China Looking to AMD and VIA for Netbooks Larger than 12 Inches

Some manufacturers are trying their best to blur the line that separates netbooks from notebooks. According to a Commercial Times report, white-box netbook manufacturers in China have also turned their attention to producing netbooks with large displays. They are said to be manufacturing netbooks, with screen sizes in excess of 12 inches, based on AMD and VIA processors. According to the report, they are deliberately avoiding using Intel processors as the chip maker has placed restrictions on the screen size of Atom-toting netbooks. Besides, they are helped in making their choice by the fact that VIA processors are much cheaper than their Intel counterparts.

DDO DDE-layed

Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited’s been delayed. Honestly, though, we’re not all that impressed. After BioShock 2, Max Payne 3, Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Dark Void all closed their eyes, held their breath, and made the leap into 2010, DDO’s month-long delay seems, well, anticlimactic. September 9? That’s, like, tomorrow.

“While we are very pleased with the performance of the game and are excited about the response from the players, we are committed to delivering a high-quality experience. We feel that more time is needed to deliver on this commitment,” said Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer of DDO Unlimited, in a press release.

“We feel that more time is needed to deliver on this commitment. As a result, we are delaying our launch to ensure that we can support the massive increase in players that we are expecting and deliver them a free to play experience like none other.”

The free update was originally set to go live on August 4. Now it’s not. Really though, this delay’s nothing. If you want something to do in the meantime, go check out our preview of the game. By the time you’re done reading, the update will probably have landed, settled down, and started a family in a scenic rural area. Wake us when a game gets pushed into 2011. Then we’ll talk

Asus Cancels the World First USB 3.0 Motherboard

USB 2.0 rated at 480Mbit/s sounded great when it was released back in April 2000, but more than 9 years later its becoming pretty easy to saturate with our never-ending collection of high speed external drives. USB 3.0 clocks in at a much more respectable 4.8 Gbit/s, but those patiently awaiting hardware will have to cool their heels just a bit longer.

According to the Inquirer, Asus is cancelling what would have been the world’s first USB 3.0 motherboard the P6X58. The company hasn’t given any specific comment on it’s reason for the cancellation, but I would surmise it has something to do with the fact that you still can’t find any devices to pair up with it yet.

Speculation aside, I’m sure Asus still has USB 3.0 on it’s roadmap, but we still have no idea when the first motherboards / devices will hit the market. Want to learn more about the new standard? Make sure to take a look at our comprehensive guide to all things USB 3.0.

MySpace Offers Email & Instantly Becomes the 4th Largest Provider in the World

The market for free email service providers has become a bit over saturated lately, but when a heavyweight like My Space enters the arena people take notice. The social networking site has been struggling in recent years to hold its ground against arch rival Facebook, but now finally has a unique feature that might help set it apart. Facebook allows users to send messages back and forth, but this is limited to friends on your contact list and lacks many of the features you would expect from a traditional email account.

What makes the My Space offering so unique is the sheer number of users that that is brings to the table. With over 130 million accounts world wide, it instantly becomes the 4th largest email provider in the world and is second in the U.S. only to Yahoo. Google’s Gmail by comparison ranks a distant 5th. My space users will automatically be assigned an email address based on the vanity URL they occupy and changing the email address will also shift the URL of the profile page.

Feature wise it holds up well against the traditional providers, but unfortunately it doesn’t offer any type of POP/IMAP support. For some this isn’t a problem, but I’m personally not a huge fan of closed email services that don’t allow me to export my data. Should My Space choose to shut down the service somewhere down the road, your emails will be trapped.

Anyone plan on switching over to @myspace.com?

Browser Ballot Screen Won’t be Limited to Windows 7

Last week we reported on the new concessions Microsoft was proposing to the EU in the hopes of quelling it’s ongoing antitrust battles in Europe. The solution was a simple ballot screen pushed out as a “high priority” Windows Update, but what we didn’t know at the time is that it will also be sent out to computers running Windows XP and Vista as well.

The exact lineup of browsers hasn’t been finalized yet, but it is said to include 10 of “the most widely-used web browsers that run on Windows with a usage share of equal to or more than 0.5% in the European Economic Area”. Oddly enough, it’s still not even clear if Opera meets these requirements and given that they are the ones responsible for the antitrust woes facing Microsoft, would be bitter justice.

Opera officials overjoyed with the concessions, but never resting on their laurels, are said to now be pushing for an “icon-less ballot screen”. I suppose they are concerned that many users associate the “blue E” icon with “internet” and it still gives an unfair advantage to Microsoft. They are also said to be asking that this browser ballot be pushed out worldwide, but I somehow doubt Microsoft will take this approach. The browser ballot screen will include two links, one to the manufacturers website where they can learn more and an extra link directly to a download server.

Given the amazing amount of concessions being made by Microsoft, is Opera being unreasonable by asking for more?

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Sony Plugs Google's Library into E-Reader

SAN FRANCISCO - Sony Corp said on Wednesday it has made available over 1 million public domain books on its electronic readers via Google Inc's Books project, which digitizes classic titles not protected by copyright.

Sony, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble Inc and others are racing to beef up their offerings to meet growing demand for digital books on electronic readers: tablet-like devices where whole books can be stored and read.

Although the devices do not appeal to all readers, due to their cost and technical issues yet to be fully resolved, the companies are trying establish a toehold in a market they believe will eventually become a profit driver.

Sony said the addition of Google's library gives it the largest, most comprehensive array of electronic books available in the market.

Last week, U.S. bookseller Barnes & Noble announced what it touted as the world's largest online bookstore, with more than 700,000 titles. That selection includes more than half a million public domain books from Google.

Amazon's Kindle store offers over 300,000 titles. The Seattle-based online retailer said it would not comment on whether it planned to include Google's titles as well.

Sony was the first to market with its Sony Reader in 2006 and now sells two versions of the device. The launch of the Sony Reader was eclipsed a year later when Amazon entered the market with its Kindle, now also sold in two formats.

Privately owned Plastic Logic plans to enter the market early next year with its own e-reader, and Barnes & Noble said it will be that device's exclusive provider of digital books.

One major issue impeding consumer adoption of digital readers is the closed system of sharing.

In Amazon's case, titles purchased through the Kindle Store can be read on the Kindle and Apple Inc's iPhone or iPod Touch, but not on the Sony Reader. Barnes & Noble's titles, meanwhile, are accessible on Apple devices and Research in Motion Ltd's Blackberry, but not on the Kindle or Sony Reader.

Similarly, titles purchased from Sony's store can only be played on the company's reader.

EBay Says No Change to Skype IPO Plans

SAN FRANCISCO - EBay Inc shrugged off speculation on Thursday that its planned spinoff of Skype could be in danger, given an ongoing dispute over the technology used in the online telephone unit and new plans to develop proprietary software.

"Our plans to separate Skype have not changed," the company said in a statement. EBay said it would not comment beyond a regulatory filing it made on Wednesday.

EBay wrote in the quarterly filing that it recognized that pending litigation over the technology behind Skype could ultimately have an "adverse result," so it had begun to develop alternative software to the technology it licenses from Joltid Ltd for Skype.

The filing cast some doubt on an initial public offering or spinoff of Skype, which is scheduled for next year.

Earlier this year, Skype filed a claim in the United Kingdom against Swedish company Joltid, which is controlled by Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. Skype sought resolution on a dispute over a software licensing agreement between the parties that Joltid was seeking to terminate.

Joltid brought a counterclaim, reiterating that it holds the rights to the peer-to-peer technology and that Skype is in violation of the original agreement.

The trial is expected to take place in early 2010 in the United Kingdom.

In its filing, eBay acknowledged that the new software it was working on had no guarantee of success.

"Skype has begun to develop alternative software to that licensed through Joltid. However, such software development may not be successful, may result in loss of functionality or customers even if successful, and will in any event be expensive," eBay said.

It added that if the new software did not work or if eBay lost the right to use the original software, "the continued operation of Skype's business as currently conducted would likely not be possible."

EBay announced in April that it would spin off Skype through an IPO, saying the timing would depend on market conditions.

Executives acknowledged that the unit, while fast-growing, did not mesh well with eBay's core marketplaces division or its online payments system PayPal. Former Chief Executive Meg Whitman paid $2.6 billion for Skype in 2005.

Shares of eBay closed up 1.2 percent to $21.66 on the Nasdaq.