According to Windows 7 beta 1 review at ZDNet web-site, the new operating system has completely revamped desktop with new taskbar and several new features that enhance user experience. In particular, Windows 7 sports Aero Snap feature, a gestures driven method of organizing Windows; Aero Peek, a feature that allows to quickly peek at what is on the desktop. In addition, Windows 7 is much more customizable than previous-generation operating systems from Microsoft.

Unfortunately, Windows 7 has considerably less built-in applications compared to predecessors: it does not include Windows Mail, Windows Messenger, Movie Maker and so on. However, these programs can be downloaded Windows Live Essentials. The OS still has Internet Explorer Paint, Wordpad, Media Player and so on integrated.

One of the most important things about Windows 7 is its compatibility with hardware and software.

“I’ve had no noteworthy issues relating to hardware, although drivers that officially support Windows 7 are still a while off so I’ve been sticking with Microsoft drivers. I expect hardware vendors to start getting Windows 7 drivers out soon after the official release of Windows 7,” said ZDNet reviewer Adrian Kingsley-Hughes.

Creative promises a revolution with its Zii and claims that that everything ever known “is about to change”, however, it does not reveal what exactly Zii is. Considering the fact that Creative Technology is mostly known for audio cards and portable digital media players, it is highly likely that Zii is a new audio chip, but keeping in mind that the company touts “stemcell computing”, the new product may be aimed at something more than just audio processing.

A quick look onto the web-site of United States Patent and Trademark Office revealed that Creative Technology does own Zii trade-mark. Unfortunately, description of the brand does not reveal any additional information other that is already known: Zii is a computer multimedia technology. Besides, the description claims that the new product may support HDMI, which may point to an HDMI audio card from Creative Technology.

That is no more! I can now safely scratch my devices, allow my dog to gnaw on them, and let them drop from a low height onto a carpet (disclaimer: please do not try this at home). The technology saving secret is a little vinyl covering, featuring either art or a band’s image, that covers the back of my devices. Created and sold by MusicSkins, this decal not only makes everything look nicer, but it also protects them from most wear and tear. Yep, my iPhone, my laptop, and my Wii accessories are now safe from my deadly hands. Plus, they look cooler, too.

What I Liked

(Please note, all three pictures included in this review are of skins that I was given for review purposes and that I applied to the items they were designed for.)

Protecting my iPhone is high on my list of important things to consider. Besides being my phone, it is my main communication device (e-mail), a fun gaming platform, and needed for a soon-to-come monthly feature here on Blogcritics. MusicSkins was not only able to protect from normal wear-and-tear (keys in my pocket), but it was also able to protect it from me scratching it with those same keys. Not a single mark went through the cover. The cover, however, did start to show some marks on the image (poor Manson’s face) after I went to work on it, but it was only visible when viewed from up close.

Disclaimer: If you are using your iPhone for work, as I do, I recommend not using a backing like Marilyn Manson, odds are your boss will not think it cool, no matter how many scratches it prevents.

Another thing that I like about MusicSkins is how badass it makes me look. Sure, I can put Marilyn Manson (or hundreds of other images) on my iPhone, but how many friends of yours have a Sex Pistols Guitar Hero guitar? That’s right, you too can be original and have some totally sweet electronic devices and accessories. I love the Sex Pistols, and now, when rocking out, I can show the world (or my limited selection of friends) how much I love them. Plus, if you follow the trends, you can take off the current image and replace it with a newer, more badass, image; MusicSkins leave no residue.

Earlier this year, I was on a date with a girl and she had never heard of a rickroll before. I remember trying to explain the concept behind it, then I explained why it was funny. Needless to say, there was no second date. (Had I had a second chance to eloquently and succinctly describe it, the art of rickrolling was like the existence of Larry "Bud" Melman, but not as strange or as ugly.)

It's been fun to see the interaction between an Internet inside joke and a real-life fleshy human being who actually sang that song back in the day, not realizing then that his relevance today somehow superseded his relevance back when he was, well, actually relevant. And it was refreshing to see Rick Astley embrace the cyberspace's reaction to his 1987 tune "Never Gonna Give You Up," because it's easy for a performer to get cranky and crotchety seeing their art transformed by someone else's creative control. (Heck, I would.) Natalie Imbruglia also showed a good sense of humor when she sang on stage alongside comedian David Armand during his interpretative dance of "Torn."

It's a little more exciting when, for example, comedian Frank Caliendo does a great impression of NFL commentator John Madden and the Hall of Fame coach isn't a fan of the parody at all. To name another example, choreographer Frank Gatson Jr. wasn't at all amused when Saturday Night Live parodies Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)", despite the fact that, y'know, Beyoncé herself was halfway okay with it — but only once she saw Justin Timberlake in a leotard.

We're all trying to advance good morals on everyone, and a sense of humor is one of them. Maybe it's time for an exception, since as we all know, famous people don't have to be nice. When the artist's down with the esoteric interpretation, it's immediately sends a good feeling through the veins, but then the parody suddenly loses its bite. When they rail against it, the interpretation becomes exponentially more awesome.

Case in point: the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was rickrolled by none other than Rick Astley himself. The first impression was, "sweet." The next impression was ... "well, shit, there goes my idea for a blog post about finding exclusive video of Osama bin Laden dancing the Cha Cha Slide." There's really no other precipice this 4chan-inspired prank can reach, unless Barack Obama has a different Rick in mind to be at his inauguration. Anything else anyone does on the Internet that results in a rickroll just won't hold a candle to the actual singer pulling the feat on Thanksgiving. Game over, man. Also, because of that Macy's Parade incident, grandparents everywhere are having rickrolls explained to them by their hip young descendants. That can't be fun.

It's probably better to have musicians be stuck-up about their craft. After all, they're different than us, so they shouldn't be indifferent like us. They have beautiful voices and play guitars plugged into subwoofers, not Xboxes. They are surrounded by men in studios with professional mixing boards, not roommates who just downloaded a hacked copy of GarageBand. Also, they also don't talk about Internet memes on first dates. Perhaps this, along with pretentiousness, is one of the keys to becoming successful like them.

A news-story by Reuters web-site claims that PSC wants to get NT$20 billion ($605.4 million) from the state in order to keep its business running. Other details are unknown. Earlier PowerChip Semiconductor reportedly confirmed intention to cooperate with its Japanese partner Elpida in presenting a concrete survival plan by year end.

According to some estimates, Taiwanese makers of memory have debts that amount NT$700 billion ($21.598 billion) amid global mainstream DRAM prices falling below their production costs in Taiwan.

The Taiwanese government has three major principles in dealing with the problem of the DRAM industry, including helping the industry establish its independent technology, helping it upgrade its international competitiveness, and assuring maximum efficiency of the investments. The deputy minister stressed that the government’s ultimate goal is to see the industry realize horizontal integration domestically and vertical integration internationally, following the strategy of “joint investment and joint R&D”, in the hope of facilitating the cooperation among Taiwan, the U.S., and Japan for the development of the industry.

According to an article Taiwan-based Commercial Times news-paper (excepts from the article were party translated by DigiTimes web-site), ATI has already taped out its first 40nm GPU code-named RV740, which means that AMD’s GPG has submitted documentation needed to start manufacturing to TSMC. It is now projected that the world’s largest contract maker of semiconductors will start production of the ATI RV740 chips by the end of the first quarter next year, which will allow AMD to update its lineup of graphics chips either very late in Q1 or sometime in Q2.

It is necessary to note that exact technical specifications of ATI RV740 are unknown at this time. Some observers believe that the RV740 is a version of RV730 (ATI Radeon HD 4670) with two times more - 640 – stream processors, 32 texture units and 16 render back ends, but produced using 40nm process technology. The RV740-based graphics cards are expected to feature GDDR5 memory.

Such a chip would be very powerful and, provided that the yields at 40nm node are high enough, very inexpensive to manufacture. However, previously ATI’s x40 code-names usually meant new process technology, but not improved performance. Therefore, it would be a surprise if ATI decided to improve speed and utilize new fabrication process with the RV740.

Officials for AMD’s graphics products group did not comment on the news-story.

According to a news-story by Taiwan Economic News, Quanta Computer, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of mobile and portable computers, has landed orders to make 800 thousand of the new iMac systems for Q1 2009. Technical specifications and design details regarding the new iMacs currently remain under wraps.

Institutional investors expect Quanta Computer to be the primary beneficiary of the Apple’s new contracts, as Quanta has been Apple’s exclusive contract suppler of desktop computers.

Quanta has reportedly declined to make comments on the speculations. Apple did not comment on the news-story.

Shane Harris of the National Journal reported the attack was initially discovered in one office, but cyber-investigators eventually traced it to eight members' offices, where one or more computers were infected. Besides this, seven committee offices, including the Commission on China, Ways and Means and the International Relations Committee were identified as having compromised computers in them. The International Relations Committee (now the Foreign Affairs Committee) had 25 infected computers and an infected server found in it.

The virus discovered was a trojan designed to allow malware (malicious software) to invade government machines and steal information. The investigation revealed that the trojan was probably downloaded by an employee, who clicked on a link in a spam e-mail. This method of dropping a virus on a computer is usually referred to as Phishing.

Phishing attacks are normally designed to steal personal and financial information, which is later used to commit financial crimes and identity theft. While most phishing attacks (from a historical perspective) have been financially motivated, we are now seeing more person/position-targeted attacks. This type of phishing is referred to as spear phishing or whaling. In April, there were reports of spear phishing attacks against corporate executives all over the country.

The unidentified hackers used a wide-array of attack methods and the malware was downloaded from random Internet addresses. It's suspected they were using other infected machines to launch the attacks, which makes the activity even harder to trace. In this latest instance, it makes sense; the intent was to steal confidential and sensitive information.

The article points out that there is a lot of evidence that the Chinese have "penetrated deeply" into both government and corporate systems.

Just hours before the Olympics, Joel Brenner, the top U.S. counterintelligence official, warned Americans to leave their smart phones and other wireless computer devices at home. He told CBS News that the public security services in China can turn on a cell phone and activate its microphone when the owner thinks it's off. In July, Senator Sam Brownback also warned that China was planning to mount a massive espionage operation on guests staying at major hotels during the Olympics.

Last year there was speculation in the press that Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez's laptop was hacked during a visit to China and the information was used to hack into government computers. Even scarier, rumors abound that Chinese hackers have already attacked power grids and that they are developing a cyber-warfare capability.

The article's conclusion points to a just released Report of the CSIS Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency. The study recommends that President Elect Obama establish a Cyber-Security Directorate in the NSC, who would direct a National Office for Cyberspace.

As a mere observer of all of this, I think President Elect Obama needs to take this report seriously. We need to remember (especially while a financial crisis is going on) that besides being a threat to National security, hacking also threatens our financial stability. Although this post points to the Chinese, they certainly aren't the only players in the International hacking game, and the problem it presents isn't going away. Sadly, some believe the problem is getting worse.

There is little doubt that change is needed in the way we address this problem and hopefully this is what will occur. 

Currently CBHD is supported by Shinco, TCL and Tsinghua Tongfang, which are based in China. Nevertheless, Taiwan-based makers of optical disc drives (ODDs) and players are unwilling to support to the format, as they do not consider it to be a rival for the Blu-ray disc, which has won its battle with Toshiba’s HD DVD.

According to DigiTimes web-site, Taiwanese optical drive and players manufacturers believe that there will be little international content support for CBHD, thus, the market for CBHD will be limited.

In 2007, online distribution represented about 23% of revenue in the U.S, and about 15% worldwide. Gartner said that while the music industry’s reliance on the disc worked well from 1985 though the U.S. market’s revenue peak in 2000, CD sales are now dropping rapidly in major markets worldwide and are unlikely to regain market share. As a percentage of total revenue in the U.S. market, physical media (CDs, LPs, DVD-A and so on) have gone from 91% of revenue in 2005 to 77% in 2007 and there is also evidence that physical retailers are even reducing the physical floor space dedicated to CDs.

Enabling the transition away from retail music CDs toward online distribution is now in sight, given that 77% of U.S. households (a total of 96 million connections) will have broadband connections by 2012. Beyond these consumers, the alternative distribution afforded by Wi-Fi-enabled notebooks and rapidly improving media-enabled mobile phones pose opportunities that provide multiple paths for marketing, promotion and distribution outside the consumer’s home.

“By propping up the CD business, rather than fully investing in online distribution alternatives, the major labels and the larger music industry have neither succeeded in stamping out piracy nor done much to recreate the business models of the old ‘record business’. Music labels should instead emphasize 'digital first,' making all new releases and catalog issues via digital services and moving CDs to an on-demand publishing mode,” said Mike McGuire, research vice president at Gartner.

By eliminating the cost of the CDs through a new burn-on-demand model, labels could cut out the expense of trying to anticipate demand and reduce costs associated with shipping. Songs or albums would always be distributed online first, leveraging the burgeoning social network sector as awareness and promotional tools to drive sales at online sites, and the growing number of mobile music services.

“The industry's comfort with past marketing and promotional practices centered on CD launches is ingrained and difficult to give up. But the reality is that digital natives and immigrants are more interested in convenience and choice,” said Mr. McGuire. “This is not to say that the physical CD would disappear altogether. Rather, it could shift to being a promotional tool to be sold or given away at concerts for example.”