Filed under: Desktops , Gaming Tweak Town has given the new LAN Shark gaming PC by Smooth Creations a thorough once-over and they really seem to like what they see.

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Smooth Creations’ LAN Shark reviewed, well loved

Malcolm Gladwell / Guardian : A gift or hard graft?   —  We look at outrageously talented and successful people – the Beatles, Mozart, Rockefeller, Bill Gates – and assume there is such a thing as pure genius.  Not necessarily, argues Malcolm Gladwell…  The University of Michigan opened its new computer centre in 1971 …

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A gift or hard graft? (Malcolm Gladwell/Guardian)

Filed under: Gaming The 2PG TC8281 is one hard working portable game console — and trust us, it ain’t easy trying to make a living under the shadow of the PSP and its less expensive (and downright irreputable ) siblings .

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CLXVII: 2PG PSP knockoff adds second controller, nothing else

Filed under: Home Entertainment Remember that totally forgettable PoD that popped up and vanished back in June? You know — that minuscule box (around the size of two cigarette packs) that plays back practically anything (torrents, web videos, etc.) on your TV without a PC in between? Yeah, that very unit has finally secured a legitimate release date and price, and we can safely say that we’re riveted.

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Verismo Networks’ PoD web video-to-TV box grabs release date

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times : Lose the BlackBerry?  Yes He Can, Maybe   —  WASHINGTON — Sorry, Mr. President.  Please surrender your BlackBerry.  —  Those are seven words President-elect Barack Obama is dreading but expecting to hear, friends and advisers say, when he takes office in 65 days.

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Lose the BlackBerry? Yes He Can, Maybe (Jeff Zeleny/New York Times)

According to court documents, Microsoft not only knew that it was lying when it issued “Vista Capable” certification to computers with puny Intel 915 chipsets that had no such capability, but was thanked for it directly by Intel CEO Paul Ottelini . Imagine being someone who mattered at Microsoft having to listen to fellow executive Jim Allchin go on and on and on: “We are going to be misleading customers with the Capable program. OEMs (computer makers) will say a machine is Capable and customers will believe that it will run all the core Vista features

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Report: Allchin tried to stop Microsoft Vista-Certifying computers that couldn’t run it properly

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets It looks like Amazon started a trend last week when they announced their “Frustration Free Packaging” initiative, which boils down to the elimination of clamshell-style packaging for a lot of their top-sellers, and the introduction of more eco-friendly materials, like good old-fashioned (recycled) cardboard. According to The New York Times , a number of other companies, including Best Buy, Sony, and Microsoft are joining the club in eschewing heavy duty materials in favor of less aggressive ones

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Wave of mutilation ends as Best Buy, Sony and Microsoft take a stab at clamshell-free packaging initiative

When is an apple not just an apple? When their grower attaches decals to the fruit before they ripen, in the form of the Apple logo and iPods

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Feature: When Apple Meets Apple

For those who watched the new Quantum of Solace flick, this Star Trek movie trailer may be nothing new. If you couldn’t quite make it out of the house, we’ve got a cam-version after the break.

Here is the original: 
New Star Trek Movie Trailer Leaked

At 103 x 50 x 16 mm and 128g, the Nokia N85 is aimed at camera phone junkies. Featuring a 5.0-megapixel camera, 85MB of built-in memory, microSD card slot, integrated A-GPS, HSDPA, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, and an accelerometer. Video after the break

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5-Megapixel Nokia N85 Camera Phone Hands-On