Toshiba has taken note of the importance of digital security these days, and with that thought in mind they’ve released several new external hard drives for those that are hoping to keep their tracks thoroughly covered.

With the introduction of their new portable external hard drives, they’re hoping to make data security something that’s easily accessible to everyone (just so long as they have one of their drives). The drives will feature NTI BackupNow EZ software (for Windows users), which will allow the backup of an entire system with a click. It’ll also be able to scan your computer, and provide a personalized recommendation on the best way to cover your files.

There will also be password protection with up to 256-bit encryption. All of this will be accessed through a graphical interface, which Toshiba expects will make “backing up digital data easier than ever.”

“We’ve increased the level of protection offered by our personal storage products, while making them easier to use,” stated Manuel Camarena, product manager for consumer storage at Toshiba Storage Device Division. “Data backup usually isn’t a consumer’s first thought, but it is the most important consideration for preserving a lifetime of digital memories, entertainment libraries and the entire computer system.  Enhanced backup features combined with password-protected encryption create a true digital safety net that any consumer can use to protect against system failure and unauthorized access to their digital content.”

These drives are available now in 500GB and 320GB flavors, and will run you $149.99 and $119.99 respectively.

Acer, always looking to turn their laptop line into a laptop army, recently added the Aspire AS7735Z and the Aspire AS5536 (pictured) to their arsenal.

The AS7735Z will come with a 17.3-inch display, and feature Nvidia’s PowerSave functionality (allowing users to get prolonged battery life by activating variable graphic settings). Under the hood it’ll come with an Intel T4200 processor, a 250GB HDD, and an 8X DVD-super multi double-layer drive (sounds like a Japanese game show!).

The AS5536 will come with an Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor, 4GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD and a 15.6-inch screen. This machine is being marketed as a “mobile multimedia powerhouse,” and is reported to feature a Dolby Home Theater surround sound system, two built-in stereo speakers, an Acer Tuba CineBass booster and 5.1-channel audio output.

Both of these machines will come with high definition CineCrystal LED-backlit 16:9 displays, and the AS7735Z and AS5536 will cost $599.99 and $479.99 respectively. They’ll be available for those of us in the US at the end of June.

For those of you still enjoying the Windows 7 beta (build 7000), know that your free time is coming to a close.

On July 1, 2009, those of you still running the beta will be told to install a released version of Windows, followed by your PC shutting down automatically every two hours. If on August 1, 2009 you’re still on the beta, your license will expire and the non-genuine lifestyle will be at your doorstep. That means you’ll lose your wallpaper and “This copy of Windows is not genuine” will be displayed in the lower right hand corner above the taskbar (the fiends!).

However, if you’ve already moved onto build 7100 (as I’m sure many of you already have), you’ll be in good shape until March 1, 2010. If you haven’t though, make sure to get it soon – downloads will be halted on August 15, 2009.

According to a recent poll very few Americans are onboard with high definition media players, given that only 11 percent own an HD-DVD player, while 7 percent own a Blu-ray player.

While these numbers may not seem that high, they are up notably from 2008, where only 6 percent had HD-DVD players, and 4 percent had Blu-ray players. And, while there are a good amount of people with these players, many are still buying standard definition discs to watch on them, with only one high definition disc being bought per six standard definition discs.

Interesting results, especially given that Blu-ray was declared the winner of the format war sometime last year.

If you’d like to see the whole poll, be sure to check it out here (clicking the link will download a PDF).

Congressman Eric Massa, who represents New York’s 29th district, is taking a stand against what he sees as an abusive industry: broadband providers. Having recently written a bill, which he plans to introduce to the U.S. House of Representatives, he’s hoping to give the Federal Trade Commission the authority to veto ISP data capping plans.

“Volume-based pricing is detrimental to our economy,” stated Representative Massa at a press conference.  “I became aware of this issue when Rochester doctors said it would have a catastrophic impact.  They rely on broadband for their professional work, and pricing would triple their bill.  Volume usage charges for broadband Internet access that are substantially above cost in a market without sufficient competition constitute an unfair and unconscionable practice, as substantially above-cost pricing has anti-competitive and anti-consumer effects on Internet use.”

He also continued, stating that if we don’t remove data capping plans on ISPs, we could stunt the growth of online video, and potentially hurt “agricultural, medical, educational, environmental, library and nonprofit purposes” as well.

Representative Massa reportedly features tough competition from his colleagues, who support the ISPs and their lobbyists. Still, he remains vigilant.

According to recent reports, the production cost for Blu-ray players is roughly $100 today, thanks to pick-up heads and chipsets making up 50 and 25 percent of this cost, respectively. Though, it’s expected that this price will come down greatly, providing consumers with the potential for $50 players.

Thanks to Sears and Meijer selling players at only $99.99, many industry professionals are expecting that the players will soon be seeing a price drop, if larger resellers are able to sell them at this price. The price drop is currently being linked to more makers of the two key components (the pick-up heads and chipsets) sporting higher yield rates.

Recently HP announced their brand spankin’ new HD Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web, allowing users to print web content straight from the printer.

The Photosmart’s TouchSmart Web UI system works on a 4-inch widescreen panel that features a row of thumbnails that you flick through in order to access what you wish to print. It also comes with an open API, allowing any web content developer to create their own widgets.

HP expects that the new Photosmart will revolutionize and “change the way people think about printing.” Typical taglines, but for those interested, the printer is WiFi enabled, can copy, scan and fax, and will cost $399.

Earlier today Seagate announced several additions to its line of BlackArmor external hard drives.

The drives, which are aimed at small businesses, include the BlackArmor NAS 220 storage server, BlackArmor WS 110 external drive and the BlackArmor PS 110 portable drive. The NAS 220 will be able to hold up to 4TB of storage, and sports data protection for up to 20 PCs on a network. The WS 110, which is meant to be a desktop accessory, will come with USB 2.0 and eSATA connectors, and packs with up to 2TB worth of space. And, lastly, the PS 110 comes with up to 500GB of storage, and will feature with a standard USB 2.0 connector.

The NAS 220 will be available starting at $699.99 for the 4TB model starting in July, whereas the WS 110 and PS 110 are available now for $309.99 (2TB) and $159.99 (500GB), respectively.

According to Rick Bergman, AMD’s Senior Vice President for Platforms, he and his crew are looking to beat Nvidia to the world of DX11.

According to Bergman, “We want to supply hardware to Microsoft and software developers so they can make DX11 games on our hardware first.” This would put AMD ahead of Nvidia, something that hasn’t happened for several years, thanks to Nvidia’s dominance in the DX10 market. “We were kind of fighting from behind, but with DX11 it feels like we’re ahead this round.”

Despite reports that very few game titles would take advantage of DX11, Bergman is keeping up his enthusiasm. Reportedly, he knows of a handful of independent software vendors that are working “eagerly” to release games.

While The Pirate Bay has proved to be a powder keg of controversy, it looks like Norway’s biggest ISP, Telenor, is the latest to be caught in its blast.

After a few victories against Danish ISPs, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is looking to take aim at Norway. Telenor has reportedly been asked to completely block all access to The Pirate Bay within 14 days, or face a lawsuit.

In response, Telenor’s Ragnar Kårhus has stated, "This would be the same as demanding that the postal service should open all letters, and decide which ones should be delivered." They have since refused to give into the demands of the IFPI, and stated that they should file the lawsuit if they deem it necessary.

Sure, everyone’s heard of OnLive when it comes to gaming in the cloud, but few have heard of OTOY.

OTOY is a small company that’s looking to bring server-side 3D rendering to any client. Sure, this sounds pretty standard, but where it differs from OnLive is key – it allows you to play these games from any browser, and any platform with no plugins or downloads. And, thanks to two big partners that go by the names AMD and EA, it could become a reality.

All that’s required of the gamer is a broadband connection and a computer, and you can get games at up to 720p graphics (again, with no plugins or downloads). There’s reportedly also a way to get 1080p graphics, but it’s a bit more intensive.

No word yet on how much this service will cost or when it’ll come to fruition, but it’s looking pretty slick. You can see two videos of it in action here and here.

While many of us consider Bing to be no real threat to Google, it would seem that Google thinks otherwise. With the recent unveiling of their “Explore Google Search” page, they’re allowing users to see everything that they offer.

The new page features plenty of tips on quick searches that can help you on a day-to-day basis. Everything from weather, movie times, sports scores and flight tracking is available all through Google’s search engine.

If you want to see how Google is stepping up their game and showing off every feature that they offer, be sure to check out the page here.

According to market researcher ComScore, Bing has had a successful second week in the world of search engines.

Bing is up roughly 3 percent from where Microsoft was before they rebranded and reworked Live Search, in terms of total searches and total query share.

“It appears that Microsoft Bing has continued to generate interest from the market for the second consecutive week,” stated ComScore’s Senior VP, Mike Hurt. “[This] early data reflect[s] a continued positive market reaction to Bing in the initial stages of its launch.”

Still though, it’s very early in the game. As great as this improvement is, Microsoft still has a lot of catching up to do if they plan to seriously compete with Google – and they seem to recognize that.

Build 7232 of Windows 7 was recently leaked onto the Internet, and many believe that this is one of the last builds before Microsoft gets ready to give the operating system Release To Manufacturing status.

The new build features plenty of improvements since the last, most notably in the realm of driver support and application compatibility. More importantly though, Microsoft has included a brand new wallpaper which takes the place of the betta fish, and shows off a stylized new Windows logo.

The new build is primarily available through torrents, and there’s no official word as to when Microsoft plans to release it to the public.

UPDATE: After only a few hours, it looks like 7260 is the latest build to make its way to the public via a leak, this time thanks to Russian site Wzor. Still though, the new background screen remains. By bye betta.

For some time now there’s been speculation as to just what processor is under the hood of the Zune HD. Now, it has finally been confirmed that it is the Nvidia Tegra that’s allowing potential users to view video in HD.

PC Perspective’s Ryan Shrout was able to confirm the news after hearing about the Tegra’s role in the new Zune at Computex in early June. The Tegra was chosen due to its ability to decode a video stream using only 150 mWatts of power and output audio at only 20 mWatts.

With the Zune HD’s 3.3-inch 480x272 OLED display, it’ll be able to playback H.264 content and output video via HDMI at 720p.

AMD has slated November 2009 as the month that they will begin mass production of their 8 series chipsets.

The new RD890 chipset is poised to replace the RD790 and RS880D in January 2010, after they pass the engineering verification (EVT) and design verification tests (DVT). The RD890 will pair up with AMD’s quad-core AM3 processors in the high-end market, and will support DDR3 memory and HyperTransport 3.0.

Along with this, AMD is planning to launch their SB800 series of southbridges in January of next year.

Most smart phones now days are run off of ARM processors (that includes the iPhone and the Palm Pre), and while their performance is already pretty slick, a new dual-core ARM processor is set to hit next year that promises to greatly increase their capabilities.

The new processor, also known as the ARM Cortex-A9, is set to release early 2010. ARM is stating that while the chip is dual-core, it’ll offer users increased battery life in daily usage compared to their current generation of single-core chips.

Reportedly, the A9 will also give smartphones the ability to play 1080p, as well as record HD video.

Not long after their acquisition of SiliconSystems, Western Digital has finally released their own line of high end SSDs.

The SiliconDrive III range of SSDs are primarily aimed at the aerospace, communications and military markets, and only come in sizes up to 120GB. But, they do feature SiSMART, will come as 2.5-inch SATA/PATA or 1.8-inch Micro SATA devices, and will feature native SATA 3Gb/s or ATA-7 interfaces. They’ll feature read and write speeds of 100MB/s and 80MB/s respectively.

No word yet on pricing or availability.

In just three days after it’s release, the Kindle DX has already completely sold out.

Amazon has stated that they will restock their coffers with Kindles by June 17th, but there’s no word on how many they’ll be bringing in, or if they’re producing more to meet the overwhelming demand. It’s expected that the Kindle will bring in $1.2 billion in sales in 2010 and a whopping $3.7 billion in 2012.

Looking to fill any potential holes in the mobile graphics card market, Nvidia recently annouced the 40nm G210M, GT 230M, GT 240M, GTS 250M and GTS 260M GPUs.

These new GPUs will come with GDDR3 and have memory ranging from 512MB to 1GB, and come in alongside the preexisting GTX 280M, GTX 260M and GTS 160M.

The new cards will reportedly use half the power of their predecessors, while doubling the performance. And, they’ll be SLI, HybridPower, CUDA, Windows 7 and DirectX 10.1 compatible.

No word as to what markets Nivida is aiming at with these, but once their pricing sheet is released it’ll all become clear.