IBLOG SPACE

Back in February Corsair unveiled its new Padlock 2 flash drive . The drive has a keypad on the front that won’t allow access to any of the data on the drive until the correct PIN number is entered. Corsair has reported that an issue with the security on the drive has been discovered. This issue can allow the data that the person stores on the drive to be vulnerable. The good news is that Corsair says the issue can be fixed by the user. The issue is that when the 0/1 keys are pressed for more than three seconds the PIN is erased without erasing the data stored on the drive. The issue can only happen once, so Corsair says follow the steps to set a new password and the data will be fine. The steps for the fix will leave data intact. With the drive locked the user presses and holds the 0/1 button for five or more seconds until the LEDs no longer glow and blink. Then press and hold the key button for three seconds and enter a new PIN from 4 to 10 digits long. After that press the key butto

Hitachi has been making HDTVs for a long time and many of its offerings are very good. The company has announced its new 2010 line of HDTVs with new LED backlit models and CCFL models as well. The new LED TVs are very thin at under 2-inches thick. All of the LED backlit versions are full 1080p sets with 120Hz picture quality. The sets use CONEQ surround and CONEQ 3D sound to improve performance. The sets will come in 46-inch and 42-inch sizes. The 42-inch set will ship in July for $1199 and the 46-inch set will ship in August for $1499. Hitachi will also offer several new CCFL sets with 1080p resolution, 120Hz panel speed, and CONEQ 3D sound and more. The CCFL sets will come in 32-inch for $649, 42-inch for $899, 46-inch for $1199, and 55-inch for $1699. The two smaller sets will land in June with the other two coming in July.

Smartbook rumors a-plenty this morning, as Toshiba and Lenovo’s plans for the rest of 2010 seep out of Taipei. According to DigiTimes‘ sources, while Toshiba has already shown its first smartbook – which it insists on calling a MID – the Tegra 250 based AC100, the company is also apparently preparing two ARM-based tablet PCs for launch by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Lenovo’s mysterious plans for their own smartbooks have been linked with faster Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. News spread earlier in the year that Lenovo had axed their IdeaPad U1 Hybrid and Skylight smartbooks , claiming the two systems were only intended for conceptual purposes. More recently, it was suggested that in fact the two machines were delayed not cancelled, with a switch to Android being the rumored reason for the postponed release. Now, the Taipei sources reckon Lenovo are using the opportunity to boost performance by throwing out Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon chipset and replacing it with the company’s n

A while back I talked about the Cirago Bluetooth adapters that were tiny and added new Bluetooth features to your notebook or desktop computer. Cirago is back with a new HDD dock that lets you use your old HDDs as USB 3.0 drives without having to mount them inside a chassis of some sort. The dock is called the CDD2000 Hard Drive Docking Station USB 3.0. Unlike most of the other USB 3.0 HDD enclosures we have seen the Cirago offering is a dock so you can plug in your drive quickly and if you have more than one HDD laying around you want to access you can use them all with the same dock. The device is backwards compatible with older USB specs and is hot swappable. Both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch SATA I/II HDDs are supported. The dock ships complete with its own USB 3.0 cable and power adapter for $49.99.

Sony’s v3.40 update for the PlayStation 3 brings with it support for PlayStation Plus, but what exactly is the new subscription-based service? Priced at $49.99 for a full year (or $17.99 for three months), PlayStation Plus allows for up to one-hour of free trial gameplay of new titles, automatic downloads of new demos, patches and firmware updates, discounts of up to 50-percent on PlayStation Store purchases and early access to Sony’s upcoming beta launches. For most, it’ll be the trial gameplay that makes PlayStation Plus worth it. The try-before-you-buy system will allow for up to sixty minutes of full access, after which titles can be purchased through the PS Store and all achievements and awards gained during the trial carried forward into the unlocked version. As for early beta access, Sony say they’ll be picking from PlayStation Plus subscribers for their first beta invites and “select” early demos of new games. There’ll also be the usual freebies and downloads, though there’

UMID has outed a special edition of their BZ ultraportable, the UMID mbook SE , boosting the CPU from the original 1.2GHZ Atom Z515 to a 1.6GHz Atom Z530, paired with 1GB of RAM and WiFi b/g/n. Retained is the 32GB SSD, 4.8-inch 1024 x 600 resistive touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. The new model is already up for sale through at least one Korean retailer, priced at 698,000 SKW ($580). There’s also a slightly larger battery, 2,800mAh rather than 2,600mAh on the BZ, though no runtime estimates as yet; with the slower CPU and the smaller battery, the BZ managed over five hours of WiFi browsing on a single charge. OS is still Windows XP, but UMID do provide all the touchscreen drivers necessary to get it up and running with Windows 7. Imports of the original currently sit at around $499, but there’s no word on whether this updated version will make it outside of Korea anytime soon. ;)

Verizon has quietly slashed pricing for the Microsoft KIN handsets, bringing the pebble-shaped KIN One down to $29.99 from its previous $49.99 pricing and the larger KIN Two halved in price from $99.99 to $49.99. The move follows criticism of the featurephone/smartphone devices together with apparently disappointing sales figures; Microsoft is yet to confirm any numbers publicly, but sources at Verizon stores claim that the KIN handsets are being outsold by DROID and Palm Pre Plus phones. Verizon are also running a buy-one-get-one-free offer where you get two of the KIN devices for the price of one; unfortunately you’ll still be paying full smartphone data tariffs for each device, despite the featurephone functionality. Meanwhile an incoming KIN update due this summer will apparently address many owners complaints. According to a KIN support moderator, that update could include improved Twitter functionality – such as being able to reply to or retweet messages from within the KIN ap

Sony has released the latest firmware update for the PS3, v3.40 , which brings with it support for PlayStation Plus subscriptions, a network-based photo sharing gallery browser which supports images pulled from Facebook and Picasa, and a Video Editor and Uploader tool allowing footage stored on the console to be chopped up, saved and uploaded directly to YouTube or Facebook. Going hand-in-hand with the new PS3 firmware is a new Facebook app. That app can automatically display a gamer’s PlayStation Network profile on their Facebook account, together with flagging up which friends also have PSN accounts and send them a PlayStation Network friend request. The app also shows PSN friends’ online status and adds the PlayStation Network application tab to the Facebook user profile. Finally there’s a five-star rating system that allows PS3 owners to rate the content they’ve downloaded from the PlayStation Store. The new PS3 v3.40 firmware is spilling out to consoles now, while the new Faceb

Android 2.2 Froyo for the Google Nexus One has finally been officially released, with FRF85 set to arrive on most Nexus One handsets by the end of the week. Replacing the standard Android 2.1 install or the unofficial Froyo FRF50 or FRF72 builds that have been floating around for several weeks now, Android 2.2 Froyo FRF85 brings with it WiFi tethering, Adobe Flash 10.1 support and a new lick of speed. According to Google, Nexus One owners should keep an eye on their notification bar for an update icon; the new firmware is being rolled out over the course of this week, and the search giant expects most handsets to be updated by Friday. If you’re impatient you can download the same FRF85 package direct from Google here. For instructions on how to install, follow this guide.

Amazon’s on a roll with good news today. Apparently, company’s have begun to think that rolling announcements out in waves is a good way to go about things. It makes a good day for consumers, that’s for sure. We just reported that the iOS application has been updated, and now we can say that the Kindle for Android application has officially broken its Beta shell, and moved into the public’s Android Market. Looks like we don’t have to wait for that Samsung Vibrant, after all. There’s not much new here, but that’s not a bad thing. You’ll be able to download any of the available 600,000 and more books from the Kindle Store, but it won’t come from the application itself. Instead, you’ll be kicked out to the Kindle Store in your Browser, and from there you’ll be able to purchase the book you want, or download a few chapters for free if it’s available for the book you want. After you buy it, you’ll be put back into the app, and from there Amazon’s WhisperSync will take care of the rest. The

We’re not exactly sure what to think about this. Today, Amazon officially announced, thanks to a press release that you can read after the break, that the application for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad is now fully capable of playing embedded videos, and embedded audio. It took us a few moments, maybe just because we didn’t think the truth could be possible, but we finally realized that with this update to iOS, it means that the software-only version, Kindle Editions, actually has more functionality than the Kindle itself. According to the press release, there are a few books that are going to take advantage of this new technology. This will obviously change with time, but for now, you will find that Rick Steves’ London by Rick Steves and Together We Cannot Fail by Terry Golway are just a pair of books to preach the word of new features. In the former, you’ll be able to follow Rick Steves as he makes his way through London, and you’ll have his voice guiding you the entire way. Her

Considering the amount of time people spend on their mobile devices, especially their smartphones, you’d think that printing from them would be pretty commonplace by now. Especially with the fact that they’re all fused with WiFi and Bluetooth. But, it’s still not everywhere quite yet, so when Kodak announces a brand new printer Kodak ESP Office 6150 AiO Printer that features the missing link, well, we get pretty excited. Kodak is still saying that they’ve got the cheapest total ink replacement in the market, and that’s all well and good for them. The 6150 AiO Printer features 4-in-1 flexibility, offering up print, scan, fax, and copy all in the same unit. It has the latest technology when it comes to WiFi, and Kodak is positive that you’ll be happy with how easy it is to set up. It has an “intuitive control panel,” which means you’ll be able to do all your paper needs from both a touchscreen display, as well as a more physical, button-filled fashion. But, as we mentioned above, the si

When it comes to using something like a laptop or netbook, you can’t always have your gadget plugged in. That, kind of, defeats the purpose of having a laptop or netbook. And, because you can’t always have it plugged in, making sure that your battery life is actually worthy of the effort is essential. And while many netbooks and laptops out there have the more traditional 3-cell battery, which usually gets you out the front door, the industry is starting to change the way they think. Take the Samsung N230 , for example. Yes, the N230 netbook does have a smaller battery option, but considering the lifetime achievement award that the 6-cell version would surely win, why on Earth would you do that to yourself? With the 66Wh 6-cell battery, the N230 is boasting a battery life of 13.8 hours. Pretty impressive, and we think that’s pretty much an understatement. Unfortunately for the N230, that’s about the only real defining feature of the netbook. The display is of the matte variety, so don’

Transferring files from one computer to another can be a hassle, especially if you’re not a fan of the cloud (cloud-based computing, we mean). But, thanks to docking stations, and the fact that data transfers are getting faster and faster every day, it’s becoming not so much of an issue anymore. And let’s face it: USB 3.0 is going to make that so much easier, just as the Thermaltake BlacX proves. The Thermaltake BlacX 5GB USB 3.0 SuperSpeed docking station makes transferring all your essential documents, and anything else you need transferred, so much easier. It’s light weight, and measures in at only 73mm x 136mm x 88mm, it’s small enough you can carry around with you, if that’s something you’re into. The docking station itself is capable of supporting hard drives up to 2TB in size. And while it’s primarily designed to transfer data with its USB 3.0 connector, you’re able to use USB 2.0 or even 1.1 if you want, or if you don’t have an option. In the box comes the docking station, a U

The iPad is a tablet. And while Apple would have you convinced that it’s a magical and revolutionary piece of technology, we’re more convinced of its magical aspects when we see dangerously clever people like this create wonderfully amazing items such as this working arcade unit. Unlike others before it, this version is completely functional, and you’re able to use the physical controls to manipulate what’s on the screen. Thanks to the fine folks over at FREEKADE , we’ve seen the first glimpse of a real, working arcade unit with an iPad shoved inside for good measure. And while the model from ThinkGeek may have looked more aesthetically pleasing, that model didn’t work — and was only being planned to be a real thing, eventually. This model, while plain and simple, actually makes your iPad a functioning arcade unit. As the description in the YouTube video explains, this isn’t a VNC-type client; everything is working locally on the iPad. “It’s a real working machine using arcade controls

The Viliv N5 MID may not be available in stock anywhere , especially after being delayed back in May, but that’s not stopping the folks over at Pocketables from getting their hands on one, and taking it for a spin. Strangely enough, their review goes a lot better than probably anyone would have expected. The N5 MID sports Windows 7, along with a 1.3GHz Atom Z520 processor. You’ll also be getting 1GB of RAM, and 32GB of SSD tucked away in the small frame. The screen itself is of the 4.8-inch, WSVGA variety, and despite the relatively “lacking” specifications, the reviewers say that the device is perfectly capable of displaying 720p or even 1080p HD video without a problem. One of the most curious aspects of the N5 was that optical thumbpad. While we weren’t necessarily looking forward to it, Pocketables actually says it’s a fine replacement for a mouse, so consider us pleasantly surprised. As for other features, you’ll get 3G connectivity, WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth. Probably one o

The Android smartphone segment keeps getting stronger, and the Samsung Galaxy S looks set to be a key player in 2010. Not only does it get the company’s coveted Super AMOLED display, but a 1GHz processor, 720p HD video recording and plenty of wireless connectivity. Now freshly announced as incoming to Verizon as the Fascinate, T-Mobile USA as the Vibrant and of course AT&T as the Captivate, the Galaxy S is certainly spreading itself around. Is this Android’s answer to the iPhone 4? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut. In the time we’ve been carrying the Galaxy S, more than a few people – geeks included – have mistaken it for an iPhone 3GS. The glossy black plastic and metal-effect bezel both echo Apple’s second/third-gen smartphone; the irony, of course, is that the Cupertino company has now moved on with the almost retro lines of the iPhone 4, and the Galaxy S feels a little indistinct in comparison. It’s certainly a lightweight and slim handset, at 122.4 x 64.2 x 9

Aiptek is on the move with their 3D-enabled devices, that’s for sure. It hasn’t even been a month since we reported that their i2 3D camcorder would be on sale later this year, and the company is right on track with their own 3D photo frame, too. Just like they said they would. So, if you’re planning on picking up the 3D camcorder, now you’ll have something specifically designed to show off all your fantastic 3D images. Aiptek is labeling this as the Portable 3D Photo and Video Display, which doesn’t leave much for the imagination, does it? It’s a 7-inch parallax LCD display, wrapped up in an intricately designed bezel. Lucky for those who hate the 3D glasses, you won’t have to wear any to get your 3D on with this photo frame. Obviously the frame is designed to display photos and videos capture from the Aiptek i2 3D camcorder, but if you’ve got another kind of 3D camcorder, it will display those images, too. If you’re interested, then be happy to know that the frame’s set to launch on

think we all knew that the iPhone 4 was going to sell in huge numbers over the first weekend it was offered. Apple has announced today the official numbers for the first three says the iPhone 4 was offered. Apple sold a whopping 1.7 million iPhone 4 smartphones. CEO Steve Jobs said, “This is the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. Even so, we apologize to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply.” Despite the iPhone 4 selling in droves over opening weekend the device has been plagued with some reported issues. One of them is that the iPhone 4 loses signal if you hold it just right. Jobs’ answer to the issue is to just not hold it that way.

Back in early May, we posted up a hands-on video of the new HP Envy 14 and Envy 17 notebooks. We noted at the time that the Envy 14 was set to ship on June 27. With yesterday being the 27th, the HP Envy 14 is now up for order on the HP website. The machine starts at $1099.99 and has a 1.1-inch thick profile and the weight starts at 5.25 pounds. The machine uses Windows 7 Home Premium and has an Intel Core i3 , i5, and i7 CPU options. The screen is 14.5-inches wide and LED backlit with a resolution of 1600 x 900. The notebook also has an ATI Radeon HD 5650 graphics card with 1GB of RAM. The machine has 4GB of RAM inside and can be expanded to 8GB. Other features include a slot load DVD burner, backlit keyboard, 8-cell battery, WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI 1.3c output and more.

Acer has announced its new Aspire Predator AG7750 gaming desktop . The PC has a cool design with a case in orange and black colors. The case has a flip up cover that hides the optical drives and Acer packs the case with high-end hardware. The PC has several processor options include in the Core i7 quad-core offerings. NVIDIA GTX 470 graphics cards in 3-way SLI are offered, and the machine is packed with 12GB of RAM. Other features of the machine include support for DirectX 11, CUDA, and PhysX. The PC supports 3D when bundled with a 3D-ready screen and the NVIDIA 3D Vision glasses. The machine has hot swappable HDD bays with up to 1.5TB of storage space and the internal HDD cases support HDDs up to 2TB in capacity. The new Predator gaming PC starts at $1999 and is available to order now.

Resumption of the Indo-Pak bilateral series could soon be a reality with PCB chairman Ejah Butt promising that people would very soon hear some good news regarding cricketing ties with India. "I can't say much right now but definitely there will soon be some good news for everyone," Butt told the "Express" daily newspaper. Butt is said to have held meetings with the new ICC President Sharad Pawar and Indian cricket Board officials in Singapore on the sidelines of the ICC and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meetings earlier this week. After being elected as the ICC President on Thursday, Pawar had also said that he would try to convince the Indian government to allow resumption of Indo-Pak cricket ties which was suspended after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. Pakistan supported India's stance of not approving the nomination of former Australian Prime Minister, John Howard for the post of ICC Vice-President in Singapore. The PCB stance has drawn some shar

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is confident of recovering in time from a side strain before the two Twenty20 internationals against Australia. Afridi said he would be available for the T20 matches as his injury was not a serious one. "I know how important it is for me to play in these matches not only as captain but as a senior player," he said. Afridi suffered the side strain during the three-day match against Kent and the initial scans have shown that he has a small muscle rupture. The flamboyant all-rounder will not play the T20 matches against Essex and Northamptonshire on Saturday and Sunday due to the same injury. The Pakistan team management will re-assess Afridi's recovery again before the matches against Australia. Sources said Afridi's injury at the initial stage of the trip was a worry for the team management as the tour would last until September with six Tests, five one-day internationals and two more T20 matches lined up. Afridi has been in red-hot form

Serena Williams has won her third consecutive Wimbledon title after beating Vera Zvonareva in straight-sets. The American etched her family's name on the Venus Rosewater Dish for the ninth time in 11 years with a comprehensive 6-3 6-2 victory over surprise Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva. The 28-year-old is now only one behind sister Venus after clinching her fourth title at the All England Club in a performance of supreme power and athleticism lasting one hour and three minutes. Zvonareva, playing in her first grand slam final, began well but Williams simply got better and better and reeled off nine of the last 11 games for a 13th major singles crown. Williams' victory took her ahead of Billie Jean King to sixth on the all-time list, and she was thrilled to come out a winner again in SW19. "This one's very special," she told the Centre Court crowd. "It's amazing to be among such great people. I'm so happy and I feel so blessed. My dream was able to

Six days after turfing England out with a magical display, Germany cast their spell on Argentina with a brilliant performance. Argentina were buried thanks to a third-minute goal from Thomas Muller and two second-half efforts from Miroslav Klose either side of one from Arne Friedrich. Even Diego Maradona would had appreciated it had he not been in the opposite dug-out. An imperious masterclass from a side on the march. Who knows whether Germany will win the World Cup. But when Fabio Capello talks about the future, about Euro 2012 and the improvements England will make, this is the team he must measure his own by. And the gulf is huge. Games of this magnitude can often be dull, sterile affairs, where two giants cancel each other out completely. This spectacular never had a chance of being that way. An Argentina team containing Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez, managed by one of the most creative forces there has ever been, is not exactly set up to defend. Germany's tal

Captain Rio Ferdinand remains convinced Fabio Capello is the right man to get England back on track. Club England chairman Sir David Richards on Friday confirmed Capello would keep his job despite the disappointing World Cup campaign, which ended in last Sunday's 4-1 humbling by Germany. And Ferdinand, who played no part in South Africa after suffering a knee injury in training before the tournament, is fully behind his international boss. The 31-year-old Manchester United centre-back told The Sun: "I believe 100% that Fabio Capello will turn England round. "He will make what was a negative into a positive. I'm sure he's learned a lot from this tournament and I know how determined he is to get us back on track. "He's the right man for the job and now he should be left to get on with it. "Then it's up to the players to do their jobs."

Coach Dunga has accepted responsibility for Brazil's FIFA World Cup™ exit at the hands of Holland. The South Americans looked to have one foot in the semi-finals when Robinho fired them into an early lead over the Dutch in a powerful first-half display in Port Elizabeth on Friday. However, their challenge unravelled spectacularly after the break as midfielder Felipe Melo scored an own goal and was then sent off to pave the way for Wesley Sneijder to book an early flight home for the Brazilians. Dunga's contract is due to expire after the World Cup and while neither he nor the Brazilian Football Association have confirmed his exit, the writing appears to be on the wall for him. The coach admitted the responsibility for what will be perceived as failure for the five-times winners is collective, but that he must accept the lion's share as the figurehead. Dunga said: "Without a shadow of a doubt. I am the coach of the Brazil team and all the decisions I took were taken wit

What a game we have tonight! Join espnstar's LIVE coverage for all the action and analysis of the Argentina vs Germany Quarter-Final. Hello this is Dave for espnstar's LIVE coverage of the Argentina vs Germany Quarter-final, in what promises to be one of the games of the tournament so far. Hope you enjoyed the first two Quarter-Finals and what games they were, a surprises exit for the pre-tournament favourites and Dramatic shootout exit for Africa's last remaining team. Judging by all the bad blood in the build-up to this match, we could be in for another cracker tonight. Here are the first 22 players who will take the field in Cape Town. Argentina 22-Sergio Romero; 15-Nicolas Otamendi, 2-Martin Demichelis, 4-Nicolas Burdisso, 6-Gabriel Heinze, 14-Javier Mascherano, 20-Maxi Rodriguez, 7-Angel Di Maria, 10-Lionel Messi, 11-Carlos Tevez, 9-Gonzalo Higuain. Germany 1-Manuel Neuer; 16-Philipp Lahm, 3-Arne Friedrich, 17-Per Mertesacker, 20-Jerome Boateng, 13-Thomas Mueller, 6-Sa

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez insisted it was "too harsh" to say Ghana had been cheated out of a place in the World Cup semi-finals. A handball on the goal-line by Luis Suarez prevented Ghana's Dominic Adiyiah from scoring in the last minute and Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty - with Uruguay triumphing in the shoot-out that followed. The South Americans' goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was the hero, saving twice from John Mensah, the Sunderland centre-back, and Adiyiah, in the shoot-out. Sulley Muntari, almost sent home earlier on in the tournament after a bust-up with Ghana's Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac, had given his side the lead before Diego Forlan equalised with a viciously-swerving free-kick for his third goal of the finals. Tabarez claimed the Ajax striker, who was subsequently sent off, had reacted instinctively. He said: "When there is a handball in the penalty area there is a red card and the player is thrown out of the game. "Saying we cheated Gha

Wesley Sneijder has expressed his delight after the Netherlands' 2-1 win over Brazil, a victory which propelled them into the semi-finals. The Inter Milan player was instrumental in his side's impressive come-back, supllying the cross from which Brazil scored an own-goal and heading home the winner from close-range in the 68 th minute. "It seemed pretty much impossible to progress at half-time. However, we told each other during the break that we had to give it our all and that we could still make it to the semi-final," said Sneijder to NOS. "We started the second half with attacking intentions and were rewarded with a quick equalizer. "I got all the time and space I needed for our second goal and I didn't hesitate to head the ball home from inside the area." Sneijder went on to decalre that the Dutch stand a 'unique chance' to make history by lifting the World Cup. "This is simply a fantastic feeling. We've beaten Brazil 2-1 to pro