Daily News Brief: Newegg Sets Stage for Showdown with Amazon!

Newegg Takes Aim at Amazon

Most enthusiasts generally consider Newegg to be the go-to e-tailer for PC parts, just as Amazon built a reputation as THE online portal for books. But no longer a virtual one-trick pony, Amazon has grown into a mega online outlet, offering everything from DRM-free MP3s to baby diapers. Newegg may soon carry Pampers too. Currently in beta form, NeweggMall.com gives smaller retailers an online outlet to hawk their goods, with Newegg taking a portion of the revenue from the sale. The site will officially launch May 27.

Are You Funny?

Prove it, says Dilbert creator Scott Adams. A new feature recently added to the online home of the comic strip allows you to do just that. In the cartoon mashups, Scott leaves the final frame blank and challenges readers to come up with funnier captions than the original. And starting in May, budding comic strip writers will get to rewrite the entire strip. Give it a shot, and please, no 'All Your Office Are Belong to Us.'

FoxNews Double-Takes

• GOOOAAAALLLLL, *BEEP* *BOOP*! That's how we envision the sounds emanating from a soccer field with robot contestants, and bringing such a fantasy to reality is the annual RoboCup German Open at the Hannover Trade Fair. Little robotic jocks range from thumb-sized twerps to 2 1/2 foot super athletes. FoxNews has the inside look here.
• FoxNews also has an update on the inmate who attempted to sue ex-NFL quarterback Michael Vick. That never panned out, but Jonathan Lee Riches, serving time for a conviction on wire fraud charges, has now filed a request for a temporary restraining order against the makers of Grand Theft Auto IV. Riches claims the GTA series contributed to his committing identity theft, and wants Rockstar Games to cease distribution of the "newest Grand Theft Auto games." More here.

RAM Prices on the Rise?

Sir Isaac Newton proved that what goes up must come down, but memory chip makers hope that what goes down might soon go back up. And maybe they are. According to figures posted by DRAMeXchange, DRAM chips saw a sequential growth of over 3 percent in the second half of April amid supply reduction. Understandably DRAM manufacturers still say that isn't enough, instead hoping for an appreciation in the ballpark of 20 percent. If you're in the market for DDR2, this might be as good as the pricing will get, making it a good time to buy.

MacBook Air Worth Its Weight in Gold

Here's one for you Mac fans: Computer Choppers has the world's first 24kt Gold and Sapphire MacBook Air, complete with a polished gold superdrive. The blinged out notebook joins the site's lineup of iPimped products, including platinum iMac and iPhones. Take a peek here.

More Adware, Please!

Between frequent anti-spyware scans and a market saturated with PC security products, it seems unfathomable that end-users could actually want adware on their systems. Still, new statistics released by Microsoft reveal a surprisingly large number of computer owners taking a nonchalant attitude towards internet cruft, and according to Tim Rains, group product manager for Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group, some "customers choose to run some of this stuff." o_0