HP buys Via nano processors, but for which laptop?

Despite Intel's barrage with its Atom architecture, Via has managed to land a contract with HP for its nano low-power CPU. To be fair, the Via nano is actually good and has surpassed Intel's Atom in many performance benchmarks, even if Atom is lower power. Now, we don't yet know what HP will do with these CPUs. Is it for a successor of the HP mini-note 2133? Only time will tell.

Dell to dump 1 million UMPCs on the market

Ultra-mobile PCs are getting all the attention these days, but even if we don't own or want one, is it really possible not to like these cute little machines? The word on the street in Taiwan is that Dell has ordered 1 million UMPCs to local contract manufacturers. The small computers would have solid state drives (SSD) of 4GB or 8GB.

We're still waiting for the official announcement of the Dell Inspiron 910 aka Dell mini-Inspiron aka Dell E.

British Army bomb-dropping UFOs to deploy

This little UAV is capable of surveillance missions and even drop a (grenade-sized) explosive device into locations like building interiors. Small and without external blades, it could sneak-in via by a window. I suspect that surveillance is going to be the primary use (yup with HD video and all). Right now, it runs on gas, which is quite noisy, but there is hope that a future electric engine could make it quiet enough to do some serious espionage missions.

Password Stealing Trojan On The Loose

Security experts at MicroWorld have reported an alarming increase in the number of infections caused by the ZBot-D Trojan. The ZBot-D Trojan also known as ZBot, first surfaced in February, 2008 and mostly spreads via e-mails.

It can effortlessly disable the firewall, steal financial data, and can also provide the hacker remote access to the infected system.

ZBot has been designed very craftily to perform multiple malicious activities at a given point of time. It can modify system files, create new system processes and automatically delete cookies in the Internet Explorer URL cache, so that key strokes are recorded and sent to the botnet herder, when unsuspecting users enter their passwords on online banking Web sites.

Once a user opens a ZBot infected e-mail, a file named ‘ntos.exe’ is automatically installed in the system folder that adds entries in the registry to automatically invoke the Trojan at the system start up. The Trojan then creates havoc in the system such as, forwarding your personal details to remote Web sites from where the details are used by hackers and botnet herders, which in turn is sold to criminals for financial gains.

The little bastard also starts flooding your inbox with loads of spam and transforms the infected machine into a zombie computer, member of a botnet network. The zombie machines are then used for performing criminal activities like, Coordinated DDOS Attacks, spamming etc. by the botnet controller.

iBUYPOWER Video PC Line

iBUYPOWER has just launched its new line of Video PCs that target the growing amateur videographer market which has strong drivers such as YouTube to keep the community abuzz with new material daily. Known as the Video Bot, this NZXT Appollo cased computer will come with the following specifications :-

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor
• nVidia 9800GT graphics card
• 4GB RAM

There are Pro and Extreme models available, boasting much more RAM, superior processors and a meaner-looking case, no doubt capable of keeping things inside running cooler as well. All of them will come with integrated 8-channel surround sound, Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition, and a 12-in-1 memory card reader.

LaCie Air Vents Speakers

LaCie does its level best to introduce both form and functionality into its creations, and the latest pair of portable USB speakers are known as Air Vents. Taking the minimalist route, this two-piece speakers will look pretty much like air ventilation outlets that sit atop most modern skyscrapers, featuring 2" drivers and a rubber ring at the bottom to prevent these speakers from slipping away. It also comes in business-like colors of black and white, making it suitable for either the office or at home. It is USB powered, so there is no need to lug around an additional power adapter on your travels although you would stand to benefit by carrying a USB hub around. The LaCie Air Vents speakers will retail for $59.99 while the FireWire version goes for a much more expensive $99.99.

Viruses Hide Behind Facebook/MySpace Identity

Social networking fans, beware! There is a virus going around that parades around as messages from your 'friends' from your MySpace or Facebook accounts, but in reality is an extremely destructive virus. Known as Win32.Koobecaf.a, it sends malicious content to MySpace users, while Facebook fans will have to contend with a variant known as Win32.Koobecaf.b. Be on your guard always, put on your thinking cap before you click on just about any link, and do keep your computer updated with the latest anti-virus software (and definitions) always.

500GB Disc From Pioneer

Pioneer engineers seem to love breaking barriers as they unveil a 500GB optical disc, throwing in an additional 100GB compared to the earlier 16-layer optical disc. This time round, you will get 25 layers crammed inside, and it can be manufactured to function just fine with Blu-ray players. I'm not too sure what to do with all that space on a single disc - perhaps Sony can release 20 full HD movies on a single disc in order to save on shipping costs? It will take around two to four years before this new optical disc is made available to the general public, making me wonder who is brave enough to be an early adopter when this is released.

HP Wants Touchscreen Notebook

HP has plans to roll out a notebook with touchscreen capability within the next 18 months that will further improve upon the current tx series, aiming for a more natural interface that does not require on a stylus to work within a conventional model. According to HP, the sense of touch is almost the preferred method for non-technical savvy users - just how intuitive this will be remains to be seen. Will it go one up on the iPhone's multitouch interface? I don't know, but this custom interface won't wait for Microsoft Windows 7. What do you think?