flash

I learned a lesson last week: BlackBerry PlayBook owners are a passionate bunch! My mere suggestion that the tablet was not long for the world (along with a couple forehead-smacking factual errors) elicited a response that I can only describe as fanboy-esque.

Even a RIM rep reached out to insist, "RIM remains committed to the BlackBerry PlayBook." Time will tell, of course, but I'm glad to see the product has such a vocal fan-base. I'm going to see if I can get some hands-on time with a PlayBook so I'm better informed about it next … Read more

Steve Appleton mirrored the survivalist streak in the company he led.

Micron Technology CEO Appleton died Friday at 51 years old when a high-performance Lancair plane he was piloting crashed at Boise Airport in Idaho.

Lancairs aren't easy to fly. In fact, they're difficult enough that the Federal Aviation Administration gave notice to Lancair operators in 2009 that the planes had a "disproportionate" number of fatal accidents.

Though Lancairs accounted for only 3 percent of the nation's amateur-built airplanes, they accounted for 16 percent of the fatal accidents in the 11 months prior to the … Read more

Microsoft began distancing itself from browser plug-ins last year starting with Internet Explorer on Windows 8's Metro interface, but it spoke more definitively today: plug-ins are bad for the Web.

"Metro-style IE runs plug-in free to improve battery life as well as security, reliability, and privacy for consumers," said John Hrvatin, Internet Explorer program manager lead, in a blog post. "A plug-in free Web benefits consumers and developers and we all take part in the transition."

The upcoming IE10 browser doesn't just run in Metro, Microsoft's next-generation, touch-centric interface geared for tablets and … Read more

On Wednesday, President Obama is due to visit an Intel plant in Arizona. Here's why.

Obama aims to highlight manufacturing in America--one of the State of the Union's themes--and it's hard to find a better example of that than the world's leading chipmaker. Intel is now one of America's foremost manufacturers, boasting some of the most sophisticated manufacturing facilities in the world, many of them sprinkled throughout the U.S. 

Its development fabs (fabrication plants) in Oregon are the most cutting-edge of its leading-edge factories and have already received one presidential visit, in February … Read more

When the MacDefender fake antivirus malware was making its rounds early last year, there was a daily cat-and-mouse game between the criminals developing the software and various malware detection companies, plus Apple with its XProtect routine that establishes its "Safe Downloads" list.

While MacDefender has been properly addressed and is no longer an issue, the latest cat-and-mouse game appears to be revolving around the recent Flashback malware that was found for OS X. Flashback is a Trojan horse that is distributed as a fake version of Adobe's Flash player program. When installed it will insert a payload … Read more

In a decision inauspicious for XQD, SanDisk is skipping over the new memory card format for high-end cameras.

"At this time, SanDisk has chosen not to productize the XQD format," SanDisk spokeswoman Wendy Vlieks told CNET News late yesterday.

The ringing non-endorsement is particularly notable since SanDisk helped create the format in the first place.

The comment also means that XQD--developed by the CompactFlash Association (CFA) as a successor to CF cards--currently lacks support from the two top-tier flash card makers. The other, Lexar, was noncommittal about XQD last week: "As a leading CFA member, Lexar has … Read more

It's flash card season at CES (especially given the shutterbug boost by the conjoined Photo Marketing Association show), and SanDisk has a contribution with high-capacity mid-range SDXC cards.

The two SanDisk Extreme models, 64GB and 128GB, can transfer data at 45MBps. That's less than half the speed of the company's top-end Extreme Pro line of SD cards at 95MBps, but it should be good enough for many photographers and videographers.

The high capacity comes with a price premium--prices for the cards are $200 and $400--but could be useful for those shooting lots of video or traveling away … Read more

Apple today confirmed earlier reports it has acquired Israel-based flash memory startup Anobit.

Apple's acquisition of the company, which makes flash memory technology found in the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air, was first reported in December by Israel's Calcalist business news site. The deal was reported to be worth $400 million to $500 million.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling confirmed the acquisition to Bloomberg but declined to discuss the purchase price or the company's plans for the startup.

If the deal happened in the price range previously reported, it would rank as one of Apple's largest to … Read more

Lexar announced a gaggle of new SD memory cards at CES today, with 400X and 600X data-transfer speeds to keep up with professionals' needs higher resolution videos and photos.

The SDHC and SDXC cards use the UHS-I interface for faster transfer speeds (SDXC is a newer version of the SD standard that extends to higher memory capacities.) Most of them will arrive in February, but Lexar is particularly chuffed about a 400X 128GB SDXC card due in April that the company boasts will be the first at that capacity using UHS-I.

For those who prefer absolutes, 400X translates to 60MBps … Read more