Google Reportedly Working On A Touch-Enabled Chromebook

Google is doing a splendid job of manufacturing low-cost Chromebooks. The latest stunner is the Acer C7 Chromebook which costs around $199. Google also announced a Chromebook from Samsung last month in San Francisco and it retails for $249. If you’re wondering what’s next, the China Times is reporting that Google is planning to launch a touch-enabled Chromebook soon, possibly before the end of this year.

Google might even sell the said Chromebook under its own brand. The China Times added that the size of the new Chromebook is still tentative and that Google has already ordered 20 million units of the mystery device from Compal Electronics, a Taiwanese original design manufacturer (ODM). The new Chromebook could be running Google’s very own Chrome OS, although we are also hearing that Google might allow it to run Android as well. The report from the China Times raises more questions that answers. For now, let’s take it with a grain of salt.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Surface is the most popular Windows 8/ RT device, says report, Barnes & Noble Nook reading app arrives on Windows 8 and Windows RT,

Raspberry Pi Does Minecraft, To Feature Camera Board

The all-seeing Eye (of Sauron, who else?) could eventually end up as the all-seeing Pi – the Raspberry Pi, of course. This is made possible thanks to an upcoming camera board which will work in tandem with the unused CSI pins on the $35 Raspberry Pi. The resolution count is nothing much to shout about in this day and age, but 5-megapixels ought to be more than enough – and it is more than capable of 1080p, 30fps video, now how about that? Do not fret that the prototype which was being paraded over at Electronica 2012 is attached via old school scotch tape technology, the Pi foundation has promised that the final deal will arrive with a proper mount to keep things in its place as the updated Raspberry Pi starts to ship from next year onwards for $25 a pop.

Not only that, the Pi foundation also announced that there will be a new port from the Notch gaming group which would certainly go down well with Minecraft fans, as “Minecraft: Pi edition” is being fleshed out. Needless to say, the Raspberry Pi will have enough muscle to handle the game, and it also supports a bunch of other programming languages, where the more ambitious among you are able to modify the game world with code.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft Retail Stores In Europe To Be A Reality?, Google Reportedly Working On A Touch-Enabled Chromebook,

Windows Store hits 20,000 apps, aims for 30,000 before the end of the year

Earlier this month it was revealed that the Windows Store had managed to rack up close to 13,000 apps, a pretty impressive feat given that Apple’s Mac Store is only sporting 12,641 apps and has been up and running longer. In any case the folks at WinAppUpdate are back with more figures and it seems that in less than a month, Microsoft has managed to bring that number up to around 20,000 apps and are aiming for a pretty ambitious 30,000 apps by the time 2012 is out. Assuming they keep going at this pace, we wouldn’t be surprised if they meet their goal.

Just to clarify, the Windows Store is different from the Windows Phone Store and as you might have surmised by now, the Windows Store caters to Microsoft’s Windows 8 and Windows RT platforms for both desktop, laptops and tablets. Granted that legacy apps helped boost Microsoft’s Windows Store numbers by quite a bit, it’s still a pretty good start for Windows 8 and for those looking to start shopping for new apps on their new computers/tablets.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: 9-Year Old’s Winnie The Pooh Laptop Confiscated By Authorities, Facebook To Ditch Member Voting Process?,

9-Year Old’s Winnie The Pooh Laptop Confiscated By Authorities

The authorities tend not to have a good impression on the masses, case in point, CIAPC, a company that managed to get ISPs in Finland to block The Pirate Bay, is said to have tracked down an alleged file-sharer, asking for a cash settlement. The thing is, the Internet account holder did not want to cough up the amount demanded, and you could say that things got out of hand – literally. It was reported that the police actually busted into the home of the 9-year-old suspect, and confiscated her Winnie the Pooh laptop.

The amount asked by the CIAPC for the settlement was 600 Euros, in addition to signing a non-disclosure document, and one would have gotten away scot-free. The thing is, no compromise was arrived at, and the CIAPC continued with legal and some rather forceful action, hunting down the man’s house at 8 in the morning for evidence associated to illicit file-sharing. It seemed that his 9-year-old daughter turned to The Pirate Bay to download some music, but her attempts failed miserably, so they went to a music store afterwards to purchase legit music. However, the CIAPC does not look like they are having any of it, regardless of how young the targets are.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Windows Store hits 20,000 apps, aims for 30,000 before the end of the year, Facebook To Ditch Member Voting Process?,

Storm Power Gamer Max Pro LTD Gaming PC

Storm-Power-Gamer-Max-Pro-LTD-Gaming-PC

The Storm Power Gamer Max Pro LTD is another newly launched gaming PC from Storm System Technology. This high performance system is packed with a 3.50GHz Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition processor, an Intel X79 Express Chipset, a GeForce GTX 680 2GB graphics card, an 8GB DDR3 RAM, a 1TB hard drive, a DVD Super Multi Drive, a 700W 80PLUS BRONZE power supply and runs on Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OS. Price itself is set at 199,500 Yen (about $2,421). [Product Page]

These Polaroids Might Be the Oldest Pictures of an Apple Computer

In 1976, Apple products were far from the thin, glossy blades they are today. Apple’s humble beginnings started with the Apple I, hand-built by Steve Wozniak himself, and sold for $666.66. When Paul Terrell, owner of the Byte Shop, purchased 50 of the machines for sale way back then, he took a few pictures with his Polaroid camera. Now, those pictures are quite possibly the oldest pictures ever taken of an Apple product. More »

Logicool Washable Keyboard Rinses Clean After Sloppy Spills

Logicool Washable Keyboard Rinses Clean After Sloppy SpillsSpilled Pepsi (or worse) on your keyboard again? No need for a China Crisis if you’re rocking the Logicool model k310 washable keyboard. This good-looking peripheral can take a wiping and keep on typing while other keyboards snap, crackle and pop their way into meltdown mode.

Mouse Computer NEXTGEAR-MICRO im520BA8-FC Gaming PC

Mouse-Computer-NEXTGEAR-MICRO-im520BA8-FC-Gaming-PC

If you’re in the market for a new gaming PC, be sure to check out this new NEXTGEAR-MICRO im520BA8-FC from Mouse Computer. As part of the G-Tune series, the system is packed with a 3.20GHz Intel Core i5-3470 processor, an Intel B75 Express Chipset, a GeForce GTX 650 1GB graphics card, a 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD Super Multi Drive, a multi-card reader, a 500W power supply and runs on Windows 8 64-bit OS. The NEXTGEAR-MICRO im520BA8-FC is available now for 59,850 Yen (about $726). [Product Page]

Facebook To Ditch Member Voting Process?

It looks like Facebook is on a path that might not go down well with many people, as the social network giant proposes to ditch its policy which enables members to vote on changes that it makes in terms of data use policy. Facebook Vice President for Communications, Public Policy and Marketing Elliot Schrage promised that the company still values user input on company policy, but declared that the “voting mechanism, which is triggered by a specific number of comments, actually resulted in a system that incentivized the quantity of comments over their quality.”

Current rules work this way – proposed changes on the receiving end of over 7,000 comments will automatically trigger a vote on those changes, and assuming 30% of Facebook’s members (which number around one billion) take part in that vote, then Facebook ought to abide by the results of that vote. Proposed rules will work otherwise, where members are given a week by Facebook to comment on a policy change. Once the comment period is over, any changes adopted will be reflected by a user notification. Basically, that means a dictatorship in certain aspects of Facebook. Bummer!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Windows Store hits 20,000 apps, aims for 30,000 before the end of the year, 9-Year Old’s Winnie The Pooh Laptop Confiscated By Authorities,

Harwell Dekatron Digital Computer Refurbished

What is touted as one of the world’s first digital computers, the Harwell Dekatron, which was created to do away with handwritten calculations of human “computors”, is about to be on the receiving end of an official reboot which could eventually result in it occupying a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Already 61 years old, the Harwell Dekatron which weighs as much as an SUV (being around that size a well) was originally capable of delivering error-free calculations as it runs for 90 hours a week, and it has managed to survive as one of the oldest original working digital computer, especially after it was restored by The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) in the UK.

The Harwell Dekatron itself relies on 480 relays which have plenty in common with telephone exchanges of today compared to the modern day computer. Relays will reside within a collection of racks, which in turn holds 828 flashing Dekatron valves that are actually gas-filled counting tubes that saw action in the early days of computing instead of the transistors found in modern electronics.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Windows Store hits 20,000 apps, aims for 30,000 before the end of the year, 9-Year Old’s Winnie The Pooh Laptop Confiscated By Authorities,