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Finally, the public will be able to read the letter that cost Mark Hurd his job. A judge in the Delaware Chancery Court hearing a shareholder lawsuit ruled that the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard hadn't made a strong enough case for why the letter should be kept secret, as he argued in December.

"Whether or not to seal a document allegedly containing confidential information does not turn on whether its disclosure would cause embarrassment," Judge Donald Parsons Jr. wrote in his opinion.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking records related to Hurd's departure from HP in … Read more

On March 8 and 9, 2011, just days before the largest earthquake in its recorded history literally moved Japan 8 feet, the country played host to the inaugural International Forum on Cybernics 2011 in Tokyo.

While calling the event groundbreaking might qualify as crass, researchers showcased some truly innovative ideas in the world of cybernics, an emerging field that Japan's University of Tsukuba Cybernics department describes as the "fusion of human, machine and information systems." The word itself is a fusion of cybernetics, mechatronics, and informatics.

One of those ideas, the HAL-5 exoskeleton robotics suit by Tokyo-based company Cyberdyne, is a wearable device that helps ordinary people accomplish extraordinary feats, such as lifting objects they otherwise couldn't. (We covered an earlier iteration of this in 2009.) Think of the improvements possible for caregivers, people with missing or paralyzed limbs, the elderly who want to continue living independently, factory workers, etc.… Read more

Microsoft Office handles so much business that eventually two things are bound to happen: 1) critically important files will be corrupted or damaged, and 2) there will be no backup. You'll then have two choices: 1) panic, and 2) attempt to recover the file. That's where Advanced Office Repair (AOFR) from DataNumen comes in. It's an enterprise-class tool for recovering and repairing not only Word, Excel, Outlook, and Outlook Express files but also Access databases. It can repair files on damaged or corrupted media like floppies, Zip drives, and CD-ROMs and handle legacy files, including Access 95, … Read more

CNET and Avira have teamed up together to bring you a CNET exclusive offer on Avira Premium Security Suite. For a limited time only, you can get three user license keys for the price of one.

If you bank online or use the Internet to make purchases, then you need maximum security. Avira Premium Security Suite not only offers you comprehensive protection from viruses and malware while surfing and e-mailing, it also has a firewall to protect you from external attack, even when you are surfing external networks using mobile technology. The suite also blocks nuisance spam mail, while the … Read more

Adobe Systems today released the Enterprise Edition of its Digital Publishing Suite, a tool for creating interactive publications on tablets--and for making Adobe more relevant in an age of new computing devices.

The software integrates with Adobe's existing Creative Suite applications such as InDesign to let designers produce digital publications for Apple's iPad, RIM's PlayBook, Motorola's Xoom, and Samsung's Galaxy Tab lines of Android-based tablets. It also dovetails with digital distribution systems, including Apple's App Store Subscriptions and Google One Pass. And it comes with analytics services from Adobe's Omniture acquisition so that … Read more

By now we've come to terms with the fact that the Sony Ericson Xperia Play is not the PSP Phone that we were all wishing for, but we still think it's worth comparing it against the game-centric Sony NGP, announced just a few short weeks ago.

The Xperia Play is the first PlayStation-certified smartphone on the market, which means it will be capable of downloading content from the PlayStation Store. Its 1Ghz Snapdragon processor promises 60-frames-per-second performance without wiping out the battery.

We're not sure if the Xperia Play can satisfy the gamer who wants the latest and greatest from the portable gaming scene, but the Xperia Play will probably offer the closest approximation to it of any smartphone around. The real question is whether consumers will find the need to own an Xperia Play in addition to a portable system like the NGP or 3DS.

For a head-to-head look at the Xperia Play and NGP, consult our spreadsheet below.

… Read more

I bought a PSP Go a year ago. Why? Because I believed the PSP could transform, become something more than it's been. Perhaps, even, achieve the promise I first felt when I held the very first PSP in my hands back in 2005. It was a magical device back then. It drew crowds, turned heads. Waiters and subway riders wanted to know what it was that I was holding, how they could buy one. My parents were fascinated. Friends wanted to hold it. A Sony portable device hasn't achieved that original PSP magic since--certainly not once the iPhone … Read more

It might not be long before Sony turns its back on iTunes, if a new report from Australia's The Age proves to be accurate.

According to the publication, Sony is working hard on on getting its Music Unlimited streaming service to catch on with customers. Michael Ephraim, head of Sony Computer Entertainment in Australia, said that as the service is rolled out around the world and it starts to gain popularity, it might be time for Sony to think twice about its partnership with Apple and iTunes.

"If we do [get mass take up] then does Sony Music … Read more

The fall months may be the season for colder weather and dying leaves, but in the software world it means major updates for security suites. We've reviewed and benchmarked 11 suites, organized them along the traditional line of cost, and picked one in each category that we highly recommend.

We looked at four updated free security options: AVG Anti-Virus Free 2011, Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.3, Microsoft Security Essentials 2, and Ad-Aware Free Internet Security 9. Other well-known free security programs, such as Avast and Avira, generally update in late winter or spring, so they were not included.

AVG … Read more