Week in review: Doing the security dance

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big upgrade--promising speedier browsing, swifter updates and better pop-up blocking--since the open-source browser's debut a year ago.

Laptops go to beauty school
Laptops got a lesson in high fashion, with the unveiling of several models that said farewell to boring beige and ushered in an era of devices as stylish as they are functional.

A few Windows laptops coming from Asian manufacturers pushed the size envelope and showed off impressively compact devices. But small dimensions didn't always mean small price tags; the Flybook laptop was going for $2,490. And early reviews said smaller isn't necessarily better as some devices took the miniaturization trend a touch too far to be useful.

Another laptop showed off its softer side. Intel and Toray Ultrasuede have designed a concept laptop that features a microfiber suede fabric. The skin is integrated directly into the casing of Intel Centrino laptop PCs.

End of the affair
The honeymoon between avid gamers and the Xbox 360 was short. There was no shortage of excitement leading up to the sale of the next-gen consoles. In a scene that played out across North America, game addicts huddled in the cold night to buy one of the first Xbox 360 consoles when they went on sale last week. And those who weren't lucky enough to score an Xbox through the usual means could buy one on eBay just 36 hours after the devices went on sale--if they were willing to shell out some serious cash. Average eBay sale prices for both the core and premium systems were several hundred dollars higher than regular retail prices.

But the love affair soured shortly after the initial craze. It didn't take long for some gamers to start griping about the new consoles. In the days following the 360's debut, video game fan sites and the mainstream press seemed to be in a race to outdo each other with reports of problems with the new consoles.

Quite a few postings, such as those appearing on game sites like Xbox-Scene, related the experiences of some angry Xbox 360 owners whose new machines have already overheated or crashed. But the good news for consumers--at least so far--is that the glitches appear to be isolated, according to game experts and research analysts.

Also of note
A device called the Mosquito emits a high-frequency pulsing sound that can reportedly be heard only by young people. The Mosquito's creator hopes it will provide a solution to the eternal problem of obstreperous teenagers who hang around outside stores and cause trouble...As Hollywood readies its new and controversial high-definition DVDs, at least one major studio is leaving some of the most advanced parts of the new disc formats on the table in favor of technology that's more than a decade old...By all accounts, Sony's high-definition discs are being tapped as the successor to standard DVD, but serious production questions remain...Samsung has created the world's largest flexible LCD screen.