Technology

This week Intel showed off their wireless electric power system - which analysts have said may revolutionize the way we do things b freeing up our electronic devices from outlets and transformers.

Intel chief technology officer Justin Rattner demonstrated a Wireless Energy Resonant Link as he spoke at the California firm’s annual developers forum in San Francisco. Electricity was sent wirelessly to a lamp on stage, lighting a 60 watt bulb that uses more power than a typical laptop computer.

Toshiba may have taken itself out of the running for the high-def disc war - but that doesn’t mean that they will cease to produce top notch DVD players. They revealed their new XD-E500 up converting DVD player - which claims to be one of the best on the market.

The AP uses the phrase “subtle but noticeable” to describe how the new $150 XD-E500 looks in comparison to another, unnamed upconverting player. “Subtle but noticeable” isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, it must be said. Great words - but is this new DVD player worth it?

Yahoo! announced today that Fire Eagle - the open platform that allows users to manage and store information for developers - is now open. This new platform allows a networked service to use the platform and to respond to the users’ location in order to help them find friends, local information, or services that are in the area.

Consumers are scrambling to AT&T stores to get their own iPhone and this became even more abundant after hearing that AT&T will be bringing free Wi-Fi to iPhone users. Much to their disappointment and anger this promise was false and is no way coming true.

The Palm Treo 800w is the newest smartphone to hit the market and it is quickly becoming a hit among consumers. Palm is hoping that the new Treo will make some sort of dent into the Apple iPhone.

Sprint launched online sales of the Treo 800w, the Windows Mobile-based Treo model, hoping to capitalize on the fading Apple iPhone 3G fever, which hit its peak when Apple launched the device Friday morning. The latest Treo runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional as its operating system, a Treo choice for Microsoft purists not wanting to run Palm’s own OS. The Treo 800w also features GPS, Wi-Fi and EVDO Rev. A.

AT&T stated this week that they would be releasing the 8 gigabyte iPhone for $599 and the 16 gigabyte iPhone for $699. These are steep prices for most of us - but that is because both of these phones can be obtained without a two year contract service and agreement. This option can be had for $400.

Norway has released Opera 9.5 web browser last week for Linux, Mac, and Microsoft computers. The new browser includes new Opera Link features that allow you to bring your favorite bookmarks with you everywhere you go. It allows you to work with the Opera desktop browser and the Opera Mini browser for cell phones.

The new browser also adds a note-taking ability. By logging in, you can jot down shopping lists or copy directions for access on another computer or handset.

MySpace has become the hottest social-networking site on the internet even beating out Facebook. Members are going to have to deal with a makeover that is being called MySpace 2.0. They are using the new face of MySpace will take six months and will be used to widen their appeal and bring in even more people.

If successful, the digital makeover could signal the next stage of growth at what is already one of the world’s most popular websites. MySpace anticipates an influx of social-networking neophytes and businesses to its new-and-improved site.

A brand new version of the Firefox browser is ready to be released Tuesday with upgrades on speed, design, and security. Several of the enhancements in Firefox 3 involve the bookmarks.

The new version lets Web surfers add keywords, or tags, to sort bookmarks by topic. A new “Places” feature lets users quickly access sites they recently bookmarked or tagged and pages they visit frequently but haven’t bookmarked. There’s also a new star button for easily adding sites to your bookmark list — similar to what’s already available on Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer 7 browser.

Nintendo will be releasing several USB devices for their Wii console. They have released advertisements on their websites asking for a hardware/software tester that can will work out of the company’s Redmond offices in Washington State.

Among the successful applicants duties will be: “creating and executing a test plan for Wii’s USB devices.” Our first thoughts were a USB hard drive, but Nintendo has repeatedly denied claims it was even considering one. Earlier today, we reported that Nintendo of Europe’s managing director had dismissed the hard drive space as an issue only “geeks” were interested in.