July 9, 2009
Google early today staked out its claim in full computer operating systems with word that it would launch its own. Chrome OS is meant “initially” for netbooks and relies solely on web apps; while Linux underneath, all software is just an instance of the Chrome web browser running in a custom windowing system. The approach not only keeps a small app footprint but sandboxes any content to prevent …

Google’s launch of Chrome OS today could create a conflict of interest that forces its chief Eric Schmidt off of Apple’s board of directors. Although the two companies continue to collaborate on the iPhone, iLife and other projects, the creation of an operating system intended for full-fledged computers now means Google has products that can compete directly with two out of three of Apple’s key b…

Genius has released two new additions to its line of digital tablets, the EasyPen 1405 and MousePen i608. Both tablets incorporate an electronic pen, enabling users to easily design digital artwork on a computer. The pens feature 1024-level pressure sensitivity and two buttons used to control shapes or line thickness while drawing or writing. The EasyPen i405 features a 4-inch by 5.5-inch pad, whi…

Amazon in an unannounced gesture cut the price of the Kindle 2 to $299. The move is the first price drop on any Kindle since the original was reduced to $359 and puts a larger gap between this and the larger Kindle DX, which still sits at its original $489 price. The company didn’t provide a reason of its own for the cut, which comes even though Amazon has periodically sold out….

The iPhone and Palm Pre together are dragging down BlackBerry sales, according to estimates by Piper Jaffray analyst T. Michael Walkley. Both the iPhone 3GS and the $99 iPhone 3G have hit the BlackBerry the hardest, as some June customers at AT&T were buying one of Apple’s devices in place of similarly priced phones from Research in Motion, like the Curve 8310 or the Bold. BlackBerry sales at th…

iPod Converter 2.7 ($30) is a tool for converting video files to the mp4 format for use on an iPod. The software can covert most common video files including AVI, WMV, MOV, MPG, ASF, and DivX. Within iPod converter users can crop video area, the bit rate, frame rate and video resolution. The latest update includes a new style interface and has fixed several smaller bugs. [Download - 10.5MB]…

Pixologic has announced a v3.2 update for ZBrush, along with the new GoZBrush and Decimation Master plug-in. ZBrush is a sculpting and painting program that sketches out a 2D or 3D picture, producing renders with lighting and atmospheric effects. Version 3.2 delivers a series of optimizations and feature adjustments, and includes some early integration of ZBrush 4 technology to improve working wit…

Apple has posted the v4.0.2 update to Safari, its Mac and Windows web browser. The patch implements a relative handful of changes, primarily upgrading the Nitro engine to include new security and compatibility fixes. Nitro is responsible for JavaScript rendering, and is thus linked with many speed improvements over Safari 3….

Microsoft is planning a “big” announcement on Monday that may have forced Google’s hand in launching Chrome OS, tech pundit and Rackspace blogger Robert Scoble claimed today. While a non-disclosure agreement prevents him from providing further details, he implies that the news will have something to do with web apps, which will be the way software can run in Google’s upcoming platform….