Solar Laptop...

Tired of your notebook running out of battery when you are out and about? Design firm Nikoladesign has a concept that may one day solve that problem.

For the most part, this notebook looks pretty much like your regular portable computer. The difference is it has an extra flap which acts as a solar panel for converting light to power, according to Tuvie.

This could come in useful for researchers and scientists who work outdoors as the places they operate in won't have conveniently located power sockets. If this ever gets made,

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Amazing laptop by HP.

If we didn't know better, we might think that some of the marketing people at Hewlett-Packard had discovered some new recreational activities. It started off simple enough, with a mildly interesting design for a new Bluetooth mouse. Then the "Clay" laptop was a little weird, but we thought it just wasn't our taste.

But its latest offering is about as subtle as a Peter Max litho. The "HP Pavilion dv2800t Artist Edition" laptop bears the work of a Portuguese artist who won a global design competition held jointly by MTV and the traditionally staid computer maker, ChipChick says.

The specs of this 14.1-inch are fairly standard, but that's obviously not the selling point. What's probably just as important to potential buyers is that it comes with a matching messenger bag--because if you're drawn to a design like this, the last thing you want to do is hide it.

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Store upto 50GB for Free...

Storage newcomer ADrive offering up 50GB for free

I'm big on places to store a lot of files, and Web storage newcomer ADrive seems up to the challenge. The host serves up a whopping 50GB of storage for free, with the only bandwidth limitations being in the size of the files you can upload, which are capped at a reasonable 2GB. The free "beta" accounts are supplemented with ads (hence the AD in the name), which show up on the top and bottom of your file explorer.

While lacking some of the graphical beauty and familiarity of other file-hosting services like Box.net and DigitalBucket, ADrive lets you arrange whatever you'd uploaded into nested directories to help maintain organization. It also doesn't require any special software to upload or download your files.

The one major downfall I came across is the Java-powered file uploader, which uses a pop-up status indicator to let you know what's going on with your transfers. The problem is that it takes control of whatever else you're doing in that browser window. This means uploading large files should be done in another instance of your browser just in case you feel like regaining control of whatever tabs you had open.

Go to ADrive and Upload As much u want.

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Samsung kills HD DVD/Blu-ray combo player...

It's becoming clear that early adopters of the HD DVD video format will find fewer and fewer products that will play their discs.

Samsung will halt its plans to release the combination HD DVD/Blu-ray player, the BD-UP5500, introduced in January at the Consumer Electronics Show. Samsung issued a statement late Wednesday, saying that though the product "remains a practical solution...the window of opportunity is smaller than it was before. In light of recent announcements, Samsung will not introduce the BD-UP5500 Duo HD Player."

Samsung pulls the plug on its latest
combo drive before its release.

The announcement doesn't come as much of a shock. Even at its launch there were questions whether the product was relevant, and if so, for how long, since just a few days earlier Warner Bros. made its bombshell announcement that it would support Blu-ray exclusively, effectively dooming the HD DVD format.

There are very few options left for owners of HD DVD discs. Last month Toshiba decided to bow out, followed soon by Microsoft's announcement it would no longer produce external HD DVD drives for its Xbox 360 video game console. Samsung has one other combo player and LG Electronics still makes two combo players.

Samsung will, however, keep moving ahead with plans to release its next Blu-ray only player, the BD-P1500, which is still on track for a spring release.

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Google, Microsoft, and two media companies...

Google, Microsoft, and two media companies bidding on Digg

If every blog rumor were to be believed, social news site Digg would have been bought a dozen times over by now, so take the latest one with the requisite grain of salt.

TechCrunch reported early on Friday that four companies are in the running to place bids on Digg--Microsoft, Google, and two unidentified "media companies"--and that a sale may happen soon. It'll likely be less than the $300 million that Digg was once rumored to go for; TechCrunch's Michael Arrington cited sources who said that Google is prepared to bid $200 million to $225 million and that Microsoft, which currently serves ads on Digg, is aiming slightly lower. That's a good bit less than the $300 valuation that was floating around when Digg reportedly hired investment bank Allen & Co. to shop it around.

As for the media companies, no specifics are given, but keep in mind that Digg has deals with several traditional media companies' online arms, like CBS and News Corp.

In an interview several weeks ago, Digg founder Kevin Rose told CNET News.com that he thought selling the company to a big buyer could get in the way of running it efficiently.

One TechCrunch commenter noted, "Good for them, but Diggers will complain either way," referring to the site's active and opinionated crowd of regular users. "There's no pleasing them."

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LEDs in your contact lenses?

Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle have developed a prototype contact lens that incorporates an imprinted electronic circuit and lights. The prototype is a step toward creating a form of bionic vision, the researchers say.

The researchers say the flexible lens is biologically safe and was worn by rabbits for up to 20 minutes with no adverse effects. Along with a circuit, the prototype contains red LEDs for a display, though it does not yet light up. The display could potentially create a surface for Web surfing in midair, flash a vehicle's speed to a driver, or immerse someone in a virtual world, the university said.

The prototype lens does not correct vision, but the researchers say that it could someday offer "visual aids" to help people with vision problems.

Don't expect to get one of these from your optometrist anytime soon, though. Babak Parviz, a professor of electrical engineering who is leading the research, called the prototype a "very small step" toward a completed lens. Still, Parviz is optimistic that creating a version with a basic display just a few pixels wide should happen "fairly quickly."

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How to avoid suspicious Web sites?

Editor's Note: This article was updated on 3/3/08 from a previous version published on 12/15/06.

No matter how you arrive at an unsafe Web site, much can go wrong when you do. Phishers will attempt to coerce you into disclosing sensitive information--such as your address and social security number--and adware engines may sprout pop-ups over your screen like a field of clover. Thankfully, you can learn to avoid trouble before it's too late. Here are nine telltale signs you're headed for dangerous waters, with tips to keep you firmly in the safety zone. Nobody's perfect, and while these nine tips should help you avoid many dangerous sites, other online threats are more subtle. Two tools can assist in warning you about dangerous sites. LinkScanner Lite and McAfee SiteAdvisor (for Firefox and Internet Explorer) assess the hazards of sites you visit, and is available for Firefox or Internet Explorer. Online Armor scans sites in real time based on traceable patterns of malicious software behavior.

Also, our Security Starter Kit presents an excellent set of tools to provide a solid foundation of defense against potential threats.

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Google Gears heads for Windows Mobile phones...

Google is bringing Google Gears to mobile phones so that people on the go can access Web-based applications even when they're not connected to the mobile Net.

Smartphones and 3G data services are changing the way some people work, allowing them to access documents and applications from anywhere. But when their wireless connection is interrupted or not available at all, they're cut off.

Google Gears for mobile helps solve this problem so mobile workaholics can even get stuff done on airplanes or when they're supposed to be on vacation in some far-off destination with no wireless access. (On second thought, maybe having access to work documents and other Web-based applications from anywhere isn't such a good idea.)

Google Gears is an open-source browser extension that lets developers create Web applications that can run offline. Google has been developing the software for PC users, but now it is extending it for mobile users too. Google Gears is still in its early days. The mobile version right now supports Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile 5 and 6 phones. This means that other smartphone users, such as those using Apple's iPhone, or people using other popular mobile browsers, such as Opera, won't be able to use Google Gears. But Google has said that it plans to expand support to other browsers and cell phone platforms, including its own Android software.

Another issue is that mobile Gears only works with applications that are Gear-enabled. So far, Google Gear applications aren't widely available, but Google is trying to make it easier for developers to create Gears-enabled mobile Web applications.

Charles Wiles, product manager for Google's mobile team, posted a blog explaining how Google Gears for mobile would work. He used the example of Zoho, a Web-based productivity application, and Buxfer, a Web-based personal finance application.

Google Gears is integrated into these applications. When users go to the Web site where these applications are located they will be asked to install Google Gears for mobile. Once installed, Gears sits on the phone and people can access their data even when there is no network connection.

Google is providing more information for developers on its developer Web site.

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bPhone gives BlackBerry the iPhone feel

Want an iPhone, but have a BlackBerry? You ought to look at bPhone for BlackBerry, a theme whipped up by 25-year-old computer programmer Matthew Rogers one afternoon last September.
You'll most appreciate the iPhone-like essence of one of Rogers' three theme layouts in the start screen, though the theme does also extend into the style of the context menu. "Icon" is the most typical theme, and the one that Rogers most prefers. "Zen" drops icons into a side bar, and "Today" makes a day planner of the home screen. You can install any or all of the themes, and activate them from BlackBerry's Advanced Options menu.

bPhone's default aquatic background (you can change the wallpaper) is overlain with rounded-corner box icons reminiscent of the iPhone. Rogers confided he built all the icons from scratch, though he borrowed from iPhone's looks, and had to compromise some style (a partially transparent BlackBerry menu) with functionality (it crashed Google Maps) while implementing the Plazmic Content Developer's Kit.

Third-party apps don't have icons, so if you're not into a dual-themed display, bPhone may not be for you.

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Mitsubishi Electric said it plans to exit its loss-making...

Mitsubishi Electric said it plans to exit its loss-making mobile phone business, becoming the latest Japanese electronics maker to withdraw from a market dominated by overseas giants such as Nokia.

In the face of tough competition from Nokia, Samsung Electronics, and other global suppliers that enjoy economies of scale, many Japanese cell phone makers have withdrawn to the domestic market in recent years. Sanyo Electric said in January that it would sell its loss-making cell phone business to Kyocera. "This is a logical step for Mitsubishi Electric after having been unable to launch a hit model for a while," IDC analyst Michito Kimura said. "But the withdrawal of these two Japanese cell phone makers is not going to make things better for those still in the industry." With mobile phone demand stagnant at home, more Japanese makers are likely to pull out or merge, analysts said. Mobile phone service operators such as NTT DoCoMo are cutting subsidies to retailers to keep cell phone prices low and are instead reducing their monthly rates, discouraging handset users from replacing their handsets frequently. The company said Monday it expected a one-off loss of about $164 million (17 billion yen) on a pretax level for the year ending on March 31 due to the withdrawal. The Tokyo-based company said, however, that the loss is likely to be offset by improved operational efficiency in other businesses.

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