ACER Reading Aspire 5920 with built-in WIMAX

When WiMAX isn't showing up on store shelves in Bosnia, it's integrating its way into laptops, with Acer only the latest to offer the mobile broadband option as a built-in feature, in this case in an updated version of its Aspire 5920 laptop. What's more, according to InfoWorld, the laptop will apparently be sold through Sprint and other companies along with WiMAX service "in a manner similar to the way mobile phones are sold along with service packages," although any further details on that are unsurprisingly a bit light at the moment. There's also unfortunately no further word on the specs to the laptop itself, although those details are promised to be coming when Acer officially launches the laptop, which "could" come by the end of the year

Computer HIstory Museum unboxes a babbage's difference engine

Not too many people go to science museums and place orders, but former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold was apparently so impressed with the London Science Museum's replica of Charles Babbage's difference engine he commissioned a $1M duplicate, which was just recently delivered to California's Computer History Museum for a six-month stay. The nine-foot-tall machine has nearly 8,000 parts, many of which were hand-filed, and suffered months of delays while under construction due to the tight tolerances required to make it work -- but it's here now, and it's ready to start cranking out polynomials at the rate of one per six seconds. Bring it on, IBM. Check the read link for way more pics of the unboxing, which took hours and ended in applause

PS3 Gets the Armor Platting, can withstand the crushing boredom of no games

We kid, we kid. MGS4 and GT5 are going to rock and you know it. Still, that doesn't excuse the existence of Messiah Entertainment's "Hardwear Console Armor," which apparently enables your PS3 to deflect bullets in addition to playing games and Blu-ray movies. Don't forget to add the controller armor, which'll actually probably impart some much-needed weight to the SIXAXIS and also let you break the crap out of your TV when you toss the thing in frustration. Seriously, take the $30 these things'll cost you and put it towards a DualShock 3, alright? You'll be much happier, your console will look less ridiculous, and no one will make fun of you. Okay, so two out three ain't bad

NOKIA Outs HSDPA 5320 and 5220 xpress music Candybars, wake us when it's the tube

While we patiently wait for Nokia's current, "no major new products" fiscal quarter to expire, we'll have to trudge through releases like these 5320 (left) and 5220 (your other left) candybars. As members of the XpressMusic range the devices themselves are fine. Unfortunately, fine isn't going to win back that 1% lost market share. The 3G HSDPA 5320 (€220 / $351) features dedicated music and N-Gage gaming keys, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, up to 24-hours of play time, up to 8GB of expandable storage, and a "Say and Play" voice controlled playlist; speak the name of the artist or song you want and the phone will play it. The (€160 / $255) 5220 removes the HSDPA but adds a lanyard... hoorah!? Expect both to land in Europe sometime in Q3 2008

GoodMan's ipod BoobBox Include 7-inches LCD Display

If you've somehow managed to hold off from buying an iPod sound system, you can probably afford to gloss right over this one, too. Still, those waiting for one with just a touch more extravagance will likely find lots to love about Goodmans' latest iteration. Aside from boasting a pair of speakers, 3-in-1 multicard reader, LED accents, iPod dock and a bundled remote, this unit also includes an integrated 7-inch LCD display for showing off stored clips, photos, etc. Interestingly, we're left to wonder what the exact resolution here is, but if it's not impressive enough to share, you can probably look forward to lackluster results. We won't stop you from taking a chance though -- it's your £89.99 ($178).

New RFID ReadersFrom Alien Distinguishes Between Tags

For airlines and cargo handling companies, the inability to know precisely where a specific item was located on a belt could (understandably) prove to be quite the limitation. Thankfully, the gurus at Alien Technology are aiming to add more functionality to a few of its readers in order to nix said quandary. The company recently showcased its Intelligent Tag Radar reader firmware in Las Vegas, which essentially provides its ALR-9900, ALR-9800 and ALR-8800 Enterprise-Class reader platform with the ability to understand "information about the velocity and position of tags, in addition to the contents of tag memory." Furthermore, the included ITR-Singulation features allows the reader to "easily discriminate amongst adjacent tagged objects on a conveyor such as items, cases or airline baggage." One less excuse for lost luggage? Where do we sign?

LG's Touch Screen T80 Media Player Only has 4GB

LG's giving our Danish friends a little something to look forward to: the 3-inch 400 x 240 touchscreen T80, which has 4GB of storage, DVB-T and FM tuners, and OGG support (as well as the usual MP3, WMA, MPEG-4, etc.) in a chubby 0.5-inch thick package. We hear it's priced at a hefty €299 (~$470 US), which might prove a tad prohibitive to sales among the intelligent.

Ultra Sues Just About Every Other Modular Power Supply Manufacturer

Ultra Products, Inc. is trying its hand at that most glorious of corporate traditions: suing the pants off one's competition. The maker of computer components is taking 22 -- yes, twenty two! -- of their competitors to court, claiming to have a patent for modular power supplies since November of 2006. Ultra says they sent several warnings to the companies about the violations and is asking for the legal maximum of three times the damages. The suit actually doesn't accuse the companies of violating the patent, but of being an accomplice to end users who are violating the patent. Oh, and unless we're missing something here, Hewlett Packard filed a modular power supply patent in 2000 -- we certainly recall Screen Savers covering the devices way back in '99.

All Spark CubeGets Turned In To A Talking USB Hub

That USB missile launcher you had to have is one thing, but a giant 4 port USB hub in the likeness of the All Spark cube the Transformers movie? Did we mention it talks, spouting off classics like "We must protect the All Spark Cube," every time you plug in a device? This surely-authorized product will run you about $35 US, although the toll on your dignity may not be calculable.

Neo Geo Stic 2 For Wii,its here and its awesome

When you're playing Samurai Shodown on your virtual Neo Geo, you need more than that rinky-dink controller to immerse you in a world of arcade magic. When you need to reach for a controller than can match up to your memories, you need the Neo Geo Stick 2. That's right, this fully Wii-compatible controller can send you hurtling back through time to a happier day when your only concerns were cruising in your IROC-Z, shredding to Winger, and making sure you had enough quarters in your pocket to play Fatal Fury. Ready to do the time warp? $59.90 gets you through the door.

Microsoft Surface Launching April 17th......

No, Microsoft hasn't suddenly transformed its 30-inch, multi-touch Surface into a big-ass cellphone. It has, however, chosen AT&T to launch the world's first Surface into retail. Shoppers in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio, and San Francisco will be treated to what amounts to the novelty (at least initially) of learning about a device (Samsung BlackJack II, pictured) by simply placing it atop the Surface. They'll also have the ability to explore interactive coverage maps. Later, users will be able to drag ringtones, graphics and video and drop it into "the phones." Note their use of "the" and not "your" phone in the press release. Nevertheless, we're happy to see Microsoft get the technology out the door on its long march towards consumerdom.

Gallery: Microsoft Surface launching April 17th... with AT&T

Update: Interestingly enough, AT&T's flagship iPhone will not be one of the first phones demonstrated on Surface. Perhaps AT&T / Microsoft worry about a multi-touch collision creating consumer strangelets.

April Fool's Day Makes The Internet Cry

Did you fall for it? The internet didn't really cry, we were just kidding. You gotta be on your toes! And just in case you managed to blissfully glide through this April 1st with nary a fooling, here's a small taste of what you were missing:

Read - Space bot demands to be called "Dextre the Magnificent"
Read - Windows XP running on the iRex iLiad
Read - iPhone_iTouch_2.0_Beta_5a225c_ipsw
Read - Free Nokia 6630 bundled with Girl Talk mag for tweens
Read - Google's gDay with MATE searches the future
Read - Toshiba announces HD DVD+
Read - Think Geek's Betamax to HD-DVD Converter
Read - Qualcomm's HandSolo
Read - FireFold's Ultra High-Performance Coat Hanger
Read - Virgin and Google form Virgil for Mars expedition
Read - Xbox 360 Wireless Helmet, Board Game

Video: Lenovo's Ideapad U8 MID Teases With Intel's Atom

Oh my. Look at what Lenovo is cooking up with the help of Intel's newest Atom processor. Unveiled at Intel's IDF in Shanghai, the new Ideapad U8 device features a 4.8-inch touchscreen display and bullseye, optical mouse for (supposedly) one-handed operation while surfing the web over EDGE or 3G data -- presumably China's TD-SCDMA. The device also features "Live GPS," hand writing recognition, and support for MS Office applications. We're guessing it'll also make a phone call or two with that 12-key numeric pad. And with Intel calling this a MID, don't expect to see a Microsoft OS riding that Atom, this pup's looking Linux to the bone. Check the video after the break.

Gallery: Lenovo ideapad u8

Intel Breaks Wind With first atom-based ultra-portable in the Wild

There you have it, the first laptop we've seen running Intel's long awaited Atom processors. We're pretty sure that's MSI's Wind PC on display in Shanghai for Intel's Developer Forum. Of course, we've already seen Atom listed as the CPU in the G10IL and new 8.9-inch Eee PC among others. But there's nothing like seeing the genuine article running on Intel's newest silicon. If you're a fan of the Eee PC form factor then you'll be stoked by what looks like a truck-load of 7- to 9-inch ultra-portables on way. Click the read link to see a few more.

Toshiba Introduces 17.1 inch Satellite L-350 Series

Certainly not the first 17-inch Satellite to emerge from Toshiba's lair, the L350 Series is aimed squarely at the budget set who still have a thing for screen real estate. The entire family packs a WXGA+ (1,440 x 900) resolution TruBrite panel, Vista Home, a dual-layer DVD writer, integrated WiFi and a built-in webcam with microphone. Based on model, you can also get up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 200GB hard drive, GMA X3100 or ATI Radeon X1250 graphics set, three Sleep-and-Charge USB ports and your choice of an Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 or AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 CPU. If you haven't already pieced it together, it's not the specs list that's impressive here -- it's the $749.99 starting price tag. You get what you pay for, you know.

Driveless Vehicle To Race at Robotics Grand Prix

Your favorite driverless vehicles from the DARPA Urban Challenge are getting set to tackle yet another task -- speed racing. Yep, Junior, Boss (pictured) and Ben will all be greasing their gears in an attempt to outrun the others around one lap of the 1.97-mile, 11-turn circuit, all without smashing into walls or hailing a motorist to take over. Unfortunately, all three won't be on the track at the same time -- which ensures that no green / red shell ejections will have an effect on the outcome -- but those interested in seeing this in person can head on down to Long Beach on April 20th.

NVIDIA's GeForce 9800 GTX Officially Launched,Officially Fast

If you checked into those NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX benchmarks and felt they met with your high standards, now you can actually get one (or a bunch) into your rig. According to reports, the brain-laser of a graphics card can now be had (in various iterations) for the low, low price of $329.99 (at least from Newegg). And before you ask -- Crysis: Yes. Doom: Yes. Overlords: Welcome. Will blend: Yes. Russia: Benchmarks you.

Video: Hands-On Says NWZ-A829 Walkman With Bluetooth

We've had the good fortune of putting a Sony NWZ-A829 through its paces over the last few days. Remember, that's Sony's top of the line, 2.4-inch, QVGA Walkman with stereo Bluetooth A2DP and 16GB of flash. With Sony CEO, Howard Stringer, ceding portable audio victory to Apple, we had high hopes for the NWZ-A829 as an out of the box video player. After all, Howie said 9 months ago, "We have worked very hard to catch up so that in the age of video we will not suffer as much as we did in audio." So how did it do? See our take after the break.

Gallery: Sony Walkman NWZ-A829

Continue reading Video: Hands-on Sony's NWZ-A829 Walkman with Bluetooth

NEXT GENERATION XBOX360 WITH BUILT-IN BLU-RAY COMING IN 2008

Ok, here we go again. Despite Microsoft's attempt to quash Xbox 360 Blu-ray rumors, they're back... with a vengeance. According to "industry sources" speaking to DigiTimes, Lite-On is developing built-in Blu-ray Disc drives for the "next generation" Xbox 360 game console. Lite-On is expected to begin shipping the new BD players for assembly in the second half of 2008. DigiTimes also claims that the new, presumably smaller Xbox 360 will reduce the power supply from 210-watts to 170-watts. So... care to comment, Microsoft?

SONY UNVEILS BRAVIA W4000-SERIES LCD HDTVs

Check it: Sony's unloaded a nice foursome today with its all new (but eerily familiar) W4000-Series lineup. Available in 32-, 40-, 46- and 52-inch sizes, the newest members of the BRAVIA family all feature a 1080p resolution, Picture Frame Mode, BRAVIA Engine 2, BRAVIA Sync, XMB, 24p True Cinema, USB Photo Viewer, 178-degree viewing angles, a built-in DVB-T tuner, VGA port and a trio of HDMI connectors for good measure. The 32-incher gets stripped down a bit with the omission of Live Color Creation, a 10-bit panel, PhotoTV HD, and x.v.Color -- all of which are included on the larger models. Unfortunately, Sony's keeping quiet with regard to pricing / availability, but we'd certainly keep an eye out for any strange new shelf inhabitants over in Europe.