Flash player 10 is officially in Beta form. The newest version of Adobe's browser plugin will bring 3D support to the platform.

"In addition, a new text engine in Flash Player 10 allows designers and developers to have more creative control over device font attributes such as rotation and style, Adobe said."

The network broadcast giant has dropped a truck load of cash to seal the purchase, & I'm left wondering at the goal here. An MSNBC-like business-tech conglomeration of sorts?

"The deal is expected to close in Q3. CBS reckoned the acquisition will propel it into one of the US's top web sites."

The guys down at ChileHardware have gotten their hands on an MSI Wind, & have posted an exclusive preview of the subnotebook looking to take on the likes of the Eee PC.

"Wind, rather than a particular product, is a family of computers, both desktop and portable, focused to a very sensitive market price. On this occasion we saw her portable version, and we anticipate that we were quite astonished."

The DigitalTrends crew has posted a roundup of all of the major digital music services available to consumers today. Seven services are included their review, ranging from iTunes to Walmart. I personally like Amazon.

"Helping illustrate just how prolific music's online presence has become, remember, three years ago MySpace and Facebook were barely twinkles in their parents' eyes. Now, they're giants just starting to dip their toes into the record biz, either directly or indirectly, and act as vital showcases for so many bands, signed and unsigned alike."

Video Cards

Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 Toxic @ ASELabs

Power

BFG ES-800 800W @ techPowerUp

OCZ EliteXStream 1000W @ 3DGameMan

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad @ Hardware Secrets

Cooling

ThermoLab Nano Silencer CPU Cooler @ TweakTown

Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and Red Scorpion CPU Coolers @ Madshrimps

Cases

Silverstone Crown CW03 HTPC @ THG

Lian-Li PC V1010 @ ThinkComputers

Etc.

RIM BlackBerry Bold (9000) Smartphone @ CoolTechZone

Dust-Off Keyboard Quiver LAN Party Travel Bag @ Futurelooks

Sunbeam SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter @ techPowerUp

Samsung ML-1630 @ OverclockersOnline

It seems that Vista Media Center users attempting to record some shows produced by NBC/Universal are getting the shaft from Vista's DRM-infested goodness. Anyone surprised?

"When this kind of thing happens, people immediately question whether TV and cable networks are trying to thwart time-shifting technologies and force people to watch commercials again. Even though it's rarely done, content providers do have the ability to communicate with some time-shifting hardware to block the recording of shows or broadcasts."

120Hz panels are currently the cream of the CCFL crop when it comes to LCD TVs, but Samsung plans to see that bet & double it by 2011.

"Developed with an extremely cost-efficient design, the Samsung blue phase mode does not require liquid crystal alignment layers, unlike today's most widely used LCD modes such as twisted nematic, in-plane switching or vertical alignment, according to the company."

Notebooks

Toshiba Satellite M305 @ DigitalTrends

Video Cards

Palit GeForce 9600 GSO Sonic 768MB @ TweakTown .

Dual MSI N9800GX2 @ ChileHardware (Spanish)

RAM

Aeneon XTune 2GB DDR2-1142 Kit @ Bigbruin

Power

AcBel Polytech iPower 660W @ HardwareSecrets

Ultra X3 800W @ Tweaknews

Kingwin 700W Mach 1 @ TechwareLabs

Cases

Lian Li PC-P80R ATI/AMD Spider Series @ hi-techreviews

Cooler Master Centurion 590 @ TechGage

NZXT Tempest @ Phoronix   Hiper Osiris @ Pro-Clockers

Etc.

Solio H1000 Hybrid Solar Charger @ TechwareLabs

OCZ SATA-II 32GB 2.5-Inch SSD OCZSSD2-1S32G @ BenchmarkReviews

EVO-G MP1 Mousepad @ HardwareLogic

The guys at HotHardware are celebrating Memorial Day this year by giving away the following:

"... an AMD Phenom X4 9750-based system, complete with dual Diamond Multimedia Radeon HD 3850 512MB graphics cards running in CrossFire mode, and an awesome, custom painted Smooth Creations case emblazoned with the good ol' Stars and Bars!"

This is another forums-based contest in which they'll randomly select a member based on community involvement and contribution.

The elite [H] PSU review team puts two woefully over-priced units available at your corner Best Buy through the ringer. Anyone really surprised that they don't hold up to their "advertised coolness" can turn in your geek badge at the door.

"Our best suggestion to the hardware enthusiast is this. If you end up at Best Buy and have to buy a power supply then and there, you are best sticking to the brand names of Antec, BFGTech, and Thermaltake that Best Buy happens to carry."

ComputerWorld has posted a review of the three available 3G networks in the US. They pit AT&T, Verizon, & Sprint against each other in terms of service availability & speed using cellular network cards from each on a Lenovo X300.

"I timed how long it took to establish a connection with each network, followed by speed tests. Using Alken's bandwidth meter, I was able to gauge download and upload speeds as well as how long it took to load that vendor's home page."

The availability of low-cost DDR2 and 64bit Vista has finally pushed 4GB+ of RAM into the mainstream, and the LegitReviews guys wanted to find out whether the extra memory made a difference while gaming.

"Something else that we noted while running the benchmarks is that game loading times were also significantly enhanced by installing 4GB of system memory."

HP has done its second multi-billion dollar deal inside of ten years, and is looking to take on IBM with a purchase that puts it squarely into the government services arena.

"The companies said Tuesday their boards had unanimously approved the deal, in which EDS shareholders would get $25 per share. The sale is expected to close in the second half of this year and more than double HP's revenue from services, which was $16.6 billion in 2007. EDS had $22.13 billion in revenue last year."

Notebooks

Hypersonic Avenger AG2 12" Notebook @ TechGage

Alienware Area-51 m15x Laptop @ Digital Trends

Video Cards

Sapphire Toxic 512MB Radeon HD3870 @ Bigbruin

Sapphire HD 3650 OC @ Pro-Clockers

Storage

Corsair Voyager 32GB Flash Drive @ TechwareLabs

Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 1TB External @ ThinkComputers

Input

Microsoft Sidewinder Gaming Mouse @ CoolTechZone

Everglide DKTBoard Gaming Keyboard @ techPowerUp

Etc.

Etymotic EtyBlu Bluetooth Headset @ CoolTechZone

In Win B2 Stealth Bomber Mid Tower Case @ TweakTown

Mario Kart - Wii @ Futurelooks