Tornado-detecting dual-iPhone alarm clock

Taking a page from the boombox trend of the 1980s, iPod-docking alarm clocks are taking on an absurd amount of features in an effort to stand out from the herd. Case in point: the iLuv iMM183, a dual-dock alarm clock capable of charging two iPhones or iPods. This little bedside beauty comes with a remote control, FM radio, EQ control, aux input, and last but not least--an NOAA emergency alert system with localized weather warnings. Aside from the emergency/weather alert display, you're basically looking at the same iLuv iMM173 we saw last year. Still, the list of iPhone-supported alarm clocks is pitifully short and if you're a two iPhone family living in a hurricane zone, the iLuv has you covered.

Google to release Picasa beta for Mac

Google plans to release on Monday a beta version of Picasa for Mac OS X, helping Apple fans catch up to Windows and Linux users already employing the free tool for editing, cataloging, and uploading photos. The Mac version largely matches the features in Picasa 3 for Windows, said Jason Cook, Picasa's marketing manager. Though the company has been scrambling to include some secondary features such as geotagging and the ability to get photos printed, the core abilities of Picasa are present, he said. Picasa lets people edit and print photos, create collages and movies, and add labels, star ratings, and tags. More significantly, given Google's cloud-computing focus, it also lets people upload their images to the company's online Picasa Web Albums site where images can be shared. Google acquired Picasa in 2004. "We have many Mac users," Cook said, though declining to offer any estimates, "and we think they'll be excited about this. It makes the Picasa Web Albums experience better." Online photo sites are great for several reasons, but problems can arise when people manage separate and different set of images. They often upload only a selection of photos on a PC, for example. Sometimes people upload images to an online site that never make it to the PC. And sometimes people add tags, captions, and titles online but not to the versions on their computers. Picasa takes one important step in dealing with this potential rat's nest: when a person edits a photo on the PC, Picasa updates the version stored online. The reverse isn't true, though, but bidirectional synchronization is "something we're thinking about," Cook said. "We want to make sync as useful as possible." Synchronization with the Mac's bundled iPhoto software is another area where people should tread carefully, though Picasa offers cautionary alerts to try to avert any trouble, Cook said. Picasa for the Mac doesn't interfere with iPhoto, he said, but for example when a person uses Picasa to edit a photo, iPhoto still shows the original, which Picasa preserves. And Picasa will read ratings and tags from iPhoto, but not vice-versa.

Apple to expand DRM-free music, new pricing

Apple has cut deals that will finally enable iTunes to offer songs free of copy protection software from the three largest music labels, according to two sources close to the negotiations. In exchange, Apple has agreed to become more flexible on pricing, the sources said. Under the terms of the deal, song prices will be broken down into three categories--older songs from the catalog, midline songs (newer songs that aren't big hits), and current hits--said one of the sources. Apple has offered songs free of digital rights management protections from EMI for more than a year. But EMI accounts for less than 10 percent of music sold in the U.S.; these new deals will expand iTunes' DRM-free library to include songs from the other three major labels (Sony BMG, Universal, and Warner Music).

Apple and the music labels have also apparently come to terms on over-the-air downloads, according to a source. That would allow iPhone owners to download songs to their mobile devices via cell networks and without the aid of Wi-Fi. Apple, which closed the deals last week, could announce the agreements as early as Tuesday at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco. Apple did not respond to requests for comment. DRM-free songs are something that many iTunes users have requested for some time. However, the celebration over their appearance at the country's largest music retailer may be overshadowed by increased prices on some hit songs, which might be seen by some as an Apple surrender on pricing. Apple fans have long applauded the company for holding the line on pricing despite loud complaints from the major music labels. The good news is that the price of catalog music is falling to 79 cents per song. The labels will get an opportunity to price some hit songs for more than 99 cents but eventually those songs will drop to 79 cents, according to one source. Before iTunes users get too worked up, they should remember that song prices at iTunes haven't increased in five years. According to the Consumer Price Index, a 99-cent song in 2002 would be worth $1.17 today. Not only will new music downloads be free of copy-protection software, but Apple and the labels will begin removing DRM from music already available in the iTunes Store, the source said. However, it's unclear what will happen to songs that have already been purchased.

New HP ultraportable first to use AMD Neo chip

Another Netbook? No, not exactly. Hewlett-Packard's new Pavilion dv2 is an ultraportable, thank you. And the new Athlon Neo silicon inside from Advanced Micro Devices will try to prove that point. AMD is introducing new chips at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that target the no-man's land between Netbooks and notebooks. Typically, these designs are referred to as ultraportables--the most salient examples being Apple's MacBook Air, the Toshiba Portege, and the Sony Vaio TT series. So what makes AMD's platform different? In one word, price. Ultraportables fall into the boutique category of laptops: very stylish, very slim, very light--and very expensive. Usually ranging between $1,500 and $3,000. HP's notebook with Athlon Neo silicon cuts the price in half. The Pavilion dv2 will start at $699 and top out at $899 for standard configurations.

The dv2, at 3.8 pounds, is slightly heavier than ultraportables that typically weigh between 2.5 and 3 pounds. It is 0.9-inches thick, slightly thicker than more expensive ultraportables like the MacBook Air. But the Pavilion dv2 will pack features such as an AMD-ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 separate (discrete) graphics chip, a relatively large hard disk drive (HP lists drives up to 500GB), and a 12.1-inch LED screen. Features that differentiate it from Netbooks and put it squarely into ultraportable territory. AMD Athlon Neo silicon details(Credit: AMD) The dv2 will also come with WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) options as well as standard Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Bahr Mahony, AMD's manager of mobile products, said in an interview that one of the few ultraportables available today with discrete graphics is the MacBook Air, but this starts at a whopping $1,800. (The Air uses Nvidia's GeForce 9400M graphics and Intel's Core 2 Duo low-voltage processors.) The Athlon Neo platform can handle 1080p HD playback and a "casual" gaming experience with realistic 3D graphics, using the optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 graphics chip. AMD's Athlon Neo processor--formerly code-named "Huron" under the platform codename "Yukon"--runs at 1.6GHz and has a power envelope of 15 watts, comparable to Intel ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) Core 2 Duo processors that power ultraportables today. AMD's Neo does fall short in one respect, however. Currently it is only single-core, whereas Intel ULV processors are dual-core at a comparable power envelope, and, moreover, typically integrate 6MB level-2 cache memory to boost performance. AMD's Neo has only 512K of cache memory. A dual-core chip, code-named "Conesus," will come in the second half of this year, according to AMD's Mahoney. The first HP Pavilion dv2 ultrathin notebook is expected to be available from HP in the second quarter.

Lenovo Unveils Giant Two-Headed Laptop( ThinkPad W700)

Lenovo's latest behemoth notebook PC sports two monitors -- a 10.6-inch screen slides out of a 17-inch screen for dual-monitor multitasking. Weighing in at 11 pounds, the W700ds makes for a tough schlep, but it pack a big hardware punch for those who need workstation power that's more easily transported from one spot to another than a full-blown workstation.

As gadget makers gear up to show their wares at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) in Las Vegas, Chinese hardware maker Lenovo debuted a host of new laptop PCs, the most striking of which offers users a dual-screen configuration. The ThinkPad W700ds features a 17-inch primary screen with a 10.6-inch slide-out secondary screen. It is the first mobile workstation with two built-in displays, according to Lenovo, and will enable users accustomed to working with two monitors the ability to operate in a mobile environment. Prices start at $3,663. Along with the dual screen ThinkPad, Lenovo also unveiled three new Y Series laptops ranging in size from a 16-inch model to a 14-inch notebook, priced between US$829 and $1,199. Lenovo also gave its S10 netbook a makeover, adding new multimedia and networking features. The newly outfitted S10 retails for $350. Rounding out the new PCs is the IdeaCentre A600 desktop, which includes an Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Core 2 Duo processor, optional ATI (Nasdaq: ATYT) graphics card and a hard drive with up to 1 terabyte of storage . Available in April, the desktops start at $1,000.

The ThinkPad W700ds is not just about the displays, however. The mobile workstation also includes optional features such as Intel's mobile quad core and extreme processors, dual hard drives with RAID (redundant array of independent drives) configurations and Nvidia's Quadro FX mobile graphics hardware. It includes up to 8 GB of high-speed DDR3 memory as well as a choice of solid state drive storage or traditional hard disk drives with up to 960 GB of storage. On the multimedia end, the system offers an optional DVD disk drive and high-speed UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access) compact flash reader, support for Dual Link DVI, Display Port and VGA, a 7-in-1 multicard reader and five USB ports. Connectivity options include WiFi with select models offering WiMax support. Security-wise, the dual screen laptop includes an optional fingerprint reader and hard drives with full-disk encryption.