Computers and hardware

Apple now third-largest PC seller in U.S.

U.S. computer sales were pretty disappointing during the past three months, unless you're talking about Macs.

According to the Quarterly PC Tracker Survey released by IDC today, Apple shipped 1.99 million Macs in the U.S. during the third quarter of 2010. That's good for 10.6 percent of the 18.9 million PCs shipped in the U.S., putting Apple's share at its highest in the U.S. in the company's history, according to IDC.

While that's still far behind Hewlett-Packard's 24.3 percent share and Dell's 23.1 percent … Read more

Apple hosting Mac, OS X event next week

After receiving nary a mention at Apple's annual developers conference in June, it turns out Mac OS X will be getting its own special event October 20.

Invitations to a special event titled "Back to the Mac" showed up in tech press e-mail in-boxes just moments ago, featuring the above image of a lion peeking out from behind the Apple logo. Besides what we can assume will be an introduction of new Mac hardware, the invitation promises a peek at the "next major version of Mac OS X." Since past versions of the operating system … Read more

Apple complaint halts sales of iPhone lookalike

Remember the M8? It's a smartphone made by Chinese manufacturer Meizu that looks suspiciously like an iPhone. And it's about to become a rare commodity.

Meizu CEO Jack Wong posted on a Meizu forum that Apple's lawyers have convinced China's intellectual property office to shut down production of the M8 and ban the sale of existing devices because they bear too much similarity to Apple's phone.

Wong's quote (translated), according to Engadget:

Apple requested that we cease manufacturing the M8 this month, we agreed but then [Apple] came back and asked for a sales … Read more

MS Word Building Blocks outshine AutoText

Microsoft Word's AutoText feature got a serious face-lift with the debut of Building Blocks in Word 2007 and 2010. (The Microsoft Office Support site offers a basic primer on creating and using Word 2003's AutoText feature.)

In a nutshell, you create AutoText entries by selecting the material you want to reuse and clicking Insert > AutoText > New (or simply press Alt-F3). You then enter a name for the entry that's between 4 and 32 characters long and press Enter. This adds the entry to the Normal.dot template and makes it available to all documents. To … Read more

Sharp's Galapagos, other tablets tease at Ceatec

CHIBA, Japan--A handful of tablets are on display at Ceatec 2010, though most of them are still firmly in the idea stage.

Of the major consumer electronics manufacturers here showing touch-screen tablet devices, only Sharp's Galapagos seems close to being a real product. Fujitsu's was kept under glass and clearly labeled "prototype," and Toshiba's had few details beyond its use of Android as the OS.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab is here, though it is part of wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo's booth because Samsung does not display at Ceatec. Even without the manufacturer's presence, … Read more

Sony's giant outdoor 3D LED display

CHIBA, Japan--This behemoth of a 3D display measures 71 feet by 16 feet. And that's just a fraction of how big it could be.

Sony is using its HD 3D LED Display System as the centerpiece of its booth here at Ceatec 2010. This isn't the first public display--it made an appearance at IFA Berlin last month and was used to broadcast the World Cup match between Japan and the Netherlands in June. But for all the 3D gadgets on display here at Ceatec (and there are a ton), Sony's stands out. Mostly for its extreme size. … Read more

Why some Ceatec gadgets get lost in translation

Impossibly thin televisions, wireless HD video systems for the living room, and TVs that respond to gestures instead of a remote control were all things seen first at Ceatec, the annual gadget extravaganza outside Tokyo.

The show's well-earned reputation as a peek into our gadget future remains intact as Ceatec 2010 kicks off Tuesday. It's guaranteed to be full of some of the geekiest stuff you've ever seen, along with some fantastically designed gadgets, and a mostly realistic look into what the rest of the world will some day be buying for their homes, backpacks, and cars. … Read more

HP names former SAP exec as new CEO

Hewlett-Packard's board of directors has again picked a relative unknown to run one of the best-known tech companies in the world.

The board announced today it has chosen Léo Apotheker as president and chief executive officer. Apotheker, 57, is the former CEO of German software giant SAP.

He will take over the job vacated by Mark Hurd on November 1. Hurd was forced to resign from HP in the midst of a sexual-harassment accusation and expense-reporting scandal on August 6. He subsequently was named co-president of Oracle.

Apotheker will also join HP's board of directors. In … Read more

iPad fingered in mini-notebook decline

Netbooks and mini-notebooks are still selling, just not very well.

Market research firm DisplaySearch crunched some numbers in its Quarterly Advanced Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report released today and came up with a good news/bad new scenario for the between-a-smartphone-and-a-notebook category.

The good news is that when combined, second-quarter shipments of tablets, Netbooks, and mini-notebooks were up 29 percent in the last year. The bad news? If you take out the 3.3 million iPads that Apple shipped during that same quarter, the tablet-mini-notebook-Netbook shipment numbers sink to 13 percent fewer shipments than the year before.

DisplaySearch is … Read more

RIM makes a tablet play

SAN FRANCISCO--RIM put the rest of the world on notice that it's not just a boring, yet eminently reliable, buttoned-up smartphone maker anymore.

As was widely rumored, RIM did unveil its first non-smartphone device today at the opening keynote event at its DevCon developer conference here. The company is calling it the PlayBook.

The PlayBook is aimed at people who do more work than play--RIM's calling it "the first professional tablet"--but the company is certainly not ignoring the world outside of the office. In fact, even though RIM is playing very heavily to its reliable, … Read more