Posted 11/24/09 at 10:30:00 AM by Alex Castle and Norman Chan

In a lot of PC publications, it’s the CPUs, video cards and other internal hardware that gets all the attention, with input devices relegated to a few pages here or there in the reviews section. But why should that be the case? Input devices are, after all, your point of connection to your machine. As keyboards, mice and game controllers have evolved over the years, so has the way we control and interact with our computers. That’s why we’ve chosen to give them the respect they deserve—by compiling a list of 50 of the most important, memorable, or just downright wacky input devices from the past, present and future of computing.

We’ve arranged our retrospective into logical sections: mice, keyboards, game controllers, and miscellaneous peripherals. Within each section, we’ve arranged the input devices chronologically, so read through from the beginning to get a sense for each devices history, where it’s at today, and where it’s going in the future.

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Posted 11/24/09 at 09:00:14 AM by Paul Lilly

Want to know what's even better than Ostendo's 43-inch CRVD curved display? Having three of them side-by-side, that's what. It isn't cheap, and at $6,500 each, three of them will run almost $20,000. That's a lot of scratch, but then again, have you seen this video?

According to Ostendo, the curved monitor measures 43 inches and offers an ultra-wide 32:10 aspect ratio, which is 180 percent wider than 16:9 displays and 240 percent wider than 4:3 monitors. It works with existing videocards and doesn't require any special hardware, software, or drivers, other than a graphics card powerful enough to push gaming pixels at a 2880x900 resolution.

Get the full low-down here.

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Posted 11/24/09 at 08:30:50 AM by Paul Lilly

It seems like we're constantly hearing about promising battery technologies that could ultimately lead to longer battery life, more power, and smaller units, but as of yet, that big breakthrough hasn't occurred. Maybe nanotechnology, which is the current hot topic in the battery innovations field, will prove to be different.

Right at this moment, a ton of research is being put into carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for a bunch of uses, including electronics and batteries. Researchers are drawn to CNTs because, according to them, carbon nanotubes are near perfect. That has paved the way for a professor and a UC San Diego graduate student to discover a breakthrough that involves introducing purposeful defects into CNT structures. By doing so, the 'defective' CNTs actually work better for the development of super capacitors, DailyTech reports.

"While batteries have large storage capacity, they take a long time to charge; while electrostatic capacitors can charge quickly but typically have limited capacity. However, super capacitors electrochemical capacitors incorporate the advantages of both," Professor Prabhakar Bandaru said.

The duo also discovered that other methods, such as bombarding CNTs with argon or hydrogen, could also increase or decrease the charge capacity. In the end, the two researchers believe that their discovery could ultimately lead to electronics that charge faster and last longer than what's available today.

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Posted 11/24/09 at 08:00:50 AM by Paul Lilly

Talk of the technology behind the PlayStation 3 console always turns to the Cell processor, an innovative chip architecture which, in the PS3, contains essentially 9 processors on single chip (one PowerPC chip and eight Synergistic Processing Elements, or SPEs). And up until now, there was no reason to believe Sony wouldn't once again go with a Cell processor in its PlayStation 4 console, but there now lingers some doubt if the chip truly is "dead in the water, as David Turek, IBM's VP of Deep Computing, supposedly said.

The quote comes from German webiste Heise Online, which goes on to claim that the planned successor to the current chip, which is slated to have two PowerPC processors and 32 SPEs, is no longer going to be released.

What exactly that means isn't entirely clear at the moment. So far, there's no evidence that IBM is halting development on Cell processors, only that the specifically planned successor has been canned. If we're to take a glass half-full approach, that could mean the PS4 will utilize an even more power Cell processor, though it's far to early to tell.

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Posted 11/24/09 at 07:30:50 AM by Paul Lilly

Talk of Dell releasing a smartphone has been going on for some time now, and come next week, the OEM will finally release its first handset, albeit not in the U.S.

China Mobile was selected as the carrier of Dell's Mini 3i, which the two companies jointly announced will be available by the end of the month in choice of Red Passion or Oiled Bronze.

Coming as no surprise, the Mini 3i will sport Google's open-source Android platform, arguably the hottest OS out there right now, It will be compatible with quad-band GSM/EDGE networks and boast a 3.5-inch touchscreen with a 640x360 resolution, and measure 4.8 by 2.3 by 0.46 inches. By comparison, the iPhone 3GS also sports a 3.5-inch display, but with a 480x320 resolution, and measures 4.4 by 2.4 by 0.48 inches. And at 4.7 ounces, it weighs an ounce more than Dell's Mini 3i.

Other features include GPS navigation, Bluetooth, an a 3MP camera with zoom, auto-focus, flash, video capture, and photo-editing capabilities, eWeek.com reports.

"This signals an important milestone in the long term partnership between China Mobile and Dell," a China Mobile spokesperson said in a statement. "We are excited for Dell to be among the first manufacturers to introduce new technology based on the OPhone platform. We look forward to working the Dell as it brings innovative new products and services to add value to our customers' lives."

China Mobile currently has over 500 million subscribers.

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Posted 11/24/09 at 07:04:06 AM by Paul Lilly

Cisco set out to put defense capabilities of Cisco Security Intelligence Operations (SIO) in the hands (literally) of IT managers, and has done so with the availability of Cisco SIO To Go, an Apple iPhone app.

The software gives IT pros real-time access to various actionable global security information, while also serving up several customization options for security information that could potentially help protect a business network.

Cisco's app includes real-time alerts and threat mitigation solutions from sources that include more than 700,000 globally deployed Cisco secuirty devices. It also includes Cisco IntelliShield, a historical-threat database of 40,000 vulnerabilities and 3,300 IPS signatures, and more than 600 third-party threat intelligence sources capable of tracking more than 500 third-party data feeds and 100 security news feeds 24/7, the company said.

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Posted 11/24/09 at 07:04:00 AM by Paul Lilly

Verizon this week unveiled its Teleheatlh Collaboration Services, which is designed to aid health care organizations in setting up online collaboration environments and let health care professionals collaborate remotely through the Internet with patients and colleagues.

"Health care providers increasingly are tapping the power of IT, and our telehealth solutions offer an effective way to meet a wide range of challenges, including the expansion of access to care, speeding diagnoses, and driving efficiency," Rajeev Kapoor, global managing director for Verizon Connected Healthcare, said in a statement.

Verizon isn't alone in pushing collaboration tools for health care professionals. Cisco in July announced it was joining forces with UnitedHealth Group to create the Connected Care program, which will combine audio and visual technologies with medical information that will benefit both doctor and patient.

According to analyst company Datamonitor, annual spending on telehealth hardware, software, and related services will balloon to $6.1 billion by 2012, eWeek.com reports.

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Posted 11/24/09 at 07:03:50 AM by Paul Lilly

Network specialist Nortel announced on Monday that it has been selected as the high bidder in the auction of nearly all of the optical networking and carrier Ethernet assets of Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) business. Under terms of the deal, Ciena will pay $530 million in cash and issue $239 million in aggregate principal amount of 6 percent Senior Convertible notes due in 2017. All tallied, the deal is worth $769 million.

"These optical and carrier Ethernet assets bring exceptional technologies, talent and scale that will accelerate Ciena’s current strategy to deliver innovative network solutions to customers worldwide," said Gary Smith, Ciena’s CEO and president. "With this combination, we are bringing together complementary technologies in switching and transport to create an innovative powerhouse with the scale to challenge the industry status quo and offer customers a practical path for transitioning to automated, optical Ethernet-based networking."

Ciena has high hopes for its latest acquisition, and not without merit. In 2008, Nortel generated about $1.36 billion in revenue, and $556 million (unaudited) in the first half of 2009.

At least 2,000 Nortel employees will be offered employment to become part of Ciena's global team of network specialists, the company said.

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Posted 11/24/09 at 04:37:09 AM by Nathan Grayson

Do you play MMOs? Have you ever purchased in-game currency with real money, or whipped up an auto-pilot “botting” script for a character? Don’t worry – you can tell us. We’ll keep your dirty little secret. Just keep your voice down, because NCSoft might be listening.

“Over the last week we've been working on a list, we've been checking it twice, and today we found out who was naughty or nice. Ban Hammer Claus just came to town. When the servers come back online, nearly 16,000 accounts will have been removed from the game,” an NCSoft rep wrote on Aion’s message boards.

But, but… when we were kids, our parents told us that Ban Hammer Claus didn’t exist! He’s just a myth – like the Tooth Fairy and competently functioning Mac products!

But 16,000 bans don’t lie. From now on, we’ll be on our best behavior, with the help of a handy FAQ NCSoft put together. You should read it too, lest you wish to face NCSoft’s seasonally themed wrath.

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Posted 11/24/09 at 03:53:14 AM by Nathan Grayson

Aside from one obscure little game whose name escapes our memory at the moment, WarCraft has been out of action since WarCraft 3: The Frozen Throne’s release back in 2003. Don’t take this world without WarCraft to mean that Blizzard’s completely iced the idea of a fourth entry in the popular fantasy RTS series, though. Just be prepared to wait a tick before scratching your orc-commanding, night elf-outsmarting itch.

"Warcraft 4 is certainly something that gets talked about on a pretty regular basis," Blizzard’s J. Allen Brack said in an interview with AusGamers. "While I think we're all excited about a Warcraft 4, in concept, [the WarCraft 3 team is] going to finish up StarCraft 2, and then they're going to work on the two StarCraft expansions that we've announced, so they're booked for the next few years."

And though he stopped just short of nailing the team to the project, Brack did say that "it does sort of make sense."

Another Blizzard game, another tremendous wait. But at least we can while away the, well, years until Diablo III’s launch with Torchlight. As for WarCraft 4, though... hey Runic, ever think about making an RTS?

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