Nine Baud Tech News

What the f? According to an article over on eWeek the latest models shipping from Apple contain a TPM chip. Amit Singh, a researcher with Google’s tech staff made the discovery. However the Mac OS X does not use the chip. Singh speculates that this was simply part of a delivery from Intel.

However, said Singh, it is possible for individual users to take advantage of the TPM in their Intel-based Macs; Singh has written a TPM device driver for that purpose.

Uses for this, Singh said, could include tying data to one machine by encrypting it so that only the machine with the user’s unique TPM can decrypt it.

Or the machine’s owner can encrypt the hard drive so that it only decrypts when connected to the owner’s computer. Both of these could be useful, or even mandated, in certain government or military situations.

Some other researchers agree that the TPM is not in use now, but wonder about the future.

For the full article read on.

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Tags: Apple TPM, Mac OS X, Trusted Computing, Amit Singh, Google

Oooh, Daddy like. This is too cool. Soyo Group has a dual 19″ monitor offering. Very nice.

Panel Specs		Type: Dual 19.0” color TFT active matrix SXGA LCD Display Area: 2 X 14.2” (vertical) x 11.85” (horizontal); 19.0” Optimum Resolution: 2560 x 1024 @ 75Hz Contrast Ratio: 700:1 Viewing Angle: 160 degrees horizontal 140 degrees vertical Light Source: 35,000 hours (typ) Response Time: 8ms Brightness: 300 nits (typ) Display Colors: 16.7 million Pixel Pitch: 0.294mm Frequency: Fh: 30 kHz – 80 kHz; Fv: 50 Hz – 75 Hz Bandwidth: 135MHz
Connectors		Analog: RGB (Connector: 15-pin mini D-sub) Digital: DVI
Picture Control		Brightness/Contrast: Yes Color Temperature Control: Yes
Sound		Audio Output Power: 4 x 1 watt
Power		Voltage: AC 100~240 Volts, 50/60 +- 3 Hz via external AC Adaptor (each) Consumption: 38W (typ each)
Other Features		Auto Adjust, Menu, Up, Down, Power OSD: Brightness, Contrast, Auto Adjust, Phase Clock, H. Position, V. Position, Sharpness, Color, Temperature, Language, OSD H/V Position, Video Select, Recall, Volume OSD Language: English,Spanish, German, Italian, French
Dimension		Physical (W H D): 30.8 in x 16 in x 10 in (with Stand) Carton(W H D): 22.5 in x 19 in x 17 in
Weight		Net: 28.66lbs Gross: 11.34kg/ 25lbs
Package Content		VGA Signal Cable DVI Audio Cable User Manual
Operating Conditions		Operating Conditions: Temperature: 32 degrees F - 113 degrees F; 0 degrees C - 45 degrees C; Humidity: 20% - 80% (non-condensing)
Regulations		FCC, CE, UL, TUV
Warranty		SOYO S.A.F.E. Program

This TFT disp

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Tags: Soyo, Monitor, Dual Head Monitor, Dual Head Display

But will it be allowed on planes? I would not say that Sony has had the best track record with regards to things that won’t explode.

Weighing 898 grams, Sony’s “type G” Vaio computer will be the lightest laptop PC, and comes with a 12.1-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, the electronics and entertainment conglomerate said.

On the sidelines of a news conference on the new Vaio models, Sony Senior Vice President Yoshihisa Ishida said that recent recalls of Sony-made batteries are expected to have little impact on its personal computer operations. Top PC makers including Dell Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. are recalling up to 9.6 million Sony batteries, which on rare occasions could overheat and catch fire, raising concern that production of replacement-use batteries may reduce Sony’s supply capability for batteries that go into new PCs.

Still, it would be cool.

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Tags: Sony, Lightest Laptop, Mobile Computing, Vaio, Type G

It’s not bad enough that Dells profits are down 51% and the SEC are investigating them. Now we have reports of yet another Dell laptop detonating.

This unfortunate Latitude (appears to be a D610 D510) met its fate when, like so many others, it was cut down before its time in a violent and easily prevented explosion. We’d tell you more, but unfortunately the article is in a tongue we don’t speak (sorry, we took Zulu in high school), but if any of our Dutch pals want to apprise us as to the situation, we’d be most obliged.

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Tags: Dell, Exploding Laptops, Laptop

AT&T is about to release a satellite TV box for home users.

The box, called AT&T Homezone, will be initially available in Ohio and San Antonio to new customers of the cobranded AT&T-Dish Network satellite TV service. It will cost $9.99 a month in addition to Internet and satellite service fees.

AT&T plans to expand the service area in coming months, positioning Homezone as an alternative for those who can’t yet receive its premier service, U-Verse, which transmits video over phone lines.

There’s no word on whether or not this box will send your viewing history to the NSA or if the good folks at Narus will be able to intercept it

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Tags: AT&T, NSA, Narus, Satellite TV, Homezone

Intel is thinning the herd. After having suffered poor showing on the bottom line they are taking matters into their own hands. Intel is swinging the axe and 1000 management jobs are being eliminated.

The move fits in with a pledge in April by Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini to restructure the company within 90 days after he scaled back earnings forecasts to US$9.3 billion in 2006, compared to $12.1 billion in 2005.

It looks like the AMD upstart is doing its damage.

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Tags: Intel, Management Jobs, Executives fired, 1000 jobs

TG Daily has a great interview with Michael Dell. The only thing that is worth taking away is that Alienware will not be screwed over by being amalgamated with the Dell XPS line. When I first saw that Dell had bought Alienware I was certain that was the end of Alienware.

“I think what we’ve seen is that [the gaming and enthusiast segment] is a pretty big market,” Mr. Dell told reporters, “and XPS has done quite well, [and] the Alienware brand has done quite well. We think their appeals are slightly different. The development teams are continuing on with the strategies that they’ve had, which are really very different. Each one has its own customer base.”

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Tags: Alienware, Dell, Michael Dell, XPS

This is a very cool solution for data backup. The new Maxtor Shared Storage is a 1TB system with more than enough space to backup your porn files.

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Tags: Data Storage, Data Backup, Storage, Backup, Maxtor, 1TB