Welcome to PPV

Laptop Hunters! This is the title of the series of ads by Microsoft to break down laptop shoppers into segments such as gamers, jetsetters, socialites, designers and parents. Watch their video:

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:0bb6a07c-c829-4562-8375-49e6693810c7&showPlaylist=true&from=msnvideo" target="_new" title="Laptop Hunters $1000 – Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion">Video: Laptop Hunters $1000 – Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion</a>

REDMOND, Wash. — March 18, 2009 — Today Microsoft Corp. announced the availability of Windows Internet Explorer 8, the new Web browser that offers the best solution for how people use the Web today. It can be downloaded in 25 languages at this link starting at noon EDT on March 19. Internet Explorer 8 is easier to use, faster and offers leading-edge security features in direct response to people’s increasing concerns about online safety. A new study commissioned by Microsoft and the National Cyber Security Alliance and conducted by Harris Interactive Inc. shows that 91 percent of adults in the U.S. are concerned about online threats in the current economic climate, and 78 percent are more likely to choose a Web browser with built-in security than they were two years ago.

“Customers have made clear what they want in a Web browser — safety, speed and greater ease of use,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. “With Internet Explorer 8, we are delivering a browser that gets people to the information they need, fast, and provides protection that no other browser can match.”

In response to extensive customer research and input from tens of millions of customer sessions, Microsoft developed Internet Explorer 8 to focus on what matters most to people. The security enhancements offer protection against existing and emerging security threats online. It blocks two to four times more malware attacks than other browsers; cuts down on the time it takes to complete common tasks on the Web such as searching, mapping and sharing, including navigating 15 of the 20 top worldwide sites; and blurs the lines between the services they use daily and the browser used to access the Internet.

Charlie of The Inquirer took these pics at the Thermaltake booth at CeBit 2009 while the PR folks there are not looking. He loses his heart on this thing too! :)

The idea behind it was to break up the case into it's elements, packaging those in a new and elegant form factor. Unless you are blind, you will see that they hit both marks dead on. Thermaltake did right in a way that very few companies do any more, and the results stood out as a clear best in the show.

This thing will be a very limited edition case meant to promote the 10th anniversary of Thermaltake.

For those new to Linux and free software, it can be a daunting experience learning how to install and use it. And the guys at Linux Format Magazine know that, so they're giving away their 130-page Linux Starter Pack on making the move to Linux, centred on Ubuntu, as a free PDF download.

All they ask is to link to their page which is what I did on this blog entry, and head over to Linux Format for more information on the world's finest Linux magazine. :)

If boxing has a "People's Champ", automotive has a "People's Car". Tagged as the world's cheapest car, the Tata Nano car is introduced at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, India and priced at just over $2,500.


This Nano car have four doors, tiny wheels placed out at the far corners of the body and what looked like plenty of room inside. The Nano has just enough space for a briefcase or small bag under the hood. The engine — all two cylinders, 624cc and 33 horsepower of it — is in the back, just like the Volkswagen Beetle of old. The speedometer and other instruments cluster in a central pod in the middle of the dashboard rather than directly in front of the driver, the easier (and cheaper) to offer both left- and right-hand versions when Tata Motors starts exporting the car to Southeast Asia and Africa in a couple of years. The top third of the over-sized headlights act as the turn signals (indicators) and look like cheeky yellow eyebrows above the main lights. It has a top speed of about 60 miles per hour.

Here's a video from YouTube:

The mobile phone industry plans to introduce a universal charger as part of a drive to improve its previously patchy environmental record.



This will mean phone users no longer have to hunt for the right charger, but the specifications for the new device include a 50% reduction in standby energy consumption.

Samsung jumps onto the green bandwagon with its Blue Earth cell phone, equipped with a solar panel on the back that will charge up any time you're out in the sunshine. It is Samsung’s vision for environmental sustainability under the slogan: “The Blue Earth Dream: Eco-living with Samsung mobile”.


Blue Earth is the first solar powered touchscreen phone. It is made from recycled plastic called PCM, which is extracted from water bottles, helping to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions in the manufacturing process. The Samsung Blue Earth handset, including cell phone charger, is free from harmful substances such as Brominated Flame Retardants, Beryllium and Phthalate. The packaging for Samsung Blue Earth phone is designed to be both small and light, made from recycled paper, and comes with a 5 star energy efficient charger which uses standby power lower than 0.03W. As part of the Voluntary Agreement of European Commission IPP (Integrated Product Policy) pilot program, Samsung has agreed to start using rating on energy consumption on the no-load mode of the mobile phone charger.

Watch this YouTube video on how Team Finland made an amazing overclock and set a world record for a 3DMark06 score on a Phenom II X4 using Liquid Nitrogen.