Video about the new technology.
HP Set To Buy Smart Phone Maker Palm
Palm Inc. a pioneer in the smart phone business that couldn't quite make the comeback it needed, has agreed to be bought out by Hewlett-Packard Co. for about $1 billion in cash.
The companies announced Wednesday that the deal will see HP pay $5.70 for every Palm common share. Palm had closed trading Wednesday at $4.63 but traded as high as $18.09 in the past 52 weeks.
When debt is included, the deal values Palm at $1.2 billion.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of July.
Last year Palm unveiled a stylish touch-screen phone, the Pre, that was well reviewed but didn't ring up many sales. Palm struggled to stand out in a market dominated by Apple and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd.
But HP said Palm's webOS operating system, which runs the Pre and the similar Pixi phone, will help it participate more aggressively in the fast-growing market for Internet-connected mobile devices. It also said Palm's current chairman and CEO, former Apple Inc. executive Jon Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company.
Donna Dubinsky and Jeff Hawkins founded Palm in 1992, and in 1995 it was bought by U.S. Robotics, a modem maker that itself was bought by 3Com Corp. in 1997. Palm spun off again as its own company in 2000. [Source:npr]
Linux Ubuntu 10.04 - Codename: Lucid Lynx
The new version of Ubuntu came out last Friday and I must say it is looking good.
I'm going to assume most of you don't use Ubuntu or any other Linux distro so here's why I use Ubuntu.
- It's faster than Windows and prettier than OS X (It's also faster than OS X I believe and definitely prettier than Windows).
- More customisable than the both of them.
- Makes an old Pentium 4 PC seem like the latest in computing technology.
- More stable that Windows (no blue screen of death here!).
- It uses what is known as 'workspaces' or 'viewports' which is like having multiple desktops (I never have to minimise anything!).
- Email, chat, and social networking is integrated into the desktop.
- Applications are downloaded through secure servers called 'repositories' (No risk of catching a virus from downloading executables).
- There are basically no viruses or other malware for Linux.
- Very helpful online community.
- New updates everyday - sometimes even bring new features or performance updates (Makes things exciting!).
- Very easy to use.
- Thousands of applications that can be downloaded for free from the repositories.
- Best of all - it's FREE!!
So yea, put Ubuntu on your list of OS's to consider for your computer. You could always try it if you download the CD from their website - doesn't need to be installed! But it will be noticeably slower than if you do actually install it.
Go to www.ubuntu.com for more info.
Can a Wi-Fi radio be stuffed into an SD card?
Short answer: Yes. And you can buy one today.
This is the Eye-Fi Pro X2 and it allows you to upload photos to your computer or the internet straight from your digital camera - wirelessly. The Eye-Fi Pro X2 supports 802.11b/g/n and can also connect to ad-hoc servers which means you can upload to a laptop or computer without the need for an access point.
With this wireless business, the Eye-Fi Pro X2 can practically have an 'Endless Memory' by deleting files from the card as they are uploaded - but with 8GB of storage, most people will manage fine without it.
This does come a bit pricey, US$149.99 from the website, but it could be worth it since this technology is revolutionary and I believe everyone will wirelessly uploading photos whether with Eye-Fi cards or in the future, built-in Wi-Fi in digital camera's. [Photo: Engadget]