Technology

When it was first introduced some time ago, the BlackBerry received its most fervent fanfare from business users who fawned over its push email and tiny keyboard. However, the original BlackBerry was never much of a looker, and its size made it the ... Pavarotti of handhelds. That changed with the introduction of the smaller, sleeker-looking Pearl, and now a modernization may be complete with the release of the Curve 8300. Although maker Research in Motion's BlackBerry has certainly had its success, the mainstream is still dominated by sleek, feature-laden cell phones. The Curve 8300 may just ... (view more)

It's the night before Christmas, and as your daughter is preparing for bed, An important reminder has entered your head. "I want a new Barbie" you hear your daughter implore, But her Christmas Barbie remains locked in the store. What does a parent ... do? Scream? Shout? Drive across the country to find one? Nope. All you have to do is casually walk over to your PC, download the blueprints for the doll, send it to the printer and a new Barbie will appear in your printing tray within hours. As wild as this concept is to imagine, 3D printers have existed for almost a decade now. They usually come in ... (view more)

Research in Motion is planning to launch a new wireless device that will appeal specifically to those who find difficulty when attempting to control their Blackberry. The Curve, named for its smooth edges and sleek design, will be the third model ... that Research in Motion has launched in less than a year. The mid-sized device would provide consumers with an alternative to the BlackBerry, by offering a full keyboard to type text rather than the smaller key pad offered on most BlackBerry models. The Curve will feature a small trackball below the screen to navigate through its menus with ease. ... (view more)

The next Apple shareholders' meeting will bring new pressure for the company to adopt more environmental purposes. And the benchmark for the new green standard is none other than the company's archrival, Dell. Trillium Asset Management is asking ... Apple shareholders to support a motion that would hold the company accountable for its environmental practices, by requiring the company to create a schedule for eliminating toxic materials from its hardware products. (Source: appleinsider.com ) "Consumers have grown to expect more from Apple, a leader in product design and innovation," said Shelley ... (view more)

Last year, former Vice President and one-time presidential hopeful Al Gore ushered the once subtle fear of global warming into the mainstream. Although we all knew the earth was getting warmer as a result of our messy, polluting little lives, Gore's ... documentary slammed home the importance of beginning a "greener" existence NOW. One of the most alarming contributors to global warming, unexpectedly, are car emissions. Now that the word is out, more and more consumers are interested in those vehicles that limit their impact on the environment. (Source: cnn.com ) Recently, CNET took a close look ... (view more)

Canadians itching to get their hands on an iPhone may be in for a disappointment. Rogers Wireless, the only Canadian company with a network compatible with Apple's iPhone, is now denying that it will be selling the highly anticipated handset, ... calling reports that suggest otherwise "speculation." (Source: appleinsider.com ) In an email to CBC News Online, Rogers' manager of corporate communications Odette Coleman said "we haven't announced whether we will carry the iPhone. Everything in the media has been speculations to this point. The only fact is that we are the only GSM carrier in Canada. ... (view more)

IBM is in the final stages of producing a chipset that will be able to download a high-definition movie in one single second, making it the fastest computer chipset ever. Industry experts are baffled by the new technology, especially since the ... average full-length movie takes about 30 minutes to download, let alone having high-definition capabilities. IBM correspondents announced that the optical chipset will be able to transfer information over eight times faster than those currently available on the market. (Source: siliconvalley.com ) Such high speed and time saving features will ultimately ... (view more)

Unnamed sources have claimed that Treo maker Palm Inc. may be up for sale, and could likely be acquired by one of its rivals. As a result, this may give Apple's iPhone some trouble. Although four companies are said to be interested in the Palm ... purchase, including two private equity groups, the two front-runners of the acquisition are Motorola and Nokia. Such an acquisition could re-shape the cellular phone market. (Source: appleinsider.com ) If Mortorola bought Palm, it would establish itself as the single largest supplier of Windows Mobile devices. This position could lead to an elimination ... (view more)

In the twilight of 2006, a few tech websites proclaimed the year defined by the spread of the Internet. One technology in particular, wireless Internet (or WiFi), has spread across the United States like wildfire. Many cities have taken on full WiFi ... networks, even footing the bill for expensive installation services. WiFi cafe restaurants, bars, and even shopping malls are becoming more and more common, with many retailers not even requesting a fee from users. (Source: gizmocafe.com ) So, how prominent is WiFi now? Well, according to a recent study, one-third of all Internet users are ... (view more)

VMware, a small Silicon Valley software-producing company, is attempting to tackle the industry's leader in software manufacturing, namely: Microsoft. VMware is a relatively young company and has been experimenting with cutting edge technology ... called "virtual-machine software". A virtual machine essentially mimics a computer so that several copies of an operating system can run on one physical machine. Tasks can be completed using less electricity and less space compared to a standard PC. (Source: nytimes.com ) It is also a product that occupies strategic ground in computing, as a layer of ... (view more)