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Latest by Geoff Duncan

DTV Soft Test Prompts 55,000 Help Line Calls

A nationwide "soft test" that had television broadcasters shut down analog transmission for 5 minutes prompted 55,000 calls to the FCC's DTV help line.

AT&T Preparing Its Android Assault?

AT&T hasn't been talking about its plans for Google Android, but the company looks to be gearing up to launch its first Android device in August.

Lenovo Targets Apple with New Notebook, Desktop Systems

Lenovo has its sights set squarely on Apple with a new ultrathin laptop, a mainstream notebook, and a very iMac-ish desktop system.

Nielsen: Mobile, Online Video Hasn’t Put A Dent in TV Viewing

Media analysis firm Nielsen has looked at how people watch videos on phones, online, and on TV...and TV is still all that matters.

Heck, Maybe Yahoo Will Buy Twitter?

Yahoo's chief technology officer says the company wants to be a bigger player in social networking...and may will do it by buying up smaller operations.

Ebay Beats L’Oreal in UK Counterfeit Goods Case

A UK court has found eBay isn't liable for trademark infringements committed by people selling counterfeit goods on its service.

New Samsung 8-inch Photo Frame Sports 1 GB of Storage

Samsung's new SPF-87H Photo Frame sports 1 GB of memory and an 8-inch 800 by 480-pixel display.

MSI Breezily Debuts Its Wind U123 Netbook

MSI's new Wind U123 netbook features a 1.66 GHz Atom processor, a 10.2-inch display, and prices starting at $379.99.

Stop the Funai Business: Vizio Sues Over Patent Infringement

Low-cost LCD maker Vizio has filed suit against Japan's Funai, claiming the company violates Vizio patent making cut-rate LCD TVs for other brands.

Will It Be Back? California Seeks to Revive Violent Video Game Law

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking a California law barring the sale or rental of violent games to minors all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Microsoft Brings Netflix to Windows Media Center

In a major content deal, more than 12,000 movies and television episodes from Netflix are available for instant viewing in Windows Media Center.

Canada’s i4i Wins $200 Million Patent Judgement Against Microsoft

Microsoft has been ordered to pay Canada's i4i $200 million for infringing on a document manipulation patent in both Microsoft Word and Windows Vista.

Verbatim Pushes Blu-ray Media to 6x

Verbatim has announced new recordable Blu-ray media that supports 6x writing speeds - now consumers just have to find a writer that supports it.

Get Flashy with Kingston’s SSDNow M Series Bundle

Want the benefits of SSDs but don't want to buy a new computer? Kingston's SSDNow M Series bundles let you swap out an HDD for an SSD, and take your data with you.

Acer Revs Up Its easyStore Home Server

Acer's new easyStore Home Server sports a terabyte of storage, three hot-swappable drive bays for expansion, and worldwide access to media and documents.

Intel Hikes Atom Down the Pine Trail; Leaves Nvidia in the Sticks

Intel has outlined its future plans for its netbook-driving Atom processors...and they seem to shut Nvidia's Ion platform even further out of the market.

Wal-Mart Looking to Succeed Where Circuit City Failed?

Mega-retailer Wal-Mart may be looking to move into the market gap left by Circuit City's shutdown, amping up its electronics offerings and setting up Apple and Nintendo sections.

Toshiba to Shut Down Japanese Cell Phone Business

Another sign of the times: Japanese electronics giant Toshiba is getting out of the cell phone business on its home turf.

Sanyo’s WXU700 Projector Includes 802.11n Wi-Fi

Sanyo's portable widescreen WXGA PLC-WXU700 projector is the first in the world to offer 802.11n Wi-Fi, supporting WXGA wireless video streaming.

It’s All White Now: eMachines Debuts Low Cost, Small Form Factor PCs

eMachines new E1300 series offers budget-friendly performance and features in new all-white small-form factor desktop designs...and there's a matching monitor too.

LG Pours DivX Into Its BD390 Wi-Fi Blu-Ray Player

Need a Blu-ray player? Need it to handle BD Live via Wi-Fi? Need it to handle DivX? Then LG wants you to know about its new LG BD390.

Microsoft’s VX-2000 Has Its Eye on You

Now you have no excuse for hiding from Big Brother: Microsoft's LifeCam VX-2000 offers a 1.3 megapixel Webcam and integrated mic for $29.95.

Nvidia Weighs in on Intel Chip Pricing: "Unfair"

Just days after the EU slammed Intel for anticompetitive behavior, graphics developer Nvidia characterizes Intel's pricing for Atom systems as "unfair."

Search, and Ye Shall Find Google Getting Bigger

Media metrics firm comScore has released its search engine rankings for April 2009? Guess what? Only Google expanded its share of the U.S. search market.

Dell Goes Back to School with Latitude 2100 Netbook

Dell has always tried to sell computers to students...but it's setting its sights younger with its new brightly-colored, rubberized Latitude 2100 netbook.

Palm Pre Launching on Sprint June 6 for $200 After Rebate

Sprint has announced it will offer the much-anticipated Palm pre smartphone in the United States beginning June 6, for $199.99 after rebate.

Iomega Gives Portable Storage an eGo Boost

Iomega has rolled out a new set of eGo portable hard drives with USB 2.0 interfaces and capacities up to 500 GB.

Nokia Launches Its Most Affordable 3G Phone

Keeping its thumb on the pulse of developing markets, Nokia has unveiled three new Internet-ready handsets, including its most affordable 3G phone.

Napster Cuts On-Demand Streaming Offering to $5

Long-struggling online music service Napster has cut the monthly price of its all-you-can-eat music streaming service to just $5 - and you get five MP3s with it.

Sony Focuses on New DSLR Users with Three New Alpha Cameras

Sony has unveiled three new alpha digital cameras with features designed to appeal to photographers ready to make the jump to DSLR.

Acer Launches Tricked-Out Aspire One Netbooks in North America

Acer has brought its Aspire One D250 and 751h netbooks to North America, featuring improved memory and storage...and even and 11.6-inch HD display.

Gyy-Whiz, It’s a Solar-Powered Netbook

Spanish company iUnika is getting set to launch an inexpensive, Linux-running netbook that can run entirely on solar power.

Duke It Out: Take-Two Sues Apogee over Duke Nukem Forever

Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive has sued Apogee, parent company of 3D Realms, over the failed development of Duke Nukem Forever.

Shooting Blanks: Toshiba Sues Imation, Others over Recordable DVD Media

Toshiba has filed a lawsuit against Imation and several other recordable DVD media makers, saying they infringe on Toshiba patents essential to DVD media.

Hewlett-Packard Recalls 70,000 Notebook Batteries

Hewlett-Packard has issued a recall for 70,000 notebook batteries sold in HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario, and other notebook models due to overheating.

April Game Sales See Big Successes for Nintendo and Sony

NPD's latest market figures for the video game industry find U.S. sales dropped 17 percent during April..but the Nintendo DS platform and Sony PlayStation 2 scored wins.

IEA: Power Consumed by Household Electronics Could Triple by 2030

The International Energy Agency has worked that electricity consumed by household electronics could triple by 2030 unless governments mandate energy efficiency.

AT&T Introduces $3 Per Day Unlimited Calling

Tough times have increased the popularity of pre-paid calling plans: now AT&T is offering unlimited calling for $3 a day.