Palm Shows Off $100 Centro Smart-phone

Boston (dbTechno) - Palm is taking a different direction with their next smart-phone as they have unveiled a $100 smart-phone named the Centro.

The Centro is a huge step for Palm as they try to enter the mass-market and become the least-expensive smart-phone on the market today.

The Centro is going to be running on the same Palm operating system which is used by the Treo and will also have a color touch screen, full keyboard, as well as access to e-mail and web surfing.

The smart-phone is going to be an exclusive to Sprint for a period of 3 months. It will be available for $100 with a $100 mail-in-rebate when customers sign up for a two-year service agreement with a data acess plan above $25/month.

With the announcement, the Palm stock rose by $1.02 or 6.6% which is great news for the company.

With competition from Apple with their expensive iPhone as well as from Motorola with the Q and Nokia, Palm had to do something different and they have definitely done so.

It will be launching next month and should be a huge hit for Sprint and Palm.

NASA Dawn Spacecraft Launches

Ft. Lauderdale (dbTechno) - After many delays the NASA Dawn spacecraft has launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The deputy director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division Jim Adams stated “It was a very nearly perfect launch. The spacecraft is safe, it is healthy, there is not a significant issue on board, they’re all minor.”

NASA is running tests to make sure everything onboard is fully functional. The launch was delayed right before the launch countdown hit zero when a civilian ship sailed into the drop zone where the rocket’s solid motors were supposed to land from the Delta II.

NASA called to delay the lift-off just minutes before it was supposed to take place. The Dawn is powered by the cool blue jet of an ion propulsion system. IT is on the way past Mars on a 3 billion mile journey. IT is heading into the heart of the asteroid belt.

It is expected to pass Mars in 2009 and will end its mission in July 2015 after it orbits the asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres.

Researchers are very hopeful that information will be revealed into the beginnings of the solar system as there could be clues out there in regards to this information.

Either way, NASA’s Dawn has launched.

iPhone Software Update Destroys Unlocked Devices

Boston (dbTechno) - Apple has released an update to the iPhone on Thursday which adds the WiFi iTunes Music Store as well as security fixes and added features to the iPhone, while rendering all unlocked iPhones useless.

The unlocked iPhone users have been warned over the course of the past two weeks by Apple that the company is not responsible for anything that happens to an unlocked iPhone and that once the device is tampered with it is no longer covered under warranty.

The unlocking software was allowing iPhone users to use the phone on cellular networks other than AT&T which was not making either company very happy.

It has been confirmed that the unlocked iPhones no longer work as a message pops up after the update stating to install a “unlocked and valid SIM card.”

Other news is that new SIM card from AT&T will not work in iPhones which had been activated by the original SIM card.

Third-party software which was able to be installed on the iPhone prior to the update thanks to hacks and such will also be automatically removed once the update is put in place.

Apple warned iPhone users and they came through with their warnings making them legit. The next time Apple puts out a statement about an iPhone update, it should be more of a threat to unlocked iPhone owners than a simple warning.

Gateway One To Go Head To Head With Apple iMac

Hollywood (dbTechno) - Gateway has unveiled an all-in-one personal computer the Gateway One which will place them in direct competition with the Apple iMac.

Gateway has come out and announced an all-in-one PC in its lineup. Acer recently purchased Gateway but it appears that the Gateway brand will still be labeled all over this device.

The name of the new all-in-one PC is called “One.”

There will be 3 Gateway models of the One and will all be based on dual-core Intel processors for notebooks as well as a 19″ screen with 1440×900 resolution.

The changes in the 3 versions are with the graphics adapters, sizes of hard drive, ram, etc.

The Gateway One looks like a flat-panel TV but when you actually take a closer look at it, it really is a full-out personal computer and is extremely stylish.

There will also be an optional TV tuner which will be released with it as well making it the ultimate toy for the kitchen, living room, etc.

Gary Elsasser of Gateway stated “Gateway One exemplifies the idea of simplicity, of less is more. This computer complements its environment and becomes a design element you want to show off as much as you want to use. Because it doesn’t compromise on features or performance, it will be appreciated for its brains as well as its beauty.”

The Apple iMac better take notice because the Gateway One is coming and it is looking absolutely gorgeous.

The Gateway One will include in its initial model an Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 dual-core processor, 400GB Serial ATA hard drive, 1.3mp webcam, and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card with 256mb of memory for $1499.

Microsoft Extends Sales of Windows XP To June 2008

Boston (dbTechno) - Microsoft has announced that they are extending sales of the Windows XP operating system beyond January to June 2008.

According to Microsoft the demand from customers was too great that they had to listen to the consumer and continue to offer Windows XP.

The company is hoping that this will allow more time for computer manufacturers as well as businesses t get it together and be able to switch over to Windows Vista in the near future. Just a few days ago Microsoft announced that companies can begin to offer Windows XP as an alternative to Windows Vista if the consumer chooses to do so in their computer system.

Mike Nash of Microsoft admitted that “Maybe we were a little ambitous to think that we would need to make Windows XP available for only a year after the release of Windows Vista.”

The past way in which Microsoft worked was to discontinue an old operating system four years after its launch. Windows Vista released 5 years after XP though due to immense delays and bugs.

Nash stated that “Making (XP) available through June was a little bit better.”

Breastfeeding Mom To Get Extra Time On Exam

Boston - A Havard medical student will be given addition time during her exam in order to pump breast milk for her baby, according to media reports Thursday.

A Massachusetts court says Sophie Currier must have an extra break time during her medical licensing exam. The school gives students 9 hours to complete the exam, but will now give Currier an additional 60 minute break.

Currier says that she faces medial risks if she is unable to nurse her baby or pump breast milk every 2 to 3 hours, reported CNN.

She sued after the National Board of Medical Examiners denied her request for more than the standard 45 minutes of breaks during the exam.

In Thursday’s ruling, the appeals court said Currier needs the additional break time to put her on “equal footing” with men and other women who are “non-lactating.”

“our overriding concerns are fairness to all examinees and the integrity of the exam, which serves as an important gateway to medical practice,” said Joseph F. Savage, Jr., attorney for the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), “Our Position remains that the exam’s sponsors have in no way violated Ms. Currier’s rights”

NBME co-sponsors the exam.

dbTechno Review: Otterbox Waterproof Laptop Case

Otterbox Laptop Case

Otterbox

MSRP: $169
Available: www.Otterbox.com

There has always been problems with people who want to take their laptops and other electronic devices with them where there is rugged terrain and maybe not so pleasant weather. If it is pouring outside with rain you may not want to pack your laptop in a cloth case and go playing in the puddles. The same can be said about going on a boat, a dessert, a hike, or anywhere else with a laptop.

Enter the Otterbox Laptop Case. Priced at $169, the Otterbox Laptop case allows users the opportunity to protect their investment with great ease and security. Things which were not possible in the past with soft cases are now possible with this strong laptop case from Otterbox. Read more

Halo 3 Pulls In $170 Million In Launch Day Sales

Seattle (dbTechno) - Microsoft made the announcement on Wednesday that the highly anticipated Xbox 360 game Halo 3 managed to take in $170 million on launch day.

The launch of Halo 3 in the United States was a momentous occasion which resulted in thousands of adults and kids skipping school and work to join Halo 3 midnight madness and take part in the release of the biggest video game of all time.

Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Game Studios Shane Kim stated that “Halo 3 has become a pop-culture phenomenon.”

Bungie is the developer and mastermind behind the Halo trilogy which wraps up with Halo 3. The Halo franchise is not done though as Halo Wars is in development as well for the PC and Xbox 360.

Over 1.7 million copies of Halo 3 were pre-ordered prior to its release. Over 10,000 stores across the nation opened their doors at midnight on September 25, 2007 in a day that will go down in gaming history.

Activision Buys PGR Developer Bizarre Creations

Boston (dbTechno) - Activision made the announcement on Wednesday that they have purchased the British-based developer Bizarre Creations who is best known for the Microsoft series Project Gotham Racing for the Xbox 360.

This is a huge racing developer and something which Activision needed desperately as they have never had a development house who could make a top-notch racing experience. Sales of racing games make up 10% of the global video game software sales. This is about 10% of all sales so it is a massive market.

EA currently dominates the market with Need for Speed and the Burnout franchise, but Activision is ready to jump in.

The Project Gotham Racing franchise has enjoyed over 4.5 million games sold since it began back in 2001 on the original Xbox and now on the Xbox 360 with Project Gotham Racing 3 and the soon-to-be-released PGR 4.

Activision has promised a new game from Bizarre in 2009. This fills a huge genre gap as it will now allow them to have a major racing franchise in their catalog of games.

T-Mobile Shows Off New Sidekicks

Boston (dbTechno) - T-Mobile has unveiled two new high-end versions of their Sidekick line of devices with the Sidekick LX and the Sidekick Slide.

These are improvements over the Sidekick 3 model as there are a lot of upgrades over what the Sidekick 3 has now. The Sidekick Slide will be manufactured by Motorola with the biggest change being that it will have a screen which slides up instead of the swivel screen design from the past Sidekick models.

The Sidekick LX is more of the luxury model as it will have a 320×240 QVGA widescreen with anti-reflective technology.

Both new Sidekick models will have a 1.3 megapixel camera, as well as a 128MB microSD card to store photos, music, videos, etc.

The Sidekick LX will launch for $300 with a 2-year-contract on October 24, 2007 while the Sidekick Slide will launch in November 2007 with a price point of $200 with a 2-year-contract.

It may be time to update your Sidekick.

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