Intel Wants to Stay Inside Netbooks, Tablets

Intel, sensing a threat from the ever-widening variety of non-Wintel-based netbooks and tablets, has formed a separate business unit to focus on those two categories of devices.

The new unit, whose existence was first reported by the New York Times, comes as a wave of Android-based tablets hits the market and as Google announces the first beta test of Chrome OS-based netbooks.

The group will be headed up by Doug Davis (pictured here), an Intel vice president previously responsible for the embedded chip unit that helped get the Atom processor into cars and other nontraditional devices. Before forming the new unit, Intel had included its tablet and netbook effort within the same unit that handled all other PC chips.

“It’s just a matter of laying extra focus on that area,” said Intel spokesman Bill Kircos.

Intel has found its way into the vast majority of netbooks, led by the success of its Atom chips. Tablets, meanwhile, have been a different story. Apple’s iPad–the dominant force in the market–uses Apple’s ARM-based A4 processor, while Android tablets also use various non-Intel chips. Intel has been in Windows-based tablets since the first tablet PCs came out early last decade, but Windows 7-based touchscreen slates are just now coming to market. Microsoft has promised that more models will be coming, particularly next year once Intel’s Oak Trail processor is available.

“The weight of the PC industry is now targeting tablets,” spokesman Bill Kircos said, adding that the company expects 35 Intel-based tablets to come out in the first half of next year, along with about 65 netbooks using its processors.

Although Chrome OS is designed to run on a variety of processors, it is worth noting that the first model–an unbranded netbook for early testers–does use an Atom processor.

Although netbooks have faded from the spotlight with the rise of the iPad, Kircos said that Intel hopes to spark interest in the category by bringing over some features previously found only in full-fledged notebooks, such as Wireless Display (Wi-Di), which lets computers beam content wirelessly to a television with a special adaptor.

“We’ll be starting to innovate a lot more on the netbook,” he said.

Palm Boss Jon Rubinstein Talks About Life at HP

Jon Rubinstein used to run one of the biggest companies in mobile. Now he’s working for somebody else.

What’s that like? The former Palm CEO is still overseeing Palm, but he’s doing it as a Hewlett-Packard employee, following HP’s $1.2 billion acquisition of his former company in July.

Rubinstein talked to All Things D’s Kara Swisher about the change, Palm’s chances against Apple, Google, Microsoft and Research in Motion–and whether he’s finally gotten around to using an iPhone.

New iPod touch 2G Guide

A big surprise turn up at 9th Sep for all iPod fans – the new iPod touch 2G and Nano 4G released. It’s really lucky and exciting to get a new iPod Touch 2G. And in order to help iPod users to learn more about it, I collected some information for this new iPod touch 2G guide. And it also includes how to enjoy the multimedia on you new iPod touch 2G such as download free video to iPod, convert DVD to iPod and transfer music video from iPod to iPod and iPod to computer.

Price:
As expected, the biggest news with Apple's second-generation iPod Touch is its drastically reduced price. The 8GB version of the iPod Touch 2G is now $229 (down from $299), the 16GB is $299 (down from $399), and the 32GB is $399 (down from $499).

Size:
The new iPod touch 2G is smaller and lighter than the original, 3.5 inch touch-screen, measuring 4.1 by 2.4 by 0.33 inches and weighing 4.05 ounces. With its rounded edges, flush display and curved, more compact design, the iPod touch 2G is promised to be more comfortable to hold and more portable than ever.

Game:
iPod touch 2G users can choose from hundreds of gaming titles such as "Spore Origins" and "Scrabble" from Electronic Arts, and "Real Football 2009" from Gameloft available on iTunes or directly through the App Store application on the iPod touch. The App Store works over Wi-Fi, enabling users to browse, purchase and wirelessly download applications.

Battery and “Genius”
The new iPod touch 2G promises up to 36 hours of music playback or six hours of video playback on a single charge. It also works with the new iTunes 8 Genius feature, allowing users to automatically create playlists while on the go. These playlists can also be synchronized with iTunes 8 servers.

Others features in new iPod touch 2G
Build-in accelerometer for casual listening; more convenient volume control button on the edge; the newest improvements “Nike+iPod” which can help you track your workouts by slipping a Nike+iPod sensor into you Nike+ shoes.

Then, Let’s talk about how to enjoy multimedia on your New iPod touch 2G
Part 1: How to free download video to your new iPod Touch 2G.
I always download free video and music from Youtube and limewire.
Youtube streaming videos are all FLV formats, so you need to play the video with a flash player programe on your computer, and if you want to put them on your new iPod touch 2G, use a iPod video Converter to convert FLV to MP4 format.
I got this totally free Youtube downloader, just enjoy.
http://www.aiseesoft.com/free-youtube-downloader.html

Limewire is a fast and popular freeware working on Windows, Linux and Mac OS. Through the P2P (peer-to-peer) network, you can free download various video and audio files by keywords searching. Most of its video formats is MPEG, so convert them and transfer to your iTunes then iPod touch 2G.
http://www.limewire.com/

Part 2: How to convert DVD to iPod Touch 2G
The new iPod touch 2G can only play MP4 and H.264 video, but DVD movie is MEPG, MPEG-2 video and CSS protected, so you need an application to convert DVD to MP4 video, then sync it to iPod touch 2G via iTunes.



To complete Part 1 and Part 2 I recommend you an iPod studio pack which includes a DVD to iPod converter and video to iPod converter.
You can get familiar with the apps by using this detailed step by step guide:
http://www.aiseesoft.com/article/download-dvd-pdf-youtube-videoto-ipod.html

Part 3: How to convert files back to your computer and transfer between iPod
Because iTunes prevents you from copying music or video from the iPod touch 2G back to computer, so you need a special tool to do that.
Yamipod, Aiseesoft iPod to Computer Transfer, Sharepod, iDump
And then re-add it to your iTunes library and sync it to other iPod touch 2G.

Free Trial: Free download Aiseesoft DVD to iPod Suite

view the datail of ipod nano chromatic/touch 2 converter

How to convert MTS/M2TS video

MTS or M2TS format is the equivalent of h.264 or MPEG-4 AVC. It is a fairly new High Definition codec that provides greater compression than the regular MP4 and others. Those two High Definition format always be used on HD Camcorder, such as Sony, Canon or Panasonic.

As they are HD video, most of our video editor such as windows movie maker can not edit it directly. And also you can not upload it to youtube.com and share with your friends.

So you need to convert them into normal video format, such as wmv, mp4, avi and so on.

Here I know a really powerful MTS Converter and M2TS Converter
And the process of operation is really easy and fast.

Part 1: How to convert MTS video
Step 1: Load Video
Click "Add File" to load the video that you want.

Step 2: Choose Your Output Profile and Settings
From "Profile" drop-down list you can choose your output profile according to your need.
For example, if you have a iPod and you want to convert video for it, you need to choose "iPod" from the profile list and then it also provides the second chance to specify your iPod generation.
You can also click "setting" adjust the settings of your output video, such as "video/audio encoder", "Video/audio Bitrate", "Channels", "Resolution" and so on..

Step 3: Conversion
After you have done all the steps above you can click "Start" button to start your conversion.

Part 2: How to convert M2TS video

Step 1: Add File
Load your M2TS video.

Step 2: Choose Profile and Settings
Select your output profile according your need and adjust the settings of your output video if you like.
(the default setting works well)

Step 3: Start Conversion
Click "Start" to begin your conversion.

Here I also recommend you a really nice HD Video Converter, which can convert HD TS, HD MTS, HD M2TS, HD MPEG, HD WMV, HD MPG, HD MP4, QuickTime HD MOV, HD H.264, HD RM video, etc

How to import video from camcorder to Mac

You may be ready to make a movie after you capture great footage with your FireWire camcorder. In this condition, you need import your camcorder to your Mac. More specially, you need to connect your camcorder to your Mac, and then copy footage from the camcorder into iMovie. And when you import video into an iMovie project, it would divide your video into individual clips for the easy editing.



Part 1. How to Import Video from a Camcorder to your Mac
Step 1: Connect camcorder to your Mac computer with cable (USB/Wifi)
Step 2: Select mode of camcorder such as PC/Computer mode.
Step 3: iMovie will automatic open Import window.
Step 4: If DVD Player automatic open. just quit DVD Player first.
Step 5: So now, you can review your video or select "Import All"(make sure your switch is set to "Automatic").
Step 6: If you select "Manual", you can import some clip to iMovie
Step 7: If you import from Tape based device (DV/HDV), iMovie will automatic revise tape and import all
Step 8: iMovie automatic create thumbnail video after complete import

Part 2. Tips:
iMovie automatically detects your camcorder
iMovie will automatically detect when you have a FireWire camcorder connected. If you see the message No Camera Attached, make sure your camera is turned on and properly plugged in to your computer via a FireWire cable and that your camcorder is set to VCR, VTR, or Play mode. You can also click the Connection Help button for more suggestions.
iMovie supports different video formats
When you create your project, choose the appropriate video format depending on your needs. For importing video from your camcorder, choose between DV, DV Widescreen, HDV 1080i, and HDV 720i. For recording from your iSight, select iSight. If you will be copying MPEG-4 files from your PDA or phone, select MPEG-4.
Import directly to the iMovie timeline
You can import footage directly from your camcorder to the iMovie timeline rather than to the Clips pane. This is a quick and easy way to get your footage into your iMovie project. You can then edit right in the timeline. From the iMovie menu, choose Preferences, click Import, and then choose the option Place clips in Movie Timeline.
If you're importing video that is already edited
Instead of importing your video as separate clips, you can set iMovie to import your video as a single clip. This may be useful if you're importing a movie that you've already edited and you just want to change a small portion. From the iMovie menu, choose Preferences, click Import, and then deselect the "Start a new clip at each scene break" option. If you prefer, select "Limit scene length to" and set a limit for the number of minutes. This will ensure your imported files don't get too large, in case you'll be copying clips between iMovie projects.
What you need to make a high-definition video with iMovie
High definition video is quickly becoming the format you see broadcast on TV. An HD camcorder stores more pixels than a standard camcorder, letting you see more detail in your video footage. iMovie supports importing and editing video from HD camcorders (HDV 720p and 1080i), so you can make movies just like the pros-and it's a great way to archive your most precious life events in the highest resolution possible .
Using video from an MPEG-4 camera
Many digital still cameras, PDAs, and mobile phones let you record short videos in the MPEG-4 format, a standard compression that is used to significantly reduce the file size of video. While iMovie doesn't know how to import video from these devices directly, as it does with FireWire devices, you can still use the MPEG-4 files once you've copied them to your Mac. Just drag them into the iMovie Clips pane using the Finder or import them using Import from the File menu.
Monitor the remaining amount of hard disk space
Digital video clips use a large amount of hard disk space. For example, five minutes of DV footage uses approximately 1GB of space. The same amount of HD video can occupy between 2GB to 4GB, depending on the format and footage. To save hard disk space, import and edit your video in sections instead of trying to do so all at once. You can see how much space remains on your hard disk by using the monitor located in the lower-right corner of the iMovie window.
Using video from your connected or built-in iSight camera
You can record video directly into your iMovie project with your iSight camera. That’s to say, you can add clips to your project spontaneously while you're working on it. Just connect your iSight camera to the FireWire port of your Mac and you're ready to start recording. If you have more then one camcorder connected, such as a camcorder and an iSight,- or you have an iMac with a built-in iSight-choose iSight from the pop-up menu that appears when you switch to camera mode.

GSA Goes Google

The General Services Administration–which oversees government procurement–will soon become the first major federal office to move to cloud-based email and calendar apps on an agency-wide basis. And it’s chosen Google Apps to do it.

A hard-won victory for Google, which beat out Microsoft for the $6.7 million five-year contract, leaving the folks up in Redmond more than a little peeved to see Office’s ubiquity in government threatened in this way.

“We are disappointed in the GSA’s internal e-mail decision,” the company said in a post to its “Why Microsoft” blog, adding that it is nonetheless “gratified that so many federal, state & local governments have chosen Microsoft to meet their business needs.”

You can almost hear the gritting teeth, can’t you? The horror of 15,000 GSA employees all using Gmail….

So again, a coup for Google, which has been working hard to push its cloud computing suite of messaging and collaboration apps to the government.

Interestingly, sources close to the negotiations tell me that the RFP (Request for Proposal) for the GSA contract was amended midway through the process to allow for offshoring of government data outside the United states–as an accommodation for Google.

Which is odd, because you’d think that if the United States government is embracing cloud computing, it would prefer the clouds in which its data is stored to be within its own borders. That Google requested and was granted the option to store GSA data offshore isn’t necessarily troubling (it must meet GSA security requirements regardless), but it is…interesting.

Google wouldn’t tell me the reason for its request, although I’ve heard it may have something to do with how the company segregates data and apps geographically. It was, however, quick to insist that it isn’t planning to offshore any U.S. government data entrusted to it–at least, currently.

Said spokesman Andrew Kovacs, “The government’s starting with Gmail and Calendar, and their data will be stored in a segregated system located in the continental United States that is exclusively for our government customers.”

Exclusive: Silicon Valley Go-To Guy Peter Currie Joining Twitter Board

According to sources close to the situation, well-known Silicon Valley power player Peter Currie is joining the board of directors of Twitter.

It’s an interesting choice to bring the well-regarded moneyman to the microblogging start-up, and could indicate an intent to push to an IPO eventually.

As first reported by NetworkEffect’s Liz Gannes earlier this week, Twitter is now considering funding offers from big venture funds, specifically Russia’s DST Global and Silicon Valley’s Kleiner Perkins, as well as fielding incoming acquisition interest from Google and Facebook.

Currie should know about this kind of noisy swirl around a hot start-up.

Back in the heyday of Web 1.0, as the CFO of Netscape Communications, he led the iconic browser company into history, as the first great Internet rocket ship, when it went public on August 9, 1995.

While the Netscape experience ended in tears, Currie’s career has not and he has become a kind of go-to elder statesman in the Web 2.0 era.

A year ago, for example, he joined Facebook as its temporary CFO.

That move came after the social networking site, in a bit of turmoil, parted ways with its then CFO, Gideon Yu, following mutual disagreements.

Indeed, Currie plays the calm, collected wise man well.

Unusually tall, aggressively avuncular and laid-back, he loves Elvis and enjoys pranking reporters like BoomTown.

(Case in point: Back in the day, he spread the rumor around Silicon Valley that I was short due to a medical condition.)

Now the president of Currie Capital, a private investment firm, he had previously worked at General Atlantic in private equity.

After Netscape, he was a partner and co-founder of the Barksdale Group, an early-stage (and ill-fated) venture capital firm.

Before Netscape, he was CFO of McCaw Cellular Communications and also worked at Morgan Stanley.

Currie is also board-happy, serving as a director of a variety of tech firms, private and public. They have included CNET Networks, Critical Path, Clearwire, Safeco, Ofoto, Tellme Networks and Zantaz, as well as Sun Microsystems.

He has an MBA from Stanford University and went to Williams College.

In other words, just the kind of pedigree needed to give some additional burnish to Twitter board, which now includes Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital’s Bijan Sabet, Benchmark Capital’s Peter Fenton, Co-founder and former CEO Evan Williams, Co-founder Jack Dorsey and CEO Dick Costolo.

Apparently, it’s time to toss another dude in there!