now, we should all have a pretty good idea of what’s legal and what’s not when it comes to digital music. And, to be blunt (and to over-generalize a bit), we know that unless you’ve paid for it, there’s a good chance it’s not legal… until now.

Below you’ll find some of the best resources for free and legal (that’s right, legal) music on the Internet. So sit back, grab your mouse, and enjoy the gloriously world of free and legal music.

1) Amazon.com Free Music Downloads

Get great and exclusive content from some of today’s hottest musicians at Amazon.com’s Free Music Downloads section. Amazon.com features selected tracks from popular artists, ranging from indie rock to jazz. Whatever your music preference, you can count on finding music that interests you at Amazon.com’s Free Music Downloads section.

2) Epitonic.com – Hi Quality Free and Legal MP3 Music

Epitonic has an extensive, excellent database of searchable music from nearly every genre you might want. If lots and lots of free music is what you’re looking for, Epitonic is an excellent place to start.

3) CommonTunes.org – Free MP3s from Common Tunes

CommonTunes.org brings you “a community directory of freely available music.” It’s free, legal, and DRM-free music from Beethoven to Bright Eyes.

4) Garageband.com Free and Legal Independent Music

One of the most popular sites for free Independent music, check out Garageband.com for access to one of the web’s largest repository of free, legal Independent music. You can find music from musicians and bands before they hit it big and start charging you for it, including artists like American Idol 4 runner-up Bo Bice.

5) Matador Records Free MP3 Downloads – MP3s of Matador Artists

Matador records is home to some of the most popular indie groups around, so if you’re looking for free downloads from bands like Spoon, Guided By Voices, or Stephen Malkmus (formerly of Pavement), check out Matador’s free MP3 download page.

6) Beethoven’s 9 Symphonies Free

The BBC has released all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies for free as performed by the BBC Philharmonic. Whether you’re a Beethoven fan or just a fan of free music (who isn’t), you’ll definitely want to check this out.

7) Creative Commons Music – Free Audio Downloads

The pioneering Creative Commons license allows an alternative to the sometimes heavy restrictions regular copyright places on music (and other forms of media). Search the Creative Commons site for tons of free content available for listening, sampling, and sharing.

Salon.com Audiofile – Free MP3s Selected By Salon

Salon.com’s Audiofile page features selected artists for download coupled with thoughtful reviews. Caveat: Be prepared to go through Salon’s daily ad in order to view any of their content.

The Original 1983 Microsoft Mouse

Do you remember the year 1983, when Return of the Jedi was in theaters, The Police were still together, and Travis was still inside his parents’ genitalia? Well Gearlog does, because they got their hands on an original 1983 Microsoft Mouse.

The green buttoned mouse was bundled with Microsoft Word, and came with the Life game, Notepad, and a musical tutorial teaching then-noobs how to use a mouse. Look how far they’ve come since then! Now Microsoft mice sport lasers, charging stations, multiple buttons, Bluetooth, and a scroll wheel, but are just as uncomfortable to use. Good thing their keyboards rock. – Jason Chen

Spam Is Back, And Worse Than Ever

Spam is back, and worse than ever.

Posted: Friday, January 19 at 05:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan

If you feel like your inbox is suddenly overrun with spam again, you are right.

Not long ago, there seemed hope that spam had passed its prime. Just last December, the Federal Trade Commission published an optimistic state-of-spam report, citing research indicating spam had leveled off or even dropped during the previous year.

Instead, it now appears spammers had simply gone back to the drawing board. There’s more spam now than ever before.

In fact, there’s twice as much spam now as opposed to this time last year. And the messages themselves are causing more trouble. About half of all spam sent now is “image spam,” containing server-clogging pictures that are up to 10 times the size of traditional text spam. And most image spam is stock-related, pump-and-dump scams which can harm investors who don’t even use e-mail. About one-third of all spam is stock spam now.

“Traditional methods have failed spammers, so they are resorting to more and more sophisticated tactics,” said Dave Mayer, a product manager at IronPort, which makes anti-spam products.

The tactics are working. There are 62 billion spam messages sent every day, IronPort says, up from 31 billion last year. Now, spam accounts for three of every four e-mails sent, according to another anti-spam firm, MessageLabs.

Microsoft Ignores Vista Upgrade Loophole

Microsoft ignores Vista upgrade loophole

“Microsoft will not close a loophole that offers consumers a cheaper way to upgrade to Windows Vista. Users can install the upgrade version of the new operating system as a fresh installation, even if they do not currently own a licensed copy of Windows XP. The procedure is time consuming, but allows users to save about 35 per cent of the purchase price for the regular Windows Vista.

“People without a licensed copy of XP that use this workaround are violating the terms of use agreed to when they purchased the upgrade version of Windows Vista. As such, we believe only a very small percentage of people will take the time to implement this workaround, and we encourage all customers to follow our official guidelines for upgrading to Windows Vista.”

Microsoft added that it does not have any plans to disable the workaround at this time.”

Obviously the price savings will have some scrambling for the lesser priced variant of Microsoft’s newest OS. Currently on Newegg.com, you can find Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade Retail for $250.00 USD while the full version sits at $378.99, a cost savings of $128.99. Without a doubt many of our very own readers would gladly take extra time installing this if they knew they’d save that much dough. Considering you can ghost your install and revert to it anytime you wish to reformat, this makes for a very attractive and tempting bypass. Will Microsoft one day invalidate your install or serial number if you do this? It’s possible, but for the time being until Vista’s penetration into the marketplace is solidified, it’s probably unlikely.

Gmail is open for free registration

The most happening email service provider is now open for free registration .
Now no longer wait for other gmail user to send an invite to you.
When this service was launched , people having the gmail account went crazy…some even asked for money to send an invite.
But the problem with this email provider is that it was launched way back and it is still in beta. I even got my mails completely wiped out once for no reason , but still this is a good service to try.

Ferrari and Maserati coming to India

Fiat has big plans for the Indian market. The company has struggled ever since they entered the Indian market but they are not losing any hope.

FIAT chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has confirmed that they are planning to launch their Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Fiat’s Grand Punto and Bravo models in the Indian market in the coming years.

Ferrari and Maserati are expected to be launched in India within the next 2-3 years. The Grande Punto and Bravo should enter sooner than that.

Fiat needs some exciting new models in India to bring back the customers to their showrooms who seems to have abandoned their Palio and Palio Sedan models.

Montezemolo admitted that USA is their biggest market in the world while saying: “I think India will become an important market for Ferrari, but not before two-three years from now.”

He also talked about the upcoming Formula-1 season where they are now without Michael Schumacher: “We have a brand new team with Kimi Raikkonen from Finland and Felipe Massa from Brazil. I think we will be competitive and try to win the championship this year.”