As a Linux user who is currently hooked on the Ubuntu distribution, I must admit that there are times when I am forced to ditch the lovely, stable and forgiving OS for the more game-centric, but unforgiving, unstable and un-lovely Windows XP. Aside from gaming, the only other time I use XP is when I am away from my beloved desktop and using my not so beloved laptop.

Just as I was about to surrender to the forces of Windows in order to get my gaming fix, in comes Darin, the shy, quiet developer of SuperGamer-1. SuperGamer-1 is an entirely remastered version of PCLinux that gives gamers the chance to experience the best gaming the Linux platform currently has to offer.

The full article awaits after the jump!

For those laptop and ultra-portable PC owners who are currently using or thinking about using EV-DO, the Kyocera KR-1 EV-DO router is a suitable solution that will keep you connected to the Internet even away from hotspots.

The price of outfitting your KR-1, along with the appropriate wireless card for your machine and the carrier you selected, usually runs somewhere above $300. You insert the wireless card into the back of the KR-1 and it becomes an instant WiFi Hotspot and router for your LAN. For the entire month of September Kyocera will be selling the KR-1 EV-DO router with a $50 mail in rebate.

This little price reduction makes justifying the purchase of EV-DO service and equipment a little easier. Plus, you can add the $50 you saved on the cost of the router on the monthly service fees you'll be charged for the service. As a current EV-DO subscriber, and KR-1 user I can attest to the convenience it provides when traveling.

If you are a student or currently in a job that requires you to bring a computer with you into the field, a solution like the KR-1 provides unrivaled freedom, and the $50 rebate only sweetens the pot!

Laptops are made specifically to offer portability to the user. Unfortunately, laptops are still fragile digital devices that are prone to picking up damage unless properly outfitted with, and secured, in a case during transport.

Adding to the conundrum is the ironic fact that portability is almost always hindered in direct proportion to the durability, thickness and protective properties of the case being used.

In other words, the more protective laptop carrying solutions usually come with the unwanted side effect of being heavy and cumbersome; while the light and easy to carry laptop cases are more portable, but offer little protection as a trade off.

The trick is to find a laptop case that is both strong enough to offer protection and also portable. Finding a case that fills both of these necessities is difficult enough; finding one that you can walk around with and not look like a tool is near impossible!

Since I am a student I decided to look for a more aesthetically pleasing solution than the common, rectangular, black, business-looking laptop cases. In the end I found the High Sierra Cove Island Laptop Computer Rucksack, which filled my needs and then some.

Made from 1680-denier ballistic nylon and leather, this rucksack provides durability and strength without sacrificing portability. It can accept over-sized laptops (up to and above 17 inches) in a dedicated compartment that is isolated from the remaining structure of the bag and padded and rubberized to keep out water.

There is a front pocket designed for storing small objects like CDs, cellphones and IPods and two side pockets that work well for storing power, Ethernet and USB cables. On the uppermost flap there is yet another zippered pocket that can be used for storage of miscellaneous extras.

The main storage space inside the bag is right in front of the dedicated laptop area. This part of the bag is not divided into separate sections; which leads to my only complaint about the layout of the bag. In my case, I end up wasting about a cubic foot of valuable space because the main part of the bag is not divided into usable sections.

Other than the minor issue with the main compartment being too large for me to use efficiently, this bag is definitely one that I am glad that I purchased. The quality of the material from which it is made, the attention to detail evident in its construction and the overall look and feel of this bag put it near the top of my list.

I feel that the High Sierra Cove Island Laptop Computer Rucksack successfully blurs the line between providing adequate protection for your laptop and maintaining the desired level of portability; it also provides the added bonus of actually being stylish. This is definitely not your Father's computer backpack!

As EV-DO technology has become more and more popular over time the variety of solutions available to meet the needs of EV-DO users has become equally diverse. Carriers like Verizon and Sprint are currently in the process of maintaining and, in some cases, upgrading their EV-DO network infrastructure to keep up with the expected demand. The depth of the financial investment in network infrastructure alone demonstrates an iron clad commitment to the future of this technology on the part of the carriers.

The new AirCard 597E from Sierra Wireless is evidence that the next generation of EV-DO (known as Revision A) will be a viable competitor in the future of high speed wireless data services, and the investment will not have been in vain. "Built for notebook computers with ExpressCard expansion slots, the AirCard 597E will be fully compliant with network operator requirements and will offer user-friendly features such as Assisted GPS (aGPS) location based services; a robust, fixed antenna design; and an external antenna jack for flexibility and improved reception in fringe coverage areas or for specialized applications. The AirCard 597E is expected to begin shipping in the first quarter of 2007. ExpressCard models for HSDPA networks are expected to follow later in the year."

Sierra Wireless has been carefully watching the market and has plans to benefit from an overall trend in consumer habits that they expect to peak in 2007. "Notebook installations of ExpressCard slots are expected to move toward critical mass in 2007 - we are timing our ExpressCard products to match market adoption." said Trent Punnett, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Development for Sierra Wireless.

Since Dell and Apple (along with most all of the other manufacturers of laptops in the world) have moved to the express standard and basically abandoned the older PCMCIA standard, the market for express based network and storage solutions is expected to continue to grow. Eventually, everything will be done without wires, under one universal standard that is expandable, extensible, modular and fully self-sufficient (yeah right!). Until then we are left to choose between the various competing standards available today until we find a winner.

The inevitable, evolutionary movement towards the Revision A standard, that all EV-DO network providers will eventually undergo, moved a little faster recently as Sprint became the first provider to offer a wireless EV-DO card that's Rev A compatible.

The revision A standard of EV-DO (used by CDMA cellphone providers Verizon and Sprint) will provide speeds of 3Mbits per second when downloading and almost 2Mbits per second in the opposite direction.

The lower latency and better connectivity rates of the updated standard will make latency dependent technology like VOIP possible over an EV-DO connection. The new standard is also completely backwards compatible, but the higher speeds associated with Rev A are only achieved when a Rev A compatible wireless card is connected to an access point or gateway that is configured to accept traffic using the new standard.

In other words, until the carriers (Sprint and Verizon) upgrade their networks to operate within the new standard, the newly released Sprint Rev A compatible EV-DO card will only be capable of current generation speeds.

Current generation EV-DO speeds are decent (between 400 and 800 KBytes per second down and up to 400 KBytes Uploading), making it somewhat difficult to justify paying more for this new Rev A card before the carriers even upgrade their networks.

Until the network providers begin the task of upgrading their networks to Rev A, the new Merlin S720 will likely only appeal to EV-DO enthusiasts. However, if you are the type that always wants to get the latest toys before everyone else, the Merlin S720 might just be an ideal investment for you.

Although Microsoft's convergence OS, Windows CE, and others have made inroads into the Symbian market share over time, the operating system still maintains its historic  position of dominance in the smartphone operating system market.

The number of units shipped running a version of the Symbian OS rose 4.5 million (compared to last year's second quarter) to reach 12.3 million for the second quarter of this year. Royalties for the use of the operating system, mainly in Nokia phones, are what made up the bulk of the company's revenue for the year.

With $41.2 million in gross revenue the $37.9 million gained in royalties from companies like Nokia was a necessity. Although Symbian is a privately held company that doesn't disclose much financial information, it is widely known that the company is becoming more dependent upon royalties to make profits in light of the slow down in revenue coming from the company's partnering and consultancy ventures.

Overall, 93 percent of the 3G smartphones being made today are running the symbian operating system. There are literally millions of third party developers and homebrew enthusiasts creating and tending to a vast library of compatible content. The availability of compatible software, along with the near bullet-proof level of stability possessed by the operating system itself contribute greatly to the popularity of the Symbian OS. Because of the stability and utility of the Symbian OS (and because of the lack of a viable alternative) the trend of growth that has taken hold at Symbian this year is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

As the market for ultra-portable computers continues to expand and manufacturers scramble to meet demand while also trying to keep consumers interested in their products, originality and uniqueness are sometimes lost and products start to blend into a sea of blandness.

Leave it to Korea to buck current trends and release an ultra-portable that is truly without peer. The HiPAD (or HiPDA I've seen it written both ways on the same site!) is a tablet PC, or at least it looks like one. At the heart of the machine is an AMD Geode LX-800 CPU; a processor that is a compromise between power and efficiency.

With an available Gigabyte for memory (256MB standard) the processor will not have memory bottlenecks to slow it down. The most unique thing about the HiPAD has got to be it's ability to run both Windows XP (tablet edition) and Windows CE. The touch screen allows you to take advantage of the best features included with XP tablet edition while still giving you the option to run "normal" PC software designed for Windows XP.

WiFI, DMB and HSDPA provide connectivity and media services for the device. PCMCIA and CF slots provide effective expansion capabilities to the little portable that hint at some interesting possibilities. With Windows CE underpinning the media player and PDA-like functionality and XP tablet edition taking care of the tasks that involve heavy lifting (or heavy processing), it's almost like having two devices in one.

There is also a camera and navigation software embedded within the device. This hybrid-like device has a 10.4 inch touch screen, is one inch thick and weighs 2.9 pounds. For those who care about looks, the HiPAD isn't at all bad looking either! It has a sleek, smart design that only hints at the amount of productivity it can help you to achieve.

There's no word on cost as of this post. The amount of features packed into this tiny portable make it attractive, but price is always an issue. Hopefully, we'll see a version of the HiPAD in the US. American consumers would go crazy for a device like this if it was marketed well. (hint!)

In today's press release ATI representatives officially introduced the new flagship of the company's GPU line. The X1950 XTX sports a gigabyte of GDDR 4 memory (running at 2 GHz) and a redesigned cooling system designed to allow the unit to run quietly under load while maintaining a suitable temperature range.

The X1950 XTX uses the PCI express standard and is based upon a 648MHz graphics chip. The X1950 family of GPUs will offer power that was previously unavailable by utilizing crossfire technology. To take advantage of this technology you must have a compatible motherboard.

Crossfire technology allows users to install and use two X1950s on the same board instead of just one. For those who plan on becoming early adopters of Windows Vista (when it finally comes out), the X1950 is "ready to deliver the premium Windows Vista experience'4' with exceptional driver stability and performance." For games and Multimedia applications this card is designed to exceed your needs and expectations.

"The Radeon X1950 gives gamers exactly what they want - super high frame rates and the best looking games possible, with image quality features that can't be found anywhere else" said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, PC Business, ATI Technologies Inc.

"With the new Radeon X1950, ATI is introducing new technology in GDDR4, setting the performance benchmark even higher with the ultimate gaming solution available today."Marketing and hype aside, the X1950 XTX looks to be a solid entry from a reputable company and it's more than worth a second look, if you can afford it. The new card is expected to retail at around $450USD. Early impressions from lucky first adopters have been mostly positive, leading to the impression that ATI's new flagship will live up to it's title.

Novatel Wireless, a company known best at QJ.NET for providing wireless cards, has apparently branched off into developing complete fixed/wireless convergence solutions for both wired and wireless Internet service providers. Recently announced by Novatel Wireless was the development of the Ovation(tm) MCD 3000, a 3.5G multimedia application console that works with current EV-DO networks and is upgradable along the same evolutionary path.

"As we see operators worldwide begin to combine standards for fixed and mobile service on the network side, we are executing on our vision for fixed mobile convergence, by deploying innovative devices that allow operators to offer more services and ultimately give end users control over bandwidth resources," said Peter Leparulo, CEO of Novatel Wireless. "The Ovation MCD3000 will allow North American operators to benefit from 3.5G spectrum efficiency, while delivering advanced multimedia streaming services."

The first generation in the MCD 3000 North American family will come in a modern compact shape the size of a cell phone. It is aimed squarely at the businesses sector; giving small business owners a suitable alternative to wired broadband. Download speeds will burst up to 3.1Mbps and uplink speeds max out at 1.8Mbps; making it faster than most DSL connections, and comparable to cable.

The wider selection of consoles that make up the Novatel Ovation family are a "portfolio of desktop and portable consoles integrated with wide area wireless technology to provide broadband communications and the delivery of multimedia applications."

The Ovation hardware is all powered by Novatel's Conversa(tm) suite of software that offers "wireless broadband Internet access, advanced networking, and intelligent routing depending on quality of service and cost, multimedia application support, advanced security firewalls and protocol flexibility." If only we could get Novatel to offer a solution for home users that would allow us to eliminate the need for separate (wired) Cable TV, Internet and phone connections and the service providers that come with them.

This past June The Pirate Bay torrent site's headquarters were raided by Swedish authorities. Afterwards, the site quickly rebounded and it has been in near constant operation since. The site's operators were accused by corporate interest groups like the MPAA and RIAA of being at the center of the rampant piracy which was being conducted with impunity by the users of The Pirate Bay.

While there is little argument over whether or not illegal activity was taking place, representatives of The Pirate Bay and others claim that Bit Torrent technology is used (by tracking sites like The Pirate Bay) simply to track users, establish and maintain connections between the appropriate users and then wrangle the complex algorithms necessary to get complete files distributed to the entire swarm.

The full article awaits after the jump!