With all the talk about Windows Vista, seeing as both Vista RC1 (and now RC2) and Office 2007 are freely available to anyone with broadband fast enough to download it in a reasonable time, or a credit card to order copies on DVD, we thought we’d put Microsoft’s latest through its paces for ITWire. Here are the results!

Chipmaker Intel Corporation has produced what it claims are the first fully functional SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) chips using 45nm process technology, its next-generation, high-volume semiconductor manufacturing process.

Microsoft has been forced to delay the launch date in Australia and New Zealand for its new games the Xbox 360 console by three weeks after global supply  and technicals problems. The new launch date is 23 March 2006, putting Australian consumers more than three months behind their US, European and Japanese counterparts.

Eastman Kodak Company and internet phone company Skype, have released what they call the latest innovation in digital storytelling ― Kodak Photo Voice. The new service gives consumers the ability to hold internet phone conversations around the globe whilst sharing their photos online.

By Alex Zaharov-Reutt

An explosion in the need for bigger portable storage has seen a battle emerge between flash memory and the ever shrinking hard disk drive. Alex Zaharov-Reutt explains and compares both types of data storage, shows us the types of devices they’re used in today and where these duelling data devices are headed in the future.

By Alex Zaharov-Reutt

PSP accessory pack (Pelican Starter Kit for PSP) $69.95

www.gvae.com.au

Ok, so you’ve bought a PSP. You’ve had the ‘wow’ experience. It is an amazing device after all. But how do you protect it from scratches and other damage? And what about protecting the UMD discs? They have a protective case, but there’s that ‘hole’ which exposes the physical UMD disc.

This is where an accessories pack comes in handy. The Pelican Starter Kit for PSP has a few nifty accessories to make life a tad easier. There’s a protective zip case that holds the PSP in place and has ‘pouches’ for storing UMD discs. There’s a special screen cleaner to remove the inevitable screen smudges. Then there are four disc protectors which ‘cover’ the back of the disc, so no fingerprints can get onto the disc itself. There’s also a USB cable so you can plug the PSP into your computer (or other consumer electronics device, such as the as yet unavailable PS3 or the Xbox 360) and finally there’s a car charger cable that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket.

There are many different accessories packs on the market, so this one may not be your final choice. But it comes with enough goodies to make it a good value pack with everything you need to get your PSP protected.

PSP Stereo Station + $119.95

www.gvae.com.au

The iPod has a gazillion accessories available for it, and one of the most popular is the speaker attachment that turns an iPod into a ‘boom box’ of sorts. Now the PSP is creating a massive accessories marketplace of its own, and speakers are equally popular.

But as the PSP can also display movies, a standard external speaker system is not enough. What you need is something that belts out the sound, positions the screen in the right spot for ‘you’ to watch movies, and even something that positions the PSP properly so you can play it like an old-fashioned arcade machine.

Naturally… that’s what the PSP Stereo Station + does.

Place the PSP into the cradle, and move it to exactly the right spot – up, down, forwards or back. It reminded us of last season’s iMac – the one that looked like a solar panel stuck on a bicycle helmet.

The sound it pumps out is nice and loud – great for music, movies or the audio you get from games.

Interestingly, it doesn’t come with a power cable, even though it plugs into your PSP and charges it. That’s because it uses the power cable that comes with your PSP. It’s a nifty way of reducing costs and packaging.

All in all, this is a great accessory for the PSP. It’s definitely better than getting ‘just’ an external set of speakers, and it also makes for a great spot to place your PSP after you’ve finished using it. It even looks good, too!

SanDisk has announced a new technology called TrustedFlash which allows consumers to buy premium music, movies and games on flash memory cards for use in mobile phones, laptop computers, PDAs and other portable devices.

Ok, well, almost everything

Pioneer DVD/HDD recorder DVR530H, from $899, www.pioneeraus.com.au

DVD recording killed the VHS video star, but it looks as though standalone DVD recorders are about to go the way of the do-do, far more quickly than VHS recorders bit the proverbial dust.

Thankfully no aliens involved

TDK Tremor Xa60 2.1 inch flat panel acoustic sound system, $129, www.tdk.com.au

2.1 surround sound systems for PCs and audio devices such as CD and mp3 players have long been popular replacements for the tinny speakers that accompany many desktops (and are built into most notebooks), and the headphones that are used when mp3 players are used on the go.

BenQ launches fastest burner

BenQ DW1640, $119.95, www.benq.com.au

Burning a DVD on your PC is now as common as burning CDs was a couple of years ago. And just as CD burners increased their write or burn speed every few months, the same has happened with the DVD burner.

The digital lifestyle market is booming in Australia, with sales in the 1st half of 2005 significantly higher than in the corresponding period of 2004, according to a new report.

Watch your existing movie or video collection on your Sony PSP without buying official movie titles

Movies on PSP, $69.95, www.gvae.com.au

Official movie titles for the PSP come on mini DVD-style discs known as the UMD, or universal media disc, and currently there are more movies available on UMDs that there are PSP games.

Sony’s other iPod killer?

Sony Ericsson W800i, $999, www.sonyericsson.com.au

Remember when the Sony Walkman was the only way to listen to music? These were clearly in the days when the audio cassette was King, and the iPod was a digital music nightmare that Sony was a couple of decades away from experiencing.

Database and integration software vendor, InterSystems, has thrown its support behind Australian-based software developer, QMSoftware, which has adopted its post-relational database technology to power a new product to backup and replicate oWindows file systems to InterSystems' CACHÉ database.

Who knows if they ever will

Samsung YP-T8, $299 to $499, www.samsung.com.au

Digital music players are evolving faster than ever, with the newest from Samsung a prime example of what all music players will eventually be able to do, and that’s do much more that just play music.

Is the as-yet unavailable ‘Apple Video iPod’ dead on arrival?

Sony PSP, $399, www.sonystyle.com.au

Sony’s Playstation Portable (PSP) redefines the concept of digital media convergence by offering a unit that combines gaming, movies, music, photo display and wireless Internet capabilities.

Philips Polymer Vision revealed its Concept Readius last week in Germany, a prototype of a functional electronic-document reader that can unroll its display to a scale larger than the device itself.

Wearable technology being developed at an Australian university could dramatically improve the effectiveness of disaster relief operations by creating a 3D interactive control room, linking relief coordinators to the disaster site.