Not exactly many surprises here, but it looks like Intel used its big Developer Forum this week to finally, and quietly, get official with its tiny new Core 2 Duo “S” processor, which is the stock version of the processor used in laptops like the MacBook Air and Voodoo Envy 133. The new 45nm processors boast same 1,066MHz system bus and 6MB of Level 2 cache as the newer Core 2 Duos, and will apparently be available in 1.6GHz and 1.86GHz versions to start with (dubbed the SL9300 and SL9400, respectively). That, of course, hasn’t stopped folks from speculating that Apple will once again go its own way and push well past the 2.0GHz mark for its seemingly imminent MacBook Air revision, but we’d recommend waiting for some official word out of Cupertino before getting too excited about that tantalizing possibility.

From engadget

MPC this morning hopes to extend the reach of Intel’s Classmate PC to a wider audience with the TXTbook, the first North American version available for individuals. The design is largely unchanged from the second-generation model and is small enough with its 8.9-inch screen to be used comfortably by smaller children but durable enough to handle most common drops. The system boasts a speed improvement over the original by switching to a 1.6GHz Atom that also gives the small notebook up to five hours of battery runtime on an expanded capacity battery.

This version also has all the standard configuration of the reference design, including 1GB of memory, a 30GB hard drive, a webcam and 802.11g Wi-Fi that supports automatic mesh networks for users and schools where traditional networks don’t work.
MPC’s version sells for slightly more than the original developing- and educational-world model and is available today with Windows XP Home for $499. No mention has been made of a Linux edition.

From electronista

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today introduced a fun, easy and colorful way to transport and share music, photos and other digital files with its new super thin DataTraveler® Mini Slim USB Flash drive.

Available in black, blue or pink with gray bottom casings, the new USB drives make a great fashion accessory by easily connecting to a keychain while storing up to 4GB of content.  The new DT Mini Slim measures a mere 1.529″ x 0.645″ x 0.253″, making it one of the smallest USB drives available on the market.

“Kingston USB drives have always provided great functionality by allowing consumers to carry large quantities of information everywhere they go,” said Jean Wong, Flash memory product manager, Kingston®. “The DT Mini Slim lets anyone safely store and share their favorite media content everywhere they go with a little class and color, in an ultra-small form factor.”

For more information visit imaging-resource

Intel launched a much smaller version of its Z-P230 SSDs (solid state drive) aimed at netbooks and mini-desktops, the company said Wednesday.

The new SSD is based on a miniature card module that weighs just 8 grams, compared to 11 grams for the original Z-P230, which Intel announced in June.

The company is already profiting from the new netbook category of mini-laptop computers. The world’s largest chip maker sells the most popular microprocessor for such devices currently, the Atom, which is designed as an energy saving, low-cost chip that takes up little space inside a netbook.

The new Z-P230 SSDs carry the same qualities as Atom. Netbooks are built to be small, light-weight, low-cost and mobile, so the new mini-card sized Z-P230 SSD is made to take up as little space inside as possible, weigh little and extend battery life. The main difference between the Z-P230 and the company’s Z-P140 for MIDs (mobile Internet devices) is a focus on low cost for the Z-P230s.

The Intel Z-P230 comes is already available in 4G byte and 8G byte capacities, with a 16G byte version coming in September, Intel said. The 4G byte version costs US$25 in 1,000 unit quantities, while the 8G byte version is $45 in 1,000 unit quantities.

From pcworld

Over the weekend the new name Core i7 for the Nehalem Bloomfield Intel CPUs has been already leaked. Today Intel officially announced Core i7.
Intel’s new Nehalem microarchitecture will be formally branded Intel Core processor. The first products in this new family of processors, including an Extreme Edition version, will carry an i7 identifier and will be formally branded as Intel Core i7 processor. This is the first of several new identifiers to come as different products launch over the next year.
The Intel Core i7 processor brand logo will be available for high-performance desktop PCs with a separate black logo for Intel’s highest-end Extreme Edition. Intel will include processor model numbers to differentiate each chip.
Initial products based on this microarchitecture are expected to be in production in the fourth quarter of this year. These processors will feature Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, also known as simultaneous multi-threading, and are capable of handling eight software “threads” on four processor cores.
Intel does not explain why the company use 7 in the Core i7 name in the press-release. It potentially means the 7th overall CPU architecture Intel released over the years.

From i4u.com

A number of web sites that use SiteMeter tracking code to monitor the number of visitors to their site are reporting that the code is causing Internet Explorer browsers to crash when users visit their sites.

I haven’t spent time testing a lot of sites, but the Gawker Media sites all seem to be affected. These include Gawker, Valleywag, Gizmodo and Lifehacker, among others.

The problem appears to be affecting IE 5.5, 6.0 and 7.0. Internet surfers using IE to access a site that has SiteMeter tracking it receive a message saying the site cannot be loaded and “operation aborted.” The issue seems to have begun late afternoon Friday.

SiteMeter has not responded to a request for comment and so far has posted no announcement to its web site addressing the issue. But SiteMeter’s blog has a few posts published earlier this week referencing its move to a new platform and changes to its tracking code.

A number of sites are reporting that once they remove the SiteMeter code, the problem disappears and their page loads fine in IE.

From Blog.wired

No he did not die! EeePC 900A which seems to attract the good graces of the first generation of buyers EeePC proposing in the carcass of a EeePC 900 what we hope to be a machine ATOMisée, just redo about him with new high-definition images.Why 900A would be appreciated by owners of EeePC the first time?  Just because the 900A incorporates the chassis of EeePC 900 and should therefore be compatible with most bags of EeePC 1st generation.In addition to the look that can be preferable 900 on 901 (metal hinges 901 are not to the liking of everyone…) he hoped to more compatibility between the battery 900A and 701. Purchasers of batteries compatible could see their investment in high-capacity battery for a first EeePC reused in this draft.  Argument weight.

For more information visit  avec_cnetfrance

The IEEE standards organization today approved the next generation of FireWire. Officially known as IEEE 1394-2008 but also referred to as S3200 or FireWire 3200, the connection specification operates at up to four times the speed of FireWire 800 (S800) with up to 3.2 gigabits per second of data while preserving the energy properties that allow it to power some devices without needing a direct power supply. The extra speed is believed to be useful for multi-disk hard drive arrays and other devices where earlier FireWire would be inadequate.

The format is also scalable and makes room for an in-between specification known as S1600, which peaks at exactly half the performance of S3200, as well as the ability to scale upwards in the future. FireWire should ultimately scale to at least S6400, or 6.4 gigabits per second. Both S3200 and S1600 are backwards-compatible with FireWire 800 and will work with the original FireWire 400 through a simple adapter.

For more information visit http://www.electronista.com

Lenovo, partner of the Olympic Games, has launched the final round of online auctions to flog limited edition notebooks.
100% of the money raised is to be distributed through the Lenovo Hope Fund to select philanthropies, including Right to Play and the International Red Cross to support the Sichuan earthquake relief efforts.
Th notebooks up for grabs in the UK are “Cloud of Promise” Lenovo-designed efforts inspired by the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch, cauldron and lantern and is autographed by Olympic Silver medalist and badminton star Gail Emms.
The final UK auction is taking place on eBay now - with the price currently at $500 - and will run for 10 days, closing on August 8 at 7pm.

From http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk

HP’s current Mini-Note apparently missed the meeting where the ULPC acronym was explained, specifically the ‘UL’ part, and is one of the most expensive netbooks on the market. That hasn’t really made much of an impact on sales, apparently, but HP is now keen to introduce a new ‘economy’ device for those who didn’t want to make the stretch to the existing 2133 model.

Unfortunately there isn’t much info on the new model’s specs, although we expect it to be a good hundred quid or so less than its counterpart to keep up with more traditional Eee PC knock-offs.

HP’s Jerel Chong revealed only that “It won’t be as durable but it will be cheaper”, so it might be a good guess that it’s pretty much all the same innards (retaining HP’s unique decision to offer Vista Business as an OS) but without the anodised aluminium chassis or spill-resistant keyboard. That’s just rampant speculation on our part though.

Chong also refused to confirm or deny rumours that the 2133 Mini-Note would be upgrading to Intel Atom processors from the VIA C7-M it currently uses.

From http://techdigest