A new rumor is circulating today regarding the Apple Tablet and it’s a juicy one. Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumor is stating that Verizon will offer a subsidized price for the Apple Tablet, rather than iPhone friendly AT&T wireless.

The rumor, reported by TheStreet says that the companies wireless service will help drive the price down from $800 without a subsidy to $200. Of course with a 2 year data contract through Verizon you’ll end up spending a whole lot more on monthly data charges, while more than likely being hit with a data cap for heavy use.

According to TheStreet:

“Having a telco partner means the price of the Verizon Tablet will be less than a Tablet purchased directly from Apple. Analysts estimate that Verizon will subsidize about $200 of the Tablet’s price and require a two-year data service plan of around $60 a month. Apple is expected to sell the Tablet for around $800 without a subsidy.

Apple is expected to unveil the Tablet next week and make it available for sale in March, though the sale date might be delayed until June due to component supply shortages, Kaufman analyst Shaw Wu indicated in a note Tuesday.

The Tablet will also include a docking station, according to Northeast Securities’ Kumar. This could be a crucial feature for consumers who harbor an ongoing love affair with keyboards. For those unsatisfied with touchscreen typing, a dock would connect to a keyboard and mouse.”

Apple won’t reveal any details about the tablet until their official press conference on January 27th, so until then we’ll just hold our breath and brush off the hundreds of rumors as “hopeful dreams” from wishful analysts. [image: TheStreet]

The Wall Street Journal ruined my day today when they released a report stating that the Apple Tablet would sell for closer to a $1000 price point than earlier projections of $400-$600.  I can’t say that I’m all that surprised by the annoucement, especially considering that the Apple price points for their fully featured notebooks and PCs are closer to the new pricing.  That same report also announced a March release date with a late January reveal.

The tablet is expected to feature either a 10 or 11 inch display, possibly play iPhone apps and offer full computing for games, web surfing, business use and other functions.

It’s also being reported that the device may offer nationwide WiFi which could lend itself to a subsidized mobile carrier price point, although very little is known about that feature or possible partners at this time.

Hopefully we’ll know more by the end of January, I for one am getting sick of rumors surfacing from the middle of nowhere.

Customers looking to take advantage of custom built computers from Dell this holiday season could end up without a gift under the tree. According to various internet rumors the company appears to be suffering a lack of parts due to the way their ordering system handles part orders for their computers.

Electronista is reporting that some customers have reported being delayed four to five times after placing their custom orders, in many cases pushing back their arrival time into January 2010. When those customers have asked Dell what the delay is they’ve repeatedly been told that Dell is waiting on certain parts for their custom builds. Under their current ordering processes Dell doesn’t keep stock on hand of certain parts, instead deciding to order parts as orders arrive. If a certain supplier experiences any issues those problems are then passed on to Dell.

On the other side of the spectrum Apple and many other providers use completely pre-assembled units, then modify them as requested by the user, allowing for more parts to be held on-hand and typically faster fulfillment times. Of course Dell’s approach does allow for more customization than standard systems which is required by many of their buyers so we can’t completely fault their buying logic.

Dell has experienced a large decline in sales over the last several years, for their sake hopefully they get this issue sorted out as soon as possible.

MSI Korea today announced their newest all-in-one PC, the MSI WindTop AP1900, an Intel Atom N270 processor powered space saving desktop with a decent feature set and a UV coated LCD Screen.

The devices display is 18.5 inches with 1366 x 768 pixels of resolution and a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 250cd/m2 brightness and an Intel GMA 950 graphics card.

The WindTop AP1900 also features 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, integrated 1.3MP webcam and a DVD SuperMulti drive. It also offers a 4-in-1 card reader, four USB 2.0 ports and a built-in WiFi adapter.

No word yet on a U.S. release date or pricing. [SlipperyBrick]

Back in July Microsoft made some waves in the tech blogosphere with its video that showed what they thought computing might be like come 2019. Well that old story looks like it might just have been the tip of the iceberg given what the folks a Microsoft Labs is playing around with these days.

Thanks to Long Zheng over at his istartedsomething.com blog he has some pretty interesting videos of speeches given recently by Craig Mundie at various big name colleges around the United States.

According to Mundie the future display for computers will be glass with multi-touch capabilities as well as voice and pen input.

Unfortunately I can’t find a way to embed the videos here so take a few minutes and watch them over Long’s site.

This is an idea that is sure to get all kinds of Apple fans rolling on the floor laughing their asses of while struggling to get words like copycat and loser out through their guffaws. Not too mention that the anti-Microsoft crew in general will be hauling out their smartass dictionary out to fill out posts about how this is a dumb idea and will never work.

The thing is it could work and it could be the best thing to happen to both Microsoft and the PC market. I first heard the idea broached on a recent Cranky Geeks show with John Dvorak where he brought up the idea along with some sound reasons as to why Microsoft should seriously consider the idea, as well as writing a post about it. At the same Mike Elgan at the IT Management blog had a post where he outlined sever reasons as t o why he liked the idea as well.

His seven points are

• The Windows and Office ain’t what it use to be
• Microsoft is a great hardware maker
• Microsoft needs to manage the transition to multi-touch PCs
• Microsoft needs to be a bully again
• Microsoft needs to lead the market again
• Making PCs will make Windows better
• Selling PCs will help maintain Windows and Office profits

One of the things that has Apple regain its forward momentum the way it has is precisely for some of the same reasons the Mike Elgan gives above. This is nowhere more apparent that in the way that Mac OS X is a great operating system. It is exactly because Apple owns and controls the whole hardware software process that OS X in most peoples eyes a better operating system that Windows.

The other advantage that this gives Apple is that they can dictate what the hardware if going to be and then the software is written to play to the strength of that hardware. In Microsoft’s case it has always been a matter of having to be compatible with every kind of hardware produced by hardware manufacture.

This causes innumerable problems for the company as it is very rarely that when things go wrong that the hardware manufacture is blamed. When ever you see anyone going off on a rant about the problems they are having with their computer it is typical against Microsoft. If suddenly the video isn’t working, or some other piece of hardware is screwing up no-one points their finger at the video card manufacturer or hardware manufacture – it is primarily pointed at Microsoft.

A good example of this was with the launch of Vista. Both ATI and nVidia dragged their feet getting updated drivers out and this caused nothing but grief for users, and Microsoft because everyone looked to them to blame. Some manufacturers even said that they weren’t going to be delivering Vista drivers for the products.

In a lot of ways it would make sense for Microsoft to take a page out of the Apple play book and I have a feeling that if we did given the company’s excellent hardware product line they already have adding computers to it would be a big bonus for users. The interesting thing is that people are talking like this would be something totally new for Microsoft setting their current hardware line of keyboards, webcams, and mice. In fact since just before Vista was launched Microsoft has been looking at the computer hardware end of things.

As part of the lead into the Vista launch Microsoft made available a Vista Industrial Design Toolkit to over 70 PC manufacturers that contained much of their thoughts about the future of computer design and aesthetics. In addition they hired the Carbon Design Group to come up with some mock-ups of PC using the toolkit. I remember catching wind of this for the first time via Long Zheng’s blog and then drooling a bit over the actual mock-ups from Carbon.

>Here are a few shots of their desktop computer idea

As well they did a mock up for Windows Home Server 2008

The more that I thought about this especially in light of Elgan and Dvorak’s interesting posts on the idea I have to admit I’m  warming to the concept. It definitely could throw a whole new light on PCs and Windows.

What do you think? Good idea or bad?

You definitely can’t fault the kid for his dedication.

In the battle to keep computer networks safe we are use to using tools like resourcing hogging anti-virus and other malware scanning methods. The problem is that in many cases this is more like fighting a rear-guard action as malware creators change and adapt quicker than the tools we use to fight them.

This may change due to some new thinking and following one of nature’s scrappiest fighters – the common ant.

Using a concept called swarm intelligence security researchers are trying to create a digital version of those pesky little insects that have ruined more than one picnic.

“In nature, we know that ants defend against threats very successfully,” explains Professor of Computer Science Errin Fulp, an expert in security and computer networks. “They can ramp up their defense rapidly, and then resume routine behavior quickly after an intruder has been stopped. We were trying to achieve that same framework in a computer system.”

Source: Science Daily – Ants Vs. Worms: New Computer Security Mimics Nature

The project at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has already successfully used this idea of digital ants to track down a worm that they let loose into a network of 64 computers. As a result the project has been extended and two of the researchers, Wes Featherstun and Brian Williams, will be incorporating their research into their master’s theses.

This type of security isn’t something that we will probably see anytime soon on our personal computers as it is more oriented to protecting large networks like the ones at universities, governments, and large corporations.

Never mind the fact that this kind of thinking is just so obviously stupid it also flies in the face of sensible thinking. The idea that we should have to have a license in order to use computers is utterly ridiculous I can’t believe that anyone would take it seriously.

Just because of gullible people Russel Smith, billed as Australia’s leading criminologist, is putting forth to the government the idea that first time users of computers should have to earn a license in order to access and use the Web. On top of that he feels that all hardware manufacturers and software companies should be required to devise technology that will make it impossible, or at least more difficult, for people to be defrauded.

In an interview with IT News Smith said

"At the moment we have drivers licences for cars, and cars are very dangerous machines. Computers are also quite dangerous in the way that they can make people vulnerable to fraud.

"In the future we might want to think about whether it’s necessary there be some sort of compulsory education of people before they start using computers," he said.

Additionally he says banks are being kind when they bear the costs of cyber crime especially when it comes to them compensating customers who he suggests are partially responsible because of something they have done that is either silly or negligent.

Thinking that by the act of making people have license will change the current situation of people being defrauded online then Smith is utterly delusional. In no case of anything in our society being forced to require licensing has it been shown to make people behave smarter. We have to have drivers licenses but we still have people doing incredibly stupid things – things that can actually kill real people.

If licensing was the answer to cure human stupidity we’d have to be licensed to have children so I don’t see this being forced the have a ‘computer license’ will save stupid people from doing stupid things.

There are tricked out computers, ones that look like steampunked throwbacks, and ones that are overclocker’s wet dreams. They don’t even compare in my opinion however to this thing of beauty from Million-Dollar-PC called The Edelweiss PC.

The wires and cables might be hidden away but everything else is encased in smoked glass with intertwined tubing for its liquid cooling.

Incredible.

a big hat tip to FreshPics for finding this sweet looking rig

These days, tech pundits and futurists can’t go a week without pontificating on the future of computing, wondering (and arguing) whether the computer will be merely a tool to access “the cloud” or as an application set.  Even the most inconsequential software release (or failure) sparks this argument – the most recent example is the release of the Opera browser’s repackaging of a personal webserver.

Companies and individuals alike have been heralding the death of the computer as we know if for years, claiming all applications, data, and other innovations will live in a decentralized fashion across distributed networks -  Google’s office suite offerings are an example of this.  Everything from instant messaging clients to word processors, video editors to photograph storage, and email to computer programming tools can be found as browser-based applications.  But just because they exist doesn’t mean they should, as not everything needs to be achieved inside the browser.

Some activities, such as photo or video editing, are best left to desktop tools that aren’t reliant on crude Javascript or Flash plugins, and still others have no reason to exist  “in the cloud”.  The essential test is this:  does existing in the cloud add value to the tool, allowing easier multi-computer interaction?  Or maybe it’s a service that allows users to connect and interact with each other?

If it doesn’t pass these tests, the application/tool doesn’t need to be cloud-oriented.  It is precisely for this reason that the computer will never be just a gateway to the ‘net – besides the obvious hardware and software complications with “the browser is the future operating system” arguments.  With the ridiculously marketed release of Opera’s twenty-year-old technology, a claim of “the desktop isn’t dead, and we’re the real future!” rung out through some circles… this isn’t the answer either.

These arguments are irrelevant, useless, and ultimately nothing more than a well marketed fist-fight.  Computing’s future is likely a combination of desktop and cloud, making intelligent choices between the two based on the needs and value of any given application.  The real issue is going to be the interoperability and real-world use/abilities of the cloud – a highly relevant and critical issue only just achieving any semblance of discussion.

Kyle Brady is a contributing columnist for the Inquisitr, an entrepreneur, and has a future in science fiction.  He can be found at his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

Buying electronics, especially all our tech toys like computers, laptops and miscellaneous other goodies, can be fraught with more Murphy’s Laws than you can shake a stick at. Then on top of that we have to deal with people who for the most part either don’t have a clue what they are doing or are more concerned with increasing the commissions over real customer care.

To help us through this mine field Sharon Vaknin at the Crave blog set about to list 7 secrets that many of these big name electronics stores would prefer you didn’t know, These are – in short form:

1. We have no formal training in the field of consumer electronics.

2. We make little off the big-ticket items, so we smother you with accessories.

3. There are times when you should purchase extended warranties.

4. It doesn’t matter whether we make commission, we’re all equally pushy.

5. No receipt? No problem! a quickie note on some policies

• Fry’s Electronics: Receipt lookup, very difficult no-receipt return
• Best Buy: Receipt lookup, no-receipt return
• Target: Receipt lookup, no-receipt return
• RadioShack: Receipt lookup, no-receipt return
• OfficeMax: Difficult receipt lookup, but it’s possible

6. We offer expensive services I think a 12-year-old could perform.

7. Forget what your parents taught you–complaining usually gets you what you want.

So there you go folks just some helpful hints from your friendly bloggers at The Inquisitr to make your next shopping trip for electronics a little easier.

Last year the world spent $80 billion (USD) on electricity to power all the gadgets we can’t seem to do without anymore. This poser demand has increased due to the rise in computers, MP3 players, home video games, wireless routers, portable phones and those hot flat screen, high definition digital televisions. It is so bad that the estimate is that by 2030 the expenditure on electricity will grow to $200 billion (USD).

It is believed that to meet these demands will require the output of 200 new power plants and will double greenhouse emissions to on billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. This has prompted a move by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to start urging governments around the world to create new, lower, energy efficiency standards. The idea being to force manufacturers to include extra-low power modes for when our gadgets aren’t in use as well as improve the overall operating efficiency of those electronic gadgets.

Paul Waide, a senior policy adviser at the agency, says the digital revolution is transforming home electronics into ubiquitous, multi-purpose appliances. Some refrigerators now come with televisions in the door, while TVs are now high-definition computer monitors that can also be used to listen to radio.

He said consumers should shut down their gadgets when not in use and unplug when not in use the growing number of battery chargers needed for cordless phones, cellphones, iPods and laptops.

And they should listen to radio on an actual radio, rather than an energy-hogging television or computer.

At the same time, many jurisdictions are moving to digital-only television, which consumes far more power than the traditional analogue sets.

The IEA estimates the electricity demand for television usage will rise by 5 per cent a year.

Source: The Globe and Mail

I’m not sure who at Dell thought that this would be a good idea but where they did something interesting and cool with their Digital Nomads blog they have in turn blown it with their new site for women called Della. Yup you heard that right – Della, a cute play on the Dell name but beyond that this is just a plain bad idea.

Sure all the pictures used on the site are of young attractive socially conscious high income women; but when you mix in terms like cute to describe laptops, or how they can join the Cyber Sisterhood, or use free guided meditations to help them chill I think the word condescending comes to mind pretty quick. Not just satisfied with those “girlie” phrases you can also find phrases like “finding recipes”, “counting calories” and “on the go lifestyle” littered around the site.

Why is it whenever we have companies trying to market to women they automatically assume that they have to be treated or talked to differently. After all do they really think women who are interested in computers and tech wouldn’t know how to use the main Dell site?

Dumb .. just plain dumb.

hat tip to SlipperyBrick

As more and more people climb on the technology bandwagon as they discover the joys of being always connected they are also discovering a big downside to technology. It leaves us with a whole bunch of stuff that has to be gotten rid of at some point. Old cell phones, out of date computers and tired old laptops are only some of the e-waste that is collected in ever increasing amounts.

Until CBS’s 60 Minutes show last year about the disposal of our electronic toys our handling of e-waste was never really talked about. If you asked most people what they thought happened to their electronic cast-offs they probably would just say they got recycled somehow. That attitude is changing though as we begin to realize that these toys of ours contain some pretty dangerous chemicals that need to be handled with care.

With this increasing interest and concern about how to best deal with our electronic leftovers here are three of the best ways to get rid of them

Buy-Back

The one way to deal with the problem is to see if anyone wants to buy your old tech toys. In this regard many companies have sprung up to take them off your hands. Companies like TechForward will let you sign up when you first buy your tech toy and then after a certain period of time will buy it from you for a set price. For those people who are always upgrading as new things come out this is a good way to deal with old electronics but for others who tend to hang on to their equipment there are also companies that will buy it up after verifying it is still in working condition. Usually a quick search will give you a list of these types of companies in your local area.

Taking Back the Junk

This is probably the simplest program but it requires that the stores you deal with have a take-back program. In the majority of cases you won’t receive any money in exchange for your old equipment. It does provide you with a painless and easy way to get rid of older electronics. As well many manufacturers are starting to offer take-back programs but in both cases of retail and manufacturer programs you may have to ask about them.

Here’s a short list of manufactures with take-back programs

• Apple
• Canon
• Dell
• Epson
• Gateway
• HP
• Lenovo
• Lexmark
• LG
• Sony
• Toshiba

Stores that have take-back programs

• Best-Buy
• Costco
• Office Depot
• Radio Shack
• Sam’s Club
• Staples

Recycling those old electronic goodies

This is probably the one method of getting rid of our old electronics that is the most fraught with problems. While recycling old electronics may seem like the best way to deal with the problem it is also as we saw in the 60 Minutes show the one with the most potential to cause a lot of harm – both to people and the environment.

If you decide to go this route you are best to check with organizations that track electronics recycling companies. Primary of these is e-Stewards which is where you can keep up to date with how e-waste is being dealt with and also find recommendations for ethical recyclers such as Green Citizen.

Unlike the other two options recycling will usually end up costing you a few bucks as many recyclers charge a fee for taking your old electronics off of your hands. However most communities through their garbage pickups will offers a free recycling day specifically for electronics so it is always a good idea  to check that out as an option.

[hat tip to Treehugger]

It looks like nVidia; the graphics card manufacturer, is going to be changing the graphics card landscape in the next couple of months. This shake-up will come at the hands of their new GT300 the successor to their GT200 series of graphic cards and will be coming with a totally new architecture.

According to the folks at Bright Side Of News is one of the reasons that nVidia’s Chief Architect Bill Dally turned down Intel’s offer to come and work for them on their Larrabee project. In their post they go into the real technical details; up to what they have been able to piece together anyway, but it boils down to this.

The GT300 will utilize a core set that uses MIMD-similar functions (Multiple-Instruction Multiple Date) rather than the current SIMD (Single-Instruction Multiple Data) structure. These cards; in MPMD mode, will be able to execute simple and complex shader and computing operations on-the-go. The GT300 itself will pack 16 groups with 32 cores (512 cores for the high-end part) and as a result raises the computing power of the GT300 by more than 2x when compared to the GT200 core.

As an example if nVidia gets a 2 GHz clock for the 512 MIMD cores, we are looking at no less than 3TFLOPS with Single Precision. The goodness doesn’t stop there

This is not the only change – cluster organization is no longer static. The Scratch Cache is much more granular and allows for larger interactivity between the cores inside the cluster. GPGPU e.g. GPU Computing applications should really benefit from this architectural choice. When it comes to gaming, the question is obviously – how good can GT300 be? Please do bear in mind that this 32-core cluster will be used in next-generation Tegra, Tesla, GeForce and Quadro cards.

This architectural change should result in dramatic increase in Dual-Precision performance, and if GT300 packs enough registers – performance of both Single-Precision and Dual-Precision data might surprise all the players in the industry. Given the timeline when nVidia begun work on GT300, it looks to us like GT200 architecture was a test for real things coming in 2009.

Source: Bright Side of News

Chances are that these beauties are going to hurt the wallet when they first come out but hopefully by the time I’m ready to upgrade my video card again they will have come down in price.

[nVidia GTX275 graphic courtesy of SlipperyBrick as well as a big hat tip]

The researchers, all of who are well acknowledged experts at detecting computer espionage, say they believe that this ‘GhostNet’ has been targeting not only the Dali Lama but also the governments of South Asian and Southeast Asian countries.Not only that but the operation is still going strong as it continues to invade and monitor more than a dozen new computers a week.

The malware is remarkable both for its sweep — in computer jargon, it has not been merely “phishing” for random consumers’ information, but “whaling” for particular important targets — and for its Big Brother-style capacities. It can, for example, turn on the camera and audio-recording functions of an infected computer, enabling monitors to see and hear what goes on in a room. The investigators say they do not know if this facet has been employed.

The researchers were able to monitor the commands given to infected computers and to see the names of documents retrieved by the spies, but in most cases the contents of the stolen files have not been determined. Working with the Tibetans, however, the researchers found that specific correspondence had been stolen and that the intruders had gained control of the electronic mail server computers of the Dalai Lama’s organization.

Source: New York Times

While the Canadian team of researchers agree that most of the computers behind the spying operation are operating out of China they wouldn’t say that it was tied definitely to the Chinese government. However another team, in England, who have also been tracking down this GhostNet do suggest that the Chinese government is involved.

There’s a lot of electronic equipment out there sitting in junk piles, hidden away in stacks of old computer equipment in closets and one has to wonder just what can we do with all this crap. Well the folks at Upcycled Jewellery have a great idea – make jewellery out of it. As you can see from the photos some of it really kind of cool.

I realize that Valentine’s day has come and gone for another year but come on guy’s how about doing your bit for the environment and getting your favorite girl some real geek cred with one of these pieces.

View Full Album

hat tip to Treehugger

Yes all you Apple MacBook loving folks you to can now outfit yourself with some serious laptop bling courtesy of Computer Choppers. Granted it might cost you two grand to get something like the beauty above but hey it would sure let you stand out at that next cool web conference you go to.

If gold isn’t your thing Computer choppers apparently also will fit you out with aluminum (polishing) Nickel, black nickel, copper, chrome, white gold, rose gold or the ever popular platinum. What a way to say to hell with green and eco-friendly. Oh an apparently they can do the same thing for regular computer cases and of course your cellphone.

[hat tip to LikeCool]