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Route simulation on GPS: Ask the Editors

Q: 1. Is there any in-car GPS that allows me to review the route from start to finish without driving, once I input destination address in the device? If yes, which portable navigation device (PND) lets me review the route before actually driving? - Wize Chap via e-mail

A: Dear Wize Chap, turns out you have a lot of choices. Most in-car GPS offers route simulation or fly-over simulation (the name varies by manufacturer) that provides a running demo of your route from a bird's-eye view. It's useful in that it gives you an overall idea of what … Read more

The Pogo: Fancy new stylus for iPhone and iPod Touch hits the market

Most people use their fingers to operate their iPhones and iPod Touches because Steve Jobs made sure the touch-screens of those devices were finger-friendly. But that hasn't stopped Ten One Design from making a special stylus, the Pogo ($19.99), for those of you who just don't think your fingers cut it when it comes to operating your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Ten One Design's marketing materials sum up the new stylus this way:

The sleek design of the Pogo Stylus features an ultralight aluminum body with an anodized finish and laser graphics. The soft tip glides … Read more

Full review: Yahoo OneConnect for iPhone

Updated September 17, 2008, at 8:03 am PT.

Yahoo's OneConnect for iPhone is a strange compilation. More complicated in construct than an instant messenger application, OneConnect has worked in elements of social networking and contact management, to mixed results. We CNET Editors have found its content-loading and refreshing laggy, its social networking capabilities limited, and its ideas about storing and managing messages and contacts odd. Yet, OneConnect has potential as a broader communications application, and it's refreshing to see an iPhone application that attempts to create something new rather than simply pare down a pre-existing online service.… Read more

Peru to try out Windows on XO laptops

Microsoft and the One Laptop Per Child project announced Monday that Peru will be the first country to try out XO laptops running Microsoft Windows as part of a nine-month pilot program.

The companies said they are still trying to determine the size of the trial. Microsoft has been working for some time to port Windows onto the XO devices and the two companies announced in May that OLPC would start selling a Windows-based XO laptop to interested countries.

"We are extremely excited to take part in this historic educational pilot that will benefit school children throughout Peru," … Read more

Yahoo OneConnect for iPhone: A closer look

Yahoo has gotten into the curious habit of releasing a preview version of a mobile app every six months at the CTIA mobility conference. This time around, it's OneConnect for iPhone and iPod Touch, an application that Yahoo hopes will showcase what it's calling its open mobile strategy. In layman's terms, OneConnect is an application that integrates your Yahoo IM account with your social networking accounts and also your iPhone contacts and camera.

OneConnect is following the herd of any number of iPhone application developers offering to post status updates and messages to various social networks, including … Read more

Yahoo announces social networking app for iPhone

Updated at 3:50 p.m. PDT with further detail and information about Blueprint programming tools for mobile devices.

SAN FRANCISCO--Yahoo on Wednesday released a preview version of a free new iPhone application called OneConnect that can centralize communications and social-networking activity.

"OneConnect allows everybody to keep connected to the persons they care about. It's a socially connected address book," said said Marco Boerries, executive vice president, Yahoo Connected Life, in a speech here at the CTIA Wireless show. "The address book now comes to life."

Yahoo is racing against Google and others to bring … Read more

Sprint introduces One Click, a new user interface for Sprint phones

Along with several new phone announcements today, Sprint has also launched One Click, a new user interface designed to be highly customizable and easy to use. The One Click interface consists of eight shortcut tiles lined up along the bottom of the screen, which then lead to any of 14 available applications. They include the texting interface, Web access, e-mail, Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV Sprint Music, and other features. As you flip through the different shortcut tiles, you get a short little pop-up of that application's submenu, or a brief preview of the application itself. You can also customize … Read more

Get a 64-bit HP Pavilion desktop for $599.99

The HP Pavilion s3500t is a sleek, ultracompact desktop that you can configure to your liking at Hewlett-Packard's online store. For an extremely limited time, HP is offering a $100 instant rebate on the s3500t or $400 off with coupon code DT1158. You can use the latter only when your config hits $999--but getting there is half the fun.

Starting with the base configuration, I selected Vista Home Premium 64-bit (!), the Intel E4700 processor, 4GB of RAM, the 256MB Nvidia video card with HDMI, and the Blu-ray player. To inch the total up to $999, I also added the … Read more

Microsoft fixes eight critical flaws with four patches

Microsoft on Tuesday released its September 2008 security bulletin summary.

The four bulletins concern Windows GDI+, Windows Media Player, and Microsoft Office OneNote. All are rated critical by Microsoft. There is no cumulative patch for Internet Explorer this month.

Starting next month, Microsoft plans to share the technical details of new vulnerabilities to give software developers time to update affected products before the public announcement.

Also in October, Microsoft will start providing each bulletin with an Exploitability Index to help system administrators prioritize the patches. All current Microsoft security patches for both Windows and Office software are available via Microsoft Update … Read more

Sony rolls out three new all-in-one Vaio PCs

Sony on Wednesday announced three new all-in-one PCs, the 20-inch Vaio JS, the 24-inch Vaio LS, and the 25.5-inch Vaio RT.

The Vaio JS (read our review of the Vaio JS190J; the system earned itself an Editors' Choice award) starts at $1,000 and boasts a simple, sparse design. A silver (or a black or a pink) bezel with rounded corners surrounds the 20.1-inch screen, which features a 1,680x1,050 resolution. Above the display is a Webcam and below is a speaker bar. Inside, the Vaio JS uses a 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo E8400 processor, 4GB of 800MHz memory, integrated Intel GMA 4500HD graphics, and a 500GB hard drive. A DVD burner comes standard; a Blu-ray drive is an upgrade option. … Read more