Hardware

Popular network hardware producer Belkin is facing some serious flak this week after an employee told the media that the company has often paid Amazon reviewers to post positive fan-fare for its products. The outcry started this past weekend, when ... The Daily Background's Arlen Parsa reported the case of one Michael Bayard, who -- according to the Background -- had posted requests to Belkin's company website The Mechanical Turk searching for anyone willing to write a positive product review, regardless of whether or not they had actually tried out the device. According to Parsa and the ... (view more)

It seems that the Consumer Electronics Show's (CES) poor attendance has been justified by recent statistics suggesting that holiday 2008 was one of the worst ever for the computer industry. According to research firm IDC: for the first time in five ... years, the personal computer industry failed to grow over the previous holiday season. In fact, sales over the final three months of 2008 decreased nearly half a percentile in comparison to the same period the year prior. Although rival research firm Gartner Inc. presented slightly different findings (it found that there was actually a growth of 1. ... (view more)

Radio Shack is selling an Internet-ready laptop computer for just $99. However, the deal is only available to customers who subscribe to a $60/month 'data plan'. The device is an Acer Aspire One netbook: a slimmed down laptop designed mainly for ... Internet browsing. It's a relatively low-spec computer with a 120GB hard drive, a 1.6GHz processor and 1GB of memory. This helps keep the cost down; the machine is available elsewhere for around the $300-350 range. The computer comes with Windows XP pre-installed (Vista simply wouldn't run effectively on such a low-spec machine). That makes the $99 ... (view more)

Think you can't afford a laptop this Christmas for that overachieving son or daughter headed to university next year? Think again. The mini-notebook market continues to expand, after news that Hewlett-Packard will release their own version soon. ... Mini-notebooks, or Netbooks, are slightly smaller than the average 15.4" or 14" laptops. They're also much cheaper, sometimes half as expensive as the average big-box store fare. HP's new netbook, the Mini 1000, actually sells for a whole lot less than its name might lead you to believe -- interested consumers can pick one up for just $400, about the ... (view more)

While an unlimited power source has yet to be developed, researchers at Intel are testing new technology that would allow laptop computers and mobile phones to be recharged without having to be plugged in to an electrical socket. Few people would ... contest the benefits of using a very mobile laptop computer over a standard desktop PC. But, are notebook computers as versatile as we've been led to believe? Sure, a laptop can be taken anywhere, but without a battery charger, its power source is limited to only a few hours. The same can be said for other portable electronic devices and mobile ... (view more)

Now that Blu-ray has defeated HD-DVD, the technology has scored yet another victory. Beginning in the fall, LG will begin distributing its new BD300 Blu-ray player, a device with features that should mean it flies off shelves once available. The ... BD300 includes 1080p up-conversion, but the kicker is for those customers with a Netflix subscription: movies streaming from the company. (Source: arstechnica.com ) Netflix is part of the new generation of movie rentals. Users can choose a set price per month and enjoy unlimited movie rentals. The price gradations depend on the number of movies rented ... (view more)

The Inquirer has reported that there are heat issues affecting significant quantities of older NVIDIA G84 and G86 GPUs used in GeForce 8400M and 8600M graphics cards. The report from the Inquirer comes on the heels of earlier reports that NVIDIA had ... discovered a problem relating to "significant quantities" of older mobile GPUs. There is currently no word from NVIDIA as to what product lines are affected. In short, all the G84 and G86 GPUs are bad. All the mobile and desktop GPUs use the same exact ASIC , so expect them to go bad in mass quantities. According to the Inquirer, these ASICs have ... (view more)

Last week I wrote about how Apple's new iPhone 3G retails for $100 less than its predecessors. The reason -- price drops in its component parts. It seems that the company is doing the same thing with the MacBook Air. Released in January, the Air is ... an ultra light notebook with a height of 0.16-0.76 inches and a weight of three pounds. Equipped with with an 80GB hard drive or the optional 64GB solid state drive (SSD), the laptop was originally priced at $3,058. (Source: apple.com ) The new set price for the 64GB SSD Air is $2,598, while the notebook loaded with the regular hard-drive remains $ ... (view more)

Have you ever sifted through the pages of an old photo album and thought "when did this happen?" or "where was I here?" If only there had been something that would have recorded the date and location of all these pictures. Meet the Eye-Fi memory ... card. Like most models, the 2-gigabyte card is compatible with most cameras. Unlike most models however, the card comes complete with a built-in wireless network. (Source: uclue.de ) A wireless network built into the memory card? Why? Just in case you're out snapping a few pictures and return home, the memory card will wirelessly and automatically ... (view more)

In the seemingly never-ending search for the smallest, lightest equipment, Toshiba has announced the release of its newest laptop the Portege R500-S5007V. According to the company's website, the new "lightest model" is based on a 1.72 pound notebook ... and boasts a 12.1 inch screen, 64 GB solid state drive (SSD) and 3 cell battery. If consumers opt for the "world's thinnest widescreen," at.77 inches, the notebook comes with an integrated DVD-SuperMulti drive. However, if you want the "world's lightest widescreen" you will have to live without the optical disk drive. (Source: toshibadirect.com ) ... (view more)