The Afina AS 7180AV is a unique desktop computer. Many people think, rightfully so, that it looks like a high heel shoe from the side. From the front it resembles the Sony PCV-W20 in many ways: It has an attached keyboard and all the components built into the monitor.

Powering the Afina AS 7180AV is an The monitor is a 12” XGA LCD screen. The amazing thing is the Afina weighs in at 9.1 pounds, similar to a desknote, a laptop which can replace your desktop.

With 4 USB ports, a memory stick slot, built-in fax/modem and 10/100 Ethernet, the Afina has a good range of connectivity options. The thing missing is wireless Ethernet. The Afina comes with a combo DVD/CD-RW drive (24x10x24x) and comes with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.

I have to say that the Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse with the Tilt-Wheel Function is the real deal folks. It kind of reminds me of driving a good race car when you know that you can push it hard into the corners and not worry, because it's not going to break loose and go anywhere. The mouse tracks perfectly and is extremely responsive which made single pixel manipulation the easiest I ever seen it.

...today we have a different product. A miniature barebone system MSI Mega PC combines high-performance PC functionality and a module that allows using this system as a separate audio center. Was it worth making such device?

IT managers should be aware: your duties under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may not stop with the desktop Instant Messengers.

You're required to keep records of all employee transactions over any communication media. Instant Messenger is a problem; but you are probably on the case. Now: did you realise that IM can go out, undetected and unmonitored, over staff cellphones?

How many corporates monitor SMS traffic to and from employee cellphones? How many corporates actually realise that a cellphone is not merely a channel for "texting" but also, with Smartphones spreading rapidly, a vehicle for Internet based IM, and even picture messaging?

I wrote to the kernel list describing the relationship between Linksys (now business unit of Cisco Systems), their WRT54G 802.11g wireless home gateway, and Linux. At the time, we had recently discovered that the WRT54G was using a great deal of software made available under the GPL, but was not giving credit to the authors, or providing the source as required by the GPL.

After a bit of public pressure, Linksys posted their "GPL Code Center" [1], where they claim that "the GPL source code contained in this product is available for free download" [2]. Shortly after the code center was made available, a group of developers pointed out to Linksys that their source code, particularly their Linux kernel code, was incomplete.

Previously, it was thought that the WRT54G source releases had only neglected to include the source code for the various kernel modules used to run the ethernet and wireless interfaces. However, at this time, it is clear that the kernel proper of the WRT54G itself has had functionality added to it. This functionality is not present in the kernel code that Linksys has provided at their "GPL Code Center".

The Au1100-based PDA runs Metrowerks Corp.'s Linux-based OpenPDA software suite, which includes an embedded Linux kernel and a range of software, such as applications for playing music and video files. OpenPDA also includes Trolltech AS's Qtopia multilingual user interface, Opera Software ASA's Opera Web browser, and support for both Personal Java and J2ME (Java 2 Platform Micro Edition).

AMD sees the ability to play full-screen video as a key feature of the PDA reference design, Pompa said, demonstrating the design's ability to play full-screen video on a 320-pixel by 240-pixel screen with no screen artifacts and without the assistance of a graphics processor.

The only equipment you need for this experiment is a microwave, a ruler and chocolate, cheese or any other food that melts. Remove the turntable from the microwave and replace with chocolate on a plate (so the plate does not rotate), and heat until it just starts to melt - about 20 seconds, depending on the power of the oven. There will be some melted hot spots and some cold solid spots in the chocolate. The distance between the hot spots is half the wavelength of the microwaves, and the frequency of the microwaves will often be printed on the back of the oven. The speed of light is equal to the wavelength multiplied by the frequency of an electromagnetic wave (microwaves and visible light are both examples of electromagnetic waves).