Logitech Introduces "Wave" Keyboard Design

Logitech unveiled its new groundbreaking keyboard design that veers away from the traditional "straight" keyboard.
The new "wave" design allows users to comfortably use their keyboards without having to change the way they type. The two new keyboards styles released are the Logitech Wave Keyboard and the Cordless Desktop Wave, featuring the Logitech Comfort Wave Design.
The aspects of the new keyboards that set it apart from the rest are the three new features. They each sport a wave key-frame design, a U-shaped constant curve, and a cushioned, contoured palm rest. According to Logitech, users will not have to retrain their hand for typing, unlike other contour keyboards on the market.
“With the increased awareness and demand for comfort in our day-to-day lives, Logitech’s new products offer a timely solution,” said Denis Pavillard, vice president of product marketing for Logitech’s keyboards and desktops. “According to a study at Harvard, for Logitech, the average person types approximately 2 million keystrokes every year. That’s equal to 200 hours of typing. The Logitech Wave Comfort Design will delight people by offering the perfect balance of comfort and usability.”
The new keyboards also offer larger, easy to see and use hotkeys which can be mapped to launch certain desktop items. Also, the new accessory features a type-speed indicator and an error-rate tracker that calculates the number of time a user hits the backspace key.
The Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave keyboard-and-mouse is to be expected to be available beginning in late August for $89.99. The corded model will be released at the beginning of October for $49.99.

Sony Flash Vaio Notebook

Sony has unveiled its first Vaio notebook computer to use a flash memory drive in place of a conventional spinning hard disk drive, giving it a performance edge against other ultraportable notebooks but with one trade off – storage capacity.

According to Sony, benefits of the solid state flash memory drives over conventional HDDs include faster boot-up time and operating speed, reduced weight, increased battery life and better durability due to the lack of moving parts.

However, the flash memory drive provides just 32GB of storage space. Similar Vaio notebooks in the range line feature 120GB and 160GB due to their use of traditional spinning disk HDDs.

Consumers will also have to pay a premium for the flash-based notebook, the VCG-TZ18GN, which will retail for $4,299.Sony made the announcement as part of its Sony Experience More trade show, which began yesterday with a retailer session and was opened to the media today.The TZ ultraportable notebook lineup also includes two other models – the TZ17GN (RRP $3,599) and the TZ16GN (RRP $2,999), both featuring an Intel Core 2 Duo U7600 processor (at 1.2GHz and 1.06GHz respectively), 11.1-inch ClearBright screen, Motion Eye camera, 1GB DDR2 SDRAM and Windows Vista Business.

While Sony claims the flash drive delivers superior battery peformance, its own specifications suggest the gains are rather modest. According to specifications provided by Sony, TZ models with standard HDDs achieve up to 11 hours battery life, while the flagship TZ18GN with a flash drive achieves 11.5 hours.Sony also launched the FZ series notebooks , which incorporate Blu-ray drives.

The flagship FZ18G features an Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor (2.2GHz), 1GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160GB hard drive, Blu-ray Disc drive, Windows Vista Home Premium and a 15.4-inch ClearBright high colour LCD screen.“Sony is pleased to introduce these new notebooks to the popular VAIO line-up,” said Sony Australia Senior Product Manager – Vaio, Hiro Ishikawa. “The FZ and TZ series will reinforce the Vaio traditions of AV/IT convergence, mobility and style.”

Peugeot 4002

Peugeot’s second Design Competition, launched at the 2002 Paris Motor Show, invited online amateur car designers to revisit the Marque’s heritage and design their own retro futuristic Peugeot. Of the 2800 projects registered on the www.peugeot-concours-design.com site, the Peugeot 4002, a project by 32 year-old German graphic artist Stefan Schulze, received the most votes. At the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, Mr Saint-Geours handed him the 'La Griffe' trophy, together with a cheque for 5000 € , and announced that a full-scale model of his design would be built and exhibited at the 2003 Frankfurt Show.Peugeot’s second Design Competition, launched at the 2002 Paris Motor Show, attracted more entries than the first competition, with 2800 projects from 90 countries (compared to 2000 from 80 countries two years previously).Stefan Schulze satisfied each of Peugeot's three requirements with his Peugeot 4002. Identification with the Marque is immediately apparent. Indeed, the Peugeot 4002 is a Peugeot by hint of the design of its headlamps and its general character, which is resolutely dynamic. In addition, by adopting one of the Marque’s most characteristic stylistic features, namely the large radiator grille behind which are concealed two headlamps, the project by the young German graphic artist immediately reveals the source of its inspiration, the Peugeot 402 dating from 1936. Finally, the symmetry accorded to the front and rear, and its architecture, which assigns a very forward position to the passenger compartment, make the project particularly original. The overall effect is paradoxical: soft, elegant contours and seamless transition produce a highly resilient car, resting solidly on its 21 inch wheels.

Microsoft to Lower Price Of Xbox 360

Microsoft is expected to lower the price of its Xbox 360 game console by $50 next month.

It's not known if the price cut will affect all models, or just the core Xbox 360 machine, which currently sells for about $300.
The price cut is expected to go into effect on August 8.
Microsoft's move comes two weeks after Sony cut $100 off the price of its Playstation 3 gaming system.
It says sales of the Playstation 3 have jumped 135 percent since the price drop.
However, sales of the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 still fall short of Nintendo's Wii game machine.

Realtime With Microsoft and EA Games

Real as in streaming advertisements piped dynamically to games like EA's forthcoming Madden 2008, NASCAR 2008, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008, NHL Hockey 2008, and Skate. An extension of Microsoft's game ad company Massive Inc. (purchased by the Redmond software leviathan last year for $200 million), the new EA/Microsoft deal will allow advertisers to feed changeable ads live to virtual billboards or other promotional in-game constructs. Goodbye static, built-in, quickly outmoded huckstering, hello voguish virtual real estate with advertising space for sale by the hour, day, week, etc.
How's it work? Massive's technology tracks the number of seconds gamers spend in view of an ad, then charges advertisers in 10 second exposure increments. 60 seconds @ $10/10 sec interval would net Microsoft $60, 30 seconds $30, and so on. Even if that rate's a dime or a penny, imagine the revenue windfalls with hundreds of thousands or even millions of gamers basking in the floodlit luminescence of "Say hello to iPhone" and "Always Coca-Cola."
2006's dynamic in-game ad spending? $26.1 million. 2007's projected: $100 million, and by 2010? Up to $645 million according to estimates from Yankee Group (as reported by AP via the Washington Post).