With the Kindle 2.0 on the way, perhaps it is time to pay more attention to Amazon’s e-book reader. With a redesign and a new model for college students, there is a possibility that predictions of the “iPod for readers” might deliver. However, it seems that some of the original version’s features may remain the most interesting in the new Kindle.

The sales count is given to conjecture, so numbers prediction lends itself to amusing guesswork. For more concrete information, examine the 2.0 developments. Users have complained about interface issues, so the new version is supposed to fix finicky navigation and pare down size and weight. The college model will have a larger screen, redesigned for class coursework that usually comes photocopied and bound together at local copy shops, rather than for actual textbooks. The numbers are vague, the market is vague, but the product is covet-worthy.

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Microsoft Live Labs today released a free public version of Photosynth, which allows you to mesh a collection of photos into a 3D, 360-degree environment, which can then be embedded in any web page.

“Synths constitute an entirely new visual medium. Photosynth analyzes each photo for similarities to the others, and uses that data to build a model of where the photos were taken. It then re-creates the environment and uses that as a canvas on which to display the photos,” according to Microsoft Labs.

Photos are uploaded into Photosynth, which stitches — “synths” — them together into a 360-degree environment. A browser plugin is needed to view the montage, and the images are stored online. (more…)

Dell is currently marketing its new line of business laptops, the Latitude E Family, which comprises seven laptops for mainstream business users and three laptops that are targeted toward “power users,” also known as engineers and graphic designers. Most notably, the E4200 model weighs in at an effortless 1 kg—or 2.2 pounds. Dell is expected to release the Latitude E Family to the public in the coming weeks.

With a display size of 12.2 inches, Dell designed the E4200 to compete with its Sony, Apple, and HP counterparts in the United States. The Sony Vaio TZ offers an 11.1 inch screen at 2.7 pounds and the Macbook Air offers a 13.3 inch screen at 3 pounds. HP offers a 2133 Mini-Note PC with an 8.9 inch display, weighing in at 2.63 pounds. (more…)

Best Buy will be the first major U.S. retail store beyond to sell the iPhone 3G, beginning September 7.

The Minneapolis retailer announced Wednesday that it will sell the iPhone at its 970 stores. “Quite honestly, many of our customers come to our store every day asking for it,” said Best Buy’s mobile division president Shawn Score. “We’re excited we’re going to be able to say yes.”

Despite its incredible popularity and enviable sales, Apple’s phone is currently only available in two places, Apple and AT&T stores. Best Buy will sell the iPhone at the same prices as at the other outlets, and will still require a two-year AT&T contract for activation. (more…)

No matter how light your laptop, going through airport security is always a hassle. Not only is there the quasi gymnastic level of contortions required to simultaneously remove your laptop, jacket, shoes and belt, and change from pockets while waving your ticket and ID in the air– as hundreds of others are all doing the same, like tai chi in fast forward – there’s always the fear that sending your computer through the X-ray conveyor could damage your hardware or data.

The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) wants to help with all that. And Aerovation Products, based in Tipp City, Ohio has released the first X-ray friendly laptop case, relieving travelers from having to remover their laptops at airport security checks. (more…)

Who says Microsoft Vista sucks? If you’re looking online, it seems like it’s everybody. A Google search brings up entire blogs and Web sites solely dedicated to exposing fair use rights infringements, CPU-hogging mandatory security programs, and lack of application and hardware support. Specialized Web sites and blogs have the most vehement criticisms:

Responding to actual Microsoft documentation, Peter Guttman of University of Auckland has published an exhaustive article stating that the Vista Content Protection specification, which raises the bar on Digital Rights Management, “could very well constitute the longest suicide note in history.” Bruce Schneier condenses many of the details , concluding that the OS makes a computer less reliable and less secure. This slows down processing, and media pirates, the intended target for this software, crack the security in days. BlimpTV’s “Vista Sucks ” video says it simply: “No One Does Bloatware Like Microsoft!” (more…)

One of five short-lived Apple [AAPL] iPhone applications is causing quite a stir. Notorious $999.99 “I Am Rich,” effectively does nothing: the program loads as a screensaver of a glowing red gem… That’s all. The app was in the iTunes store for only two calendar days before the Cupertino-based company pulled it off, but not after 8 people purchased it - at the maximum possible price for an item on iTunes.

The flurry of fussing since last Tuesday, the day “I Am Rich” was published, has been monstrous. The initial shock that Apple would support a useless Money Suck struck some as poor business or even a sign of incompetency. Two people bought the app “by accident,” at least one because he thought “it was a joke .” It turns out that neither Apple nor his credit card company thought it was a joke, but Heinrich claims he will return the money to both individuals. But the furious debate continues on whether this app was a scam, high art, or just a waste of time. Heinrich says to the Los Angeles Times , “The App is a work of Art and included a ’secret mantra’ — that’s all.” (more…)

Widgets or gadgets, as they have come to be known for PCs, have become an easy and quick way for Web sites to attract traffic, but their rise has been accompanied with a new form of Internet spyware. Malicious widgets capitalize on the user’s assumption that all Google widgets are moderated, and some argue they are not. At the Black Hat Hacker conference in Las Vegas, consultants from SecTheory and Cenzic security companies demonstrated how a simple looking gadget could access personal information through an Internet web browser. Sites that encourage users to jazz up their pages appear to be the prime targets for such malicious gadgets.

But it doesn’t stop there. SecTheory and Cenzic believe that there are malicious widgets that steal information from other non-malicious widgets. Google discounts the SecTheory and Cenzic criticism. In a statement, Google retorts that the gadgets they distribute are regulated, and malicious gadgets are rarely found. When they are, the malicious widget is immediately blacklisted. (more…)

It appears that in a country where over 90 percent of the downloaded music is illegally pirated, if you can’t beat them, join them. Google, Inc. has launched a free and legal music download service that is available exclusively to internet users in China. The plan is for the Web site to sustain on advertising revenue, which will be split among Google, a Chinese music company named Top 100.cn, and the participating music record labels. The move symbolizes a potential shift in strategy against piracy, which is also a significant problem— albeit much less pervasive—in America and other countries. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry estimates that the music industry loses hundreds of millions in dollars as a result of piracy. (more…)

Indian company Infosys is bringing an internet-like experience to brick-and-mortar shopping. The IT and consulting firm launched ShoppingTrip 360, a“360-degree view of the shopping trip,” on July 31st.

Infosys hopes to make retail shopping as smart as internet shopping. Measuring “how” shoppers buy, as opposed to merely “what” they buy.

“ShoppingTrip360 leverages a network of wireless sensor-based applications within the store that allows people (shoppers), places (retailers) and products (CPG companies) to collaborate in real-time by creating an information ecosystem,” explains Girish A Ramachandra, head of innovations practice, retail, CPG and logistics for Infosys. (more…)