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Olens Technology XPJ-USA010 Personal Entertainment Projector

Ok, so the first thing that you need to know is, the Olens Technology XPJ-USA010 Personal Entertainment Projector is not going to blow your mind with its design or image quality. This projector is not about that, but what will blow your mind is how cheap it actually costs to get yourself on the projector ladder. Read more

New Website Launches Innovative Lost-And-Found Technology

Today SendMeHome.com launches the world’s first free lost and found recovery service. Through the SendMeHome.com website, users are able to register personal valuables which are each given a unique ID code Read more

Hacker Gary McKinnon faces 70 years in jail

Hacker Gary McKinnon could be facing 70 years in jail after he lost his last attempt to fight against deportation. 42-year old McKinnon was named as the world’s biggest computer hacker after he had broke into secret files of the American Defense.

The House of Lords have now ordered for him to be deported back to the U.S., a country that he has never set foot in. The European Court of Human Rights threw out his appeal to put a stop to the extradition. Read more

Intel Announcement: New Technology Remote Wake, Jahjah

When it comes to technology we all know that Intel is always ahead in the industry, well the latest news has it that Intel has recently made an announcement of a brand new technology that is interesting.

Basically this new technology will wake up your computer from sleep-mode, once it does this it will accept requests to access date and even accept phone calls. This new technology is called “Remote Wake” which will in simple terms turns your computer into an answering machine when you are not around, this new system will be available next month.

The technical bit: This ill be available on select Intel 4 Series Express Chipsets-based PCs equipped, it can therefore be accessed from an internet connected device, you know like a cell phone, laptop or any other internet mobile device, a third-party application or service is needed.

Intel have banged their heads with Jajah the internet telephony company, the reason for this is simple, and it will allow customers to access the company’s telephony support system.

More info via pocket-lint – image also via this source.

Scientist developing Star Trek invisibility cloaks or shields

When people start to talk about becoming invisible we often think that they are nut jobs, but it could actually become reality. We know that there are some clever people around, like those clever people at Cal (the one at Berkeley).

These Scientist have created a material which is able to control the direction of light. This is like the invisibility cloaks or shields that the Klingon’s and Jem’Hadar use in Star Trek.

The amazing material allows the light to bend around it, so you will not see the object in front of you, just the light behind it. The material used is very technical; the elements used are very thin about 0.00000066 of a meter.

When it comes to becoming invisible there are a lot of moral questions that need to be asked, we have all seen the films about what could go wrong.

This kind of technology would be able to make some of the ugly things in our world disappear, what things would you like to disappear?

Source

Hands-on: Fire-starting Torch by Wicked Lasers

Before I start talking about “The Torch” from Wicked Lasers let me tell you in advance that there are loads of images that I have taken below this hands-on review, I have also added videos from Wicked Lasers site as well.

Now when I got a phone call from another team member on this site about reviewing a torch, I thought to myself “What the hell can I write about a torch, it is just a torch”, well I was totally wrong there because this is not an ordinary torch, it is The Torch.

When I received this torch it came in tatty old boxes, but this is just a review product, we are sure if you bought one you would get it in a mint condition box Read more

Dell Studio Hybrid: Desktop PC’s get smaller

It seems like Dell try to give us a little piece of news everyday on their Dell Studio Hybrid. At one stage I must admit it was getting a little boring, as I thought that we knew all there was to know about this small desktop PC.

When the Dell Studio Hybrid Desktop PC was first introduced we just saw the bamboo clad version, now there is a range of them.

The starting price for these smaller desktop PC’s is $499. These computers come with a range of interchangeable sleeves, these range from Bamboo, Emerald, Quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Slate and Topaz.

The Dell Studio Hybrid can be stood vertically or horizontally and come packed with a host of features. There is an HDMI port as standard, optional extras available are WiFi, a wireless keyboard and mouse, Blu-ray and a TV tuner.

The Dell Studio Hybrid should be available from today, visit: Dell

IBM helps doctors care for premature babies with technology

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) announced today a first-of-a-kind research project to help doctors detect subtle changes in the condition of critically ill premature babies.

The project will see a group of internationally recognized researchers, led by Dr. Carolyn McGregor, a UOIT associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Health Informatics, use advanced stream computing software developed by IBM Research to work toward greatly enhancing the decision-making capabilities of doctors Read more

Lenovo T40 ThinkPad with Fuel Cell technology

The Lenovo T40 ThinkPad is not a bad laptop but what can make it a lot better would be the battery life, this goes for many of today’s branded laptops that seem not too worried about the battery life.

The last time I visited a computer store was only a few weeks ago and I was told that most laptops they had included a battery life of between 2 and 5 hours, this is pretty sad when you think most laptops are for being mobile.

One technology that could solve this problem is Fuel Cell technology; it has the potential to provide laptop users will more than 10 times the battery life.

Gadget Venue has reported some news about Fuel Cell technology and how one California Company has created a prototype.

Fuel Cell technology is fascinating as it has potential to provide around 10 times more power than a Lithium Ion battery. Not only can it power it for a fair few hours, the fuel can also be topped up and power to the laptop be supplied on demand. This prevents the need of several hours of charging before a long journey.

PolyFuel are a company based in California who have created a new prototype which converts methanol fuel to electricity. The fuel cell is about the size of a deck of cards and can supply power to a trial Lenovo T40 ThinkPad. Fuel Cell technology is one thing that I cannot wait to see built standard in to laptops. Hopefully PolyFuel have taken it one step closer.

Read more laptop news here.

TwitterCounter and the latest technology news on Twitter

There is a new service for Social networkers, Bloggers and well-connected individuals that’s called TwitterCounter. You can view Product Reviews TwitterCounter here.

It helps the above people track how many followers they have on Twitter, its as simple as adding a little piece of code to your social network profile or blog and you can display the stats from Twitter Counter for others to see.

Most people know about Twitter, it’s a very simple and useful way to communicate with co–workers, family and friends in a quick way.

For the latest technology and gadget news you can follow Product Reviews on Twitter, we update everyday and Twitter will give you quick access to the latest breaking news.

Have a look at TwitterCounter and let us know what you think of it and if you have started using it yet, feel free to leave a link to your Twitter and the reason why you use it.

Erik Huggers appointed BBC’s director of future media and technology

Ashley Highfield has been replaced at the BBC by Erik Huggers, while in the new role as director of future media and technology he will have to shape an important part of the BBC.

Huggers will be responsible for directing mobile, interactive TV and Internet based BBC content. Looking at what he did with the launch of the BBC iPlayer, it will be interesting to see what Huggers does will other new emerging platforms.

The future of content distribution will be on mobile platforms, the Internet and interactive TV. So what decisions Huggers makes will have a major impact on the future of the BBC.

Huggers CV is pretty impressive, before he was at the BBC he was responsible for Windows Media in Europe, launching the MSN portal in the Benelux countries and other innovation.

The Financial Times has said that the first major task for Erik Huggers will be to solve the row between internet service providers and the BBC, ISP’s are asking for compensation because of the load iPlayer puts on their systems.

Nintendo Wii Balance Board Controlling Robot: Real or Fake

Now the video below if real is pretty cool of a man standing on a Nintendo Wii Balance Board controlling a robot, basically the man moves on the Wii Board to control a little robot that is so slow it will bore you, but there could be a need for it.

If the robot had big guns on it that would be cool, or even better the armed forces could use this to control tanks and other stuff to keep men and women safe, now that would be an achievement. The little robot does seem pointless but nether the less still pretty cool. Now whilst watching the video look carefully when it gets to the end, when the man kneels down on the floor, “Is that a remote control I see in his hands? Now this makes me want to ask “Is this all real or fake. Keep watching the video, yes it does get boring but wait till the end because I am sure he is using the remote control for the robot, or maybe he is using the remote for the laptop.

Is the man really using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board or is he using the remote control, watch the video and decide for yourself. Like the idea though, come on we want more concepts, what would you like to see the Wii Board control?

No more headaches: Experimental Hand-held Magnetic Device Eases Migraines

Like myself I suffer from migraines and if you suffer the same you know that the pain is excruciating, leaving with you to put up with throbbing headaches, sickness and endless amounts of medication taking, the most practical thing to do nine times out of ten is to find a dark quite room and just wait it out till the pain goes. Migraine sufferers would love a drug-free solution to stop or ease the pain.

Well a new study claims that there may be at last a solution to the problem which may help some migraines, this solution is a brand new experimental hand-held transcranial magnetic stimulation device, apparently all you need to do is hold the device at the bottom of your head and it will ease symptoms, some volunteers have tested this device. The experimental treatment tool is found to alleviate symptoms of headache with aura, let me explain what a migraine is, migraines are basically cause by some abnormal brain activity which can be brought on by a number of things such as bad dieting, stress, these migraines are very painful indeed which leads to nausea, vomiting, and other symptoms.

The whole idea behind this brand new device is where patients will use it when they encounter the migraine’s aura phase, which is a visual disturbance that can occur before the headache begins. What is an Aura? Well in easy terms Auras include zigzag lines, flashing lights, experiencing temporary blind spots, visual hallucinations, blurred vision, and sensitivity to bright light or eye pain.

A little about the device itself: The new device is about the size of an average hairdryer and when put at the back of the head when you have migraine symptoms, the migraine sufferer will then push a button to administer the magnetic pulse, tests were carried out on volunteers and the study showed that the device eliminated the headache within two hours for 39 percent of volunteers, 22 percent in the placebo group said that they had no pain two hours later. The device was used by the participants twice per migraine episode within an hour of experiencing an aura.

Are you a migraine sufferer? If so please do tell us of your experiences.

Please read the full article here.

Signed Agreement $13.9 billion Deal: HP purchase EDS at a price of $25.00 per share

Yesterday we reported that HP was to buy EDS where we said “HP to Buy EDS: Would this mean the ability to compete against rivals IBM Corp? (Read Here), well today we have the latest information that HP and EDS have announced that they have finally signed a definitive agreement where HP will purchase EDS at a price of $25.00 per share which actually means an enterprise of around $13.9 billion; this has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of HP and EDS.

This new transaction is expected to close in the second half of calendar year 2008 which will more than double HP’s services revenue at $16.6 billion in fiscal 2007, as of the end of each company’s 2007 fiscal year where annual revenues of over $38 billion and 210,000 employees doing business in over 80 countries. HP are intending to establish a new business group to be branded EDS and HP company which will have their head quarters at EDS’s existing executive offices in Plano, Texas. HP do plan on EDS to continue to be led after the deal closes by EDS Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Ronald A. Rittenmeyer who will indeed join HP’s executive council and report to Mark Hurd, HP’s chairman and chief executive officer.

HP to Acquire EDS for $13.9 Billion, Transaction expected to more than double HP’s revenue from services, furthering its standing as world’s largest technology company and EDS shareholders to receive $25.00 per share in cash for each EDS share, this is all good news where the company will definitely be able to compete even more so now with rivals. The combination of the two companies HP and EDS will bring a force of leading global IT services which means a stronger business partner, most competitive portfolio of products and services in the industry and delivering customers the broadest services.

Looks like technology will only get stronger; Rittenmeyer said “First and foremost, this is a great transaction for our stockholders, providing tremendous value in the form of a significant premium to our stock price. It’s also beneficial to our customers, as the combination of our two global companies and the collective skills of our employees will drive innovation and enhance value for them in a wide range of industries. In addition, our Agility Alliance will be significantly strengthened.”

Because HP have acquired EDS this actually advances the HP objectives which even more so makes the company so much stronger in the way of its services business and the new offerings delivered by the two companies mean including data center services, IT outsourcing, networking services and managed security, workplace services, CRM and HR outsourcing; applications, including development, business process outsourcing, modernization and management; consulting and integration; and technology services, solutions to customers in the areas of government, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, energy, transportation, communications, and consumer industries and retail and so much more.

Microsoft Xbox Live spring update: Details leaked, support for motion sensor devices

Details have just been leaked about the Microsoft Xbox Live spring update, but more interesting is the fact something saying “ready to introduce support for “motion sensor devices”. There is no date to the leaked information of the spring feature list but we do know last year it was up and showing on 6th June and many people heard about it around April, so this tells us good things really.
Below is a vast list of everything you need to know, most of it is boring if you ask me but a few things that smashed me in the face with excitement was “Calibration options for motion sensor devices.” And “Option to donate Microsoft Points to anybody with a Windows Live ID,” motion sensors hey oh Nintendo better watch out.

Below is the full massive list -

Xbox LIVE
• Option to delay sign-in to Xbox LIVE upon booting console (to allow user to set Online Status).
• Option to promote Child Account from Family Settings.
• Disallow Child Accounts (over 18) to override Family Settings by launching Privacy Settings through a title.
• Option in Family Settings for Child Accounts to enable child-oriented/non-mature advertisements.
• Introduce a group chat (4) for Private Chat and conferences through Video Chat.
• Support to indicate media being watched to gamercard status (video content from Marketplace only).
• Extend height for Bio field in Personal Profile, easier navigation through text.
• More fields present in Personal Profile - recent achievements, interests, games, movies, links, and custom section.
• Compact Personal Profile for new fields (navigating to field will open it up).
• Mandatory option to delete duplicate titles from gamercard (excludes Games for Windows - LIVE). User disconnected from Xbox LIVE when booting any title until action complete.
• Option to remove payment information from gamertag.
• New payment methods for international users.
• Download History on Account Management better organized - games, genre, type, download date, miscellaneous.
• Long descriptions of items on Marketplace can be scrolled using right stick.
• Better organization of free content on Marketplace.
• Option to ‘ping’ when testing connection.
• Allow re-connection to Xbox LIVE if Ethernet cable is re-inserted whilst powered on.
• New strip colors available to developers, staff gamercards.
• New corner icon available to ambassadors.
• Re-introduce Messages button for Inside Xbox updates only.
• Option to store up to 10 messages permanently on server (excludes invites, status messages).
• Increase character limit for text messages between friends only.
• Option to disable invites from non-friends or all players.
• Option to disable invites from titles not on gamercard (excludes demos).
• Option to have smaller items moved up in Active Downloads.
• Automatically re-connect to Xbox LIVE if disconnected unexpectedly (set intervals).
• Option to download gamer picture (if available) from a gamercard being viewed.
• Display random tips to replace static text on Xbox LIVE and Games blades.
• New button on Marketplace for optional dashboard features - uses Storage Device memory.
• Option to donate Microsoft Points to anybody with a Windows Live ID.
• Option to purchase Membership for charities (includes benefits).
• Integrate file-sharing for selected titles on Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows - LIVE.
• Disable notifications to friends of user repeatedly signing into service (set period).
• Option to see ’snippet’ of text message in notification.
• Windows Live Mail integration - includes support for Xbox LIVE Vision.
• Web feeds integration - text, images, audio. Includes support for specific item codes on Marketplace.
• Option to display gamer picture or standard picture as display picture in Windows Live Messenger.
• Support for headset, Xbox LIVE Vision in Windows Live Messenger.
• Support for limited ‘winks’ that display on dashboard interface. Option to disable ‘winks’ and ‘nudges’ added.
• Notifications separate from Windows Live Messenger to Xbox 360 notifications.
• Disable multiple languages from being used in any Xbox LIVE editable fields.

Media
• Option to hold LT and RT for rewinding/fast-forwarding video content.
• Option to delete individual music tracks from storage device.
• Option to rip music CD at different quality.
• Copy non-protected files (pictures, music, videos) from USB storage devices, CDs and computers to proprietary storage devices.
• Support for menu, top-menu features on video content downloaded from Marketplace.
• Section added for audio delivered through feeds (podcasts). Option to stream, download to Storage Device.
• Support added for video titles/description to gamercard status.

Dashboard/Miscellaneous
• Option to navigate quickly out of several menus back to respective blade home (applies to Games, Media, and System).
• New blade trim styles added.
• Introduce expanded Inside Xbox as a portal to news, weather, entertainment, help and community features.
• New sounds for various functions (notifications, blades, navigation).
• Calibration options for display/sound.
• Calibration options for motion sensor devices.
• New effects for Xbox LIVE Vision and dashboard background.
• Disable changing of Theme when on Memory to prevent ‘hanging’.
• Preload recent, limited items upon dashboard boot up on Memory.
• Faster loading of Themes section on guide.
• Option to see what items will not work offline due to DRM license changing from Memory.
• Option to automatically associate new DRM to items downloaded for free.
• Indicate ‘charging’ status on guide when Play & Charge kit is connected.
• Option to change text colors on guide to better contrast some backgrounds.
• Language improvements.
• Word censor updated for fields.
• Privacy Settings/Family Settings updated for new features.
• Voice, picture messages can be read at Xbox.com (Gold accounts).

Games
• Option to delete titles from gamercard with 0 gamerscore and 0 achievements (excludes some titles that will be re-added to launch another title).
• Organize My Games at the Games Library section better (includes disc-based titles) - sort by genre, platform (Games for Windows - LIVE), percentage completion.
• Support to display friend’s leader boards for disc-based titles.
• Show dates of an achievement unlocked when comparing.
• Preload Games Library upon dashboard boot up for faster access.
• Game updates now shown as items in Memory, increased amount of updates on Storage Device.
• Option to delete game updates, removed ‘cheat code’ as no longer needed.
• Support for more titles to display banner when accessing guide in-game.
• Option to re-introduce awarded gamer pictures from titles that do not have their own re-introduce feature (requires saved game).
• Disable gamer pictures from being awarded from trials.
• Support for titles to store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading.
• Synchronization to achievements offline/online that were deleted and then re-added from developers.

Source

Verizon Business bringing Europe and India together with Undersea Cable System

Verizon Business Tuesday (May 6) joined a consortium of 16 companies building a next-generation undersea optical cable system connecting Europe, the Middle East and India.

The new system, named the Europe India Gateway (EIG), is the third major submarine cable project Verizon Business has helped launch in the last four years and continues the company’s global network leadership in delivering more capacity, reliability and speed for the data, video and voice services of its multinational customers.

The 15,000-kilometer (9,000-mile) cable network system, expected to be completed in 2010, will connect three continents at a cost of more than $700 million (U.S.). It will have a design capacity of up to 3.84 terabits per second (Tbps).

“This new cable system will provide not only a second, diverse route from India to Europe, but also direct access to our network in Europe,” said Ihab Tarazi, Verizon Business vice president of global network planning. “Combined with our other network capabilities, we will offer our customers reduced latency (the time it takes data sent from its entry point in the network to reach its destination), reduced provisioning time and increased reliability.”

Verizon Business is a leader in developing undersea cable systems. The company is the only U.S.-based founding member of the Trans-Pacific Express Cable, which will provide the first high-speed direct link between the U.S. and mainland China when activated in July. Verizon Business also is the only founding U.S. partner in an existing Southeast Asia-to-Europe (via the Indian subcontinent) submarine cable called SEA-ME-WE-4 (Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe-4).

The EIG will give Verizon Business customers a second, diverse landing in France. As with SEA-ME-WE-4, Verizon Business will operate a landing station in Marseilles that will connect directly with the company’s recently expanded ultra-long-haul network in Europe.

With the addition of the EIG, Verizon Business also plans to extend its industry-leading global mesh architecture to the Middle East and India. Meshing is network design that connects undersea cable systems on land, allowing for instantaneous rerouting of traffic in the event of multiple undersea cable breaks. Currently, the company operates a seven-way diverse mesh network between the U.S. and Europe and five-way diversity between the U.S. and Japan, with expansion to seven-way diversity to Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan planned for the second half of 2008.

Verizon Business continues to expand its partnerships and presence in the Middle East and India. Verizon Business earlier this year received licenses for international and national long-distance services in India and will offer a full range of services including international private-leased circuits with multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) and Internet protocol (IP) services. The company already holds an Internet service provider license in India.

“As the world’s leading companies grow their presence in emerging market regions, they know they can rely on our leading global network to support their critical business applications,” said Tarazi. “Wherever they do business in the world, our customers know they can count on us to use our outstanding network capabilities to deliver business solutions.”

Verizon Business owns and operates a global fiber-optic network that spans six continents and has more than 485,000 route miles delivering services to customers in more than 150 countries and 2,700 cities throughout the world. The company is involved in more than 67 submarine cables worldwide.

Source - Verizon

IBM today announced first-of-a-kind self-checkout technology

IBM today announced first-of-a-kind self-checkout technology that allows consumers to shop for and check out purchases practically anywhere in a store. This new self checkout solution raises the bar for consumer self service options, giving retailers built-in flexibility, improved customer service and a new tool for building customer advocacy for their brands.
IBM also announced a new release of software to help speed the self checkout process, a new state-of-the-art entry-level kiosk, and an extension of its global self service alliance program to reach new markets and industries.

Designed for small businesses and large enterprise departments, the IBM AnyPlace Checkout system is the next major step in self checkout innovation. It combines the ultra-compact footprint of the market-leading IBM AnyPlace Kiosk with the robust capabilities of IBM self checkout software, giving clients the best of both worlds.

According to a recent customer purchasing survey*, 10 percent of shoppers who left a store without making a purchase cited the wait to check out as a factor in their decision not to buy. More importantly, when forced to wait in line for more than four minutes, customer satisfaction levels fall below 80 percent.

Small to midsized retailers can now offer a fast, convenient checkout system for small orders, including those in specialty, drug and convenience store environments. Large retail operations can complement front-end self checkout with stand-alone placement of these units within grocery areas such as deli, floral or prepared foods, as well as departments of large stores and hospitality retailers.

“Today’s market environment is tough and competitive, and there is huge pressure on retailers to transform and innovate, all driven by a need to change the shopping experience for consumers,” said Steve Ladwig, General Manager, Retail Store Solutions, IBM System & Technology Group. “The IBM AnyPlace Checkout allows us to help our clients serve their customers in totally new ways, answering consumer demand for easy-to-use self service in more places than ever before.”

According to an IHL Group 2007 market study on self checkout**, 98 percent of respondents have used self checkout, almost 50 percent have used it more than five times in the previous years, and 72 percent have readily accepted the technology in the marketplace. This study also reported that for 2008, consumers will spend more than US $230.7 billion on self checkout transactions at retail stores, up 28 percent over 2007.

“Self checkout not only continues to gain widespread acceptance with consumers, but we are also seeing that self-service solutions are paying off for retailers,” said Greg Buzek, President, IHL Consulting Group. “Our research shows that retailers that have embraced self-service technologies are redeploying labor to key profit areas, improving customer service with more lanes and improving profitability by increasing the number of profitable transactions.”

The IBM AnyPlace Checkout system expands the proven and successful IBM Self-Checkout family by extending the capability of when and where retailers can offer self-service transactions. This first-of-its-kind unit is the second major offering in an aggressive IBM consumer services campaign, and joins a growing portfolio of IBM and Business Partner self service offerings that span multiple industries, including retail, hospitality, travel and transportation.

IBM also announced today a new release of IBM Checkout Environment for Consumer-Service (CHEC), self checkout software that delivers a robust environment through a rich user experience, simple manageability and reliable Point-of-Sale integration. The modular software platform also allows for IBM Business Partners to tailor to a retailer’s specific needs.

A completely new self checkout design, the IBM AnyPlace Checkout system offers retailers new features and enhanced flexibility, making it easy for consumers to scan and pay for their items quickly. This new self-checkout unit offers a variety of hardware and software enhancements that include:

• Small Footprint: Designed with the IBM AnyPlace Kiosk at its core, this unit offers one of the smallest self-checkout footprints available, making it attractive for grocers and other businesses that have limited floor space.

• Customized Enclosures: Offers flexibility to utilize a variety of enclosures including customized designs by IBM Global Technology Services or third party vendors that match a retailer’s “look and feel.”

• Cashless: These units offer credit/debit payment options only, which speeds transactions by eliminating the time it takes to accept and dispense bills and coins, as well as lowers the chance of shoppers forgetting their change.

• Manageability: A component of IBM Store Integration Framework, the Remote Management Agent (RMA) enables retailers to achieve end-to-end store systems management of retail devices and applications along side traditional IT deployment. Across the enterprise, retailers can configure and monitor the system remotely, distribute software, track assets and determine and diagnose problems.

New Entry-Level IBM AnyPlace Kiosk
IBM also introduced an entry-level AnyPlace Kiosk that can be used for a variety of kiosk applications or as a compact point-of-sale. This newest AnyPlace Kiosk 15” model allows small independent businesses to use advanced kiosk technology previously only available to large enterprises at a price they can afford. Additionally, the kiosk can be used by larger businesses for a variety of kiosk applications including product locators, price checkers and more. This entry-level kiosk unit comes with an energy-efficient processor and built-in power management capabilities that allow clients to reduce power consumption and run essential applications quickly and reliably. It is geared toward specialty, food service, gas and convenience retail businesses and is also tailored for use across multiple industries such as travel and transportation, hospitality and healthcare.

IBM Business Partner Alliance Program Momentum
IBM also announced that approximately 100 Business Partners have joined its Self Service Alliance Program. Since its introduction last September in conjunction with the IBM Consumer Services Initiative, Business Partners representing 11 industries, 18 solution areas and 17 countries have signed up to help develop, market and distribute IBM self-service solutions worldwide, helping extend IBM leadership in self service across multiple industries. In just eight months, the IBM Self-Service Alliance program has grown into one of the largest business partner ecosystem focused on self-service for multiple industries, including pharmacy, banking, government and manufacturing. The program represents nine new countries, including Israel, Malaysia, Romania and Guatemala.

Pricing and Availability
The IBM AnyPlace Checkout will be available May 23 and is approximately half the price of a traditional self checkout system.

Retalix and IBM: Technology Solutions For Convenience and Petroleum Retailers

Retalix announced today a worldwide partnership with IBM to deliver combined software, hardware and services solutions to petroleum and convenience store retailers of all sizes. The partnership was announced at NACStech, the National Association of Conveninece Stores’ technology show, held in Dallas.

Retalix and IBM will jointly market and implement technology solutions based on Retalix software applications, which are designed to support the specific business needs of petroleum and convenience retailers from the fuel pump and the point-of-sale (POS) to the headquarters. The combination of IBM hardware and Retalix software is already a solution of choice for several leading petroleum and convenience retailers.

“Whether retailers are operating hundreds of sites or just a few stations, they can benefit from the combination of IBM point-of-sale hardware and services with Retalix’s industry-tailored software solutions,” said Steve Ladwig, General Manager, IBM Retail Store Solutions. “Retailers using both IBM and Retalix solutions can enhance customer service levels, lower overall operating costs, and reward loyal customers by delivering targeted promotions either in the store or at the pump.”

Retalix offers a broad line of software applications designed for petroleum and convenience store retailers, including Retalix StorePoint POS and store backoffice; Retalix Fuel, Retalix Commercial Fuel, Retalix HQ-Convenience for central price management; Retalix DemandAnalytX for optimization of store ordering and Retalix Loyalty and Promotions.

“Retalix and IBM share a rich track record of addressing the needs of petroleum and conveneince retailers, which made it natural to expand our cooperation into a joint worldwide go-to-market strategy,” said Barry Shaked, president and CEO of Retalix. “The expansion of our existing technology partnership and reseller agreements underscores the increased value Retalix and IBM bring to customers by delivering tailored software solutions on IBM hardware with support from IBM Global Services and other partners around the world.”

Recently, IBM announced that it will work with StoreNext Retail Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Retalix, to market pre-packaged retail solutions powered by IBM point-of-sale systems for independent retailers and regional chains in both the grocery and convenience retail segments. Retalix and StoreNext software applications on powerful IBM POS units will give retailers greater flexibility and choice to meet their IT requirements.

For information on IBM Retail, please visit ibm.com/retail

Microsoft’s Live Mesh: an early technology preview

Yesterday Microsoft showed the world Live Mesh, this collaboration and synchronization platform/service will have around 10,000 testers and they will give the service a good going over starting this week thanks to the technology preview of Live Mesh that testers get.

You can see some images on this page of what Microsoft’s Live Mesh looks like and a little bit of information for each. Users of Live Mesh will see a cloud (see photo above) that lists all of the applications, files and devices that they are connected with.

Live Mesh’s Sign In dialog box prompts users for theier Windows Live IDs.

After installing the Live Mesh software, users will see a Live Mesh notifier icon in the their Windows taskbar. Hovering on the icon brings up the Live Mesh notifier, which provides updates on what’s going on in users’ meshes.

The Live Mesh Notifier provides a choice of three views of what’s in users’ meshes. The three are Folders view, Devices view and News-Feed view. This is what the Devices view looks like.

Users can choose how Live Mesh folders are synchronized across their meshes by specifying the devices on which they want the folders to be available and when to synchronize files.

Live Mesh allows users to monitor not just devices and folders, but also people who are selected to be part of a mesh. In the Live Mesh bar Members view, users can see who else has access to particular Live Folders and invite others to share folders.

The Remote Desktop will provide users with a way to access devices, folders and other data remotely. This feature is built on top of the Windows Remote Desktop Protocol.

Source: Read

3K Unveils Longitude 400 Notebook UMPC: Another Eee PC knockoff

3K has decided to unveil their new Longitude 400 Notebook and weighs in at just under 2Lbs. This ultra lightweight ultra mobile PC has a 7-inch LCD screen, it seems as we are looking at yet another Eee PC knockoff.

The Longitude 400 Notebook is perfect if you are on the move or if you are a student who needs a cheap and small alternative to a standard laptop. Do not think for one moment that the new Longitude 400 UMPC will be slow and useless as you would be wrong, you are able to do all your everyday tasks like you would normally do on your standard size notebook from browsing the net, sending messages, playing movies and music and much more.

The 3K Longitude 400 Notebook UMPC uses an energy saving 400Mhz CPU, there is also a full size keyboard as well as 1 Ethernet 10/100 LAN port and 3 USB ports. The UMPC comes with the Linux Operating System and will be combatible with programs such as AbiWord, Excel, GNUMeric as well as Word.

The 3K Longitude 400 Notebook UMPC will cost $399 and will be available by late May, so if you want one you should reserve your order now as there will be a high demand.

Source - Business Wire

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