Samsung SH-B022A, SH-B026A Blu-ray burners

Samsung SH-B022A, SH-B026A Blu-ray burners: "Filed under: HDTV, Peripherals, Storage Previously displayed only under glass, or doled out for review to the privileged few, Samsung has begun showing off some of the company's first Blu-ray burners, which are expected to hit retail shelves in April. Heading the pack is the SH-B022A, an internal drive that supports both 25GB single-layer Blue-ray discs and 50GB double-layer discs with 2x write-speeds (so, yeah, you should go grab a meal if you're burning a 50GB BD). The drive also supports DVD burning at 12x and CD burning at 40x. An external version, the SE-B026A, has similar features along with a swanky case. Pricing hasn't been announced, but earlier word was that the drives would go for about $500. "

Shutdown the system

The screens informing that Windows is shutting down are so nicely done, one can’t happen but wonder whether it is so that user will be more eager to quickly relaunch the system again. Guidebookgallery is showing them all, Amiga, Windows Longhorn, Mac OS X Panther, Gnome, etcetera, etcetera.

Orange plans SIMs with 8,000 times more capacity

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Mobile phone group Orange plans to launch SIM cards this year that can store up to 8,000 times the data stored on present day SIMs, potentially helping to transform a traditional phone into a multimedia player.

The France Telecom unit said on Wednesday the 512-megabyte "MegaSIM" cards could store up to 130 songs, three movies or 80 games, compared with existing 64 kilobyte cards which could at best store a phone book and some text messages.

"The SIM will... remove the need for clumsy additional card slots that are required today to provide storage in multimedia handsets," the firm said in a statement.

Orange, which plans to roll out these cards across Europe this year, said the MegaSIM was the result of a collaboration with M-systems, Oberthur Card Systems and LG Electronics

SipPhone Lands $6 Million, Expanding into WiFi and Dual Mode Phones

SipPhone Lands $6 Million, Expanding into WiFi and Dual Mode Phones: "Never one to miss where the market is heading, Michael Robertson has grabbed $6 million in investment money out of New York City and is indicating that his intent is to move into dual mode handsets, meaning WiFi/IP meets 3G cellular. That's a concept I have been hot on for sometime, ever since my buddy Jeff Craig at Bridgeport Networks almost two years ago or so started to fill my head with the possibilities of just what their technology can do.

What Robertson is doing and the direction he's taking SipPhone/Gizmo Project is much more focused and ultimately more on point with where other IM/Voice players have to go. Unlike Skype which is still focusing on dual capability, not real dual mode, Gizmo Project is seeking to really blend the two world together on one device, using the HLR (Home Location Registry) to pass the traffic between the circuit switched cellular world and the IP driven WiFi world.

As a GizmoProject user for some time not only am I happy to see this fund raising occur, I think their roadmap is right on.
"

High Dynamic Range photography

"HDR is a process whereby you take a number of shots of the same scene at different exposures and then merge them all together into a single image, with amazingly vivid results.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/hdr/"

The Rootkit of All Evil

The Rootkit of All Evil: "Bruce Sterling looks at the repercussions of Sony's digital-rights quagmire and wonders if a dangerous precedent hasn't been set. From Wired magazine."

Cable research industry working on new standard for VoIP enhancement

Cable research industry working on new standard for VoIP enhancement: "CableLabs, the research arm of the U.S. cable television industry, is preparing an updated standard that would enable its members to enhance their current VoIP offerings with video telephony, TV-based instant messaging, and integration of VoIP service with wireless. This would be done via the forthcoming PacketCable 2.0 communications standard,an upgrade of the PacketCable 1.5 standard now in effect.

Considering that most cable companies are CableLabs members, the effect of the new 2.0 standard on VoIP and broadband services is likely to be huge. "