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Are today's Macs related to the Mac Daddy?

What is a Macintosh?

After 25 years on the market, it's a good question, since someone with no knowledge of computers looking at, say, today's MacBook Pro, would not necessarily know that it evolved from 1984's original 128K Mac.

But evolve it did, and on the 25th anniversary of the release of that original machine (which is this Saturday), one might indeed wonder what hereditary DNA, if any, today's Macs retain from their much more humble ancestors.

The answer is some, but not that much, at least not when it comes to specific identifiable hardware features, … Read more

Royal Navy goes with 'Windows for Subs'

Bucking the open-source trend, the British Royal Navy has developed a modified version of Microsoft Windows XP and has begun installing it on its fleet of nuclear submarines.

The new Submarine Command System Next Generation (SMCS NG) employs standard multifunction consoles with double LCD screens, linked with "commercial grade" cables and software to internal Ethernet local area networks (LANs) aboard each sub.

Ever thrifty, the spit-and-baling-wire Brits went with Windows in part because it was cheaper to maintain. The use of commercial off-the-shelf technology is expected to save the U.K. taxpayers up to $32 million over the … Read more

Daily Tidbits: Netvibes gets facelift, NY Times enlists help from celebrities

Personalized home page provider, Netvibes announced Monday that users are now able to arrange widgets on their home page in a variety of new ways to improve their page's design, instead of using the current, simple arrangement options. Each widget also features a new view mode, which allows them to decide how each is displayed. Users can choose among a carousel view, ticker display, magazine layout, or a headline view.

The NYTimes.com announced Tuesday that it has started a new marketing campaign to increase the popularity of its site. According to the company, it has added a new page … Read more

Media input device makes it polite to point

Tend to gesticulate? The iPoint Presenter might suit your communication style well. It's a completely contact-free input media device that lets you rotate virtual objects, press buttons, and change the size of onscreen images with simple hand gestures alone. No special gloves or sensory equipment needed.

Created by the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications in Berlin, the iPoint Presenter can recognize eight fingers at a time--in real time. It's currently on display at Wired NextFest 2008, a showcase of global innovations that runs through October 12 in Chicago. … Read more

paidContent.org operator acquired by Guardian News & Media

ContentNext Media, which operates PaidContent.org, announced Friday that it was acquired by Guardian News & Media (GNM), in a move to bolster the parent company of Guardian's B2B division and give it a U.S. presence.

Under the deal, PaidContent.org will become part of the Guardian Professional group division of GNM's parent company, Guardian Media Group. ContentNext, which sells news and analysis to media, entertainment, and technology executives, will remain a standalone business as part of GNM.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

According to a PaidContent.org blog, the company was planning another funding round when … Read more

Images: Death to the beige box

Microsoft's fourth annual Next-Gen PC Design Competition put entrants to the task of dreaming up concepts that not only offer eye-catching aesthetics, but also cater to people's passions.

Check out News.com's gallery on the competition, featuring designs that tap into niches like travel, sports, fitness, cooking, and children. Winning concepts were inspired by everything from napkins to building blocks to the everyday book.

Video: Blog stars Lodwick, Cashmore rock out at Internet Week party

NEW YORK--If there were a meter of Internet "fameballing," as Gawker likes to dub those fine folks who get famous on the Internet for something and keep getting more and more notorious even though most people aren't really sure why, it would've been flying off the charts on Sunday night.

The reason? Two of the tech-gossip circuit's most popular poster boys, dapper Mashable exec Pete Cashmore and eccentric Vimeo founder Jakob Lodwick took the stage together in a game of Rock Band.

The performance of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps," with Cashmore on … Read more

The 404 113: Where we drink well, eat well, love well, and live well

Food Dude Kevin Roberts gets red hot on the show today and dishes his take on quick and healthy eats, the many applications of Frank's Red Hot Sauce, 10 minute hottie Rachel Ray, this season's America's Next Food Network Star, and how to satisfy a mean case of the munchies. EPISODE 113 Download today's podcast

The state of the next-gen video game console

With the release Monday of Wii Fit, the exercise game that some video game analysts have predicted could become one of the best-selling titles of all time, it was Nintendo's turn to dominate headlines related to the so-called next generation of consoles.

The "next-gen" era began in November 2005 when Microsoft launched its Xbox 360 and then really kicked into gear a year later when Sony and Nintendo pulled back the wraps on the PlayStation 3 and Wii, respectively.

Being big business--video game sales in the U.S. alone in 2007 were $9.5 billion--everyone has been … Read more

Super-rugged PC begs to be smashed

Recently we've seen some innovative clear hard-shell cases for iPhones and iPods, but somehow we don't think they'd meet the demands of the super-rugged "Vigor Evo HD." Why? As you can see in the photo, this PC has a 17-inch LCD stuck on the side of its case.

It's unclear why someone in need of a rugged computer would want this kind of exposed monitor, which seems to be begging to be smashed. Still, NextComputing describes the machine as its "highest-performance rugged workstation," according to Engadget, with a 3-terabyte hard drive, dual-layer … Read more

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