Technofile: There's no better feeling than placing an internet call and chatting to your loved ones for free. And the main software used for this today is Skype - famously bought by eBay for $2.6 billion (€2.06 billion) last year.
Since that deal the integration of the two services has not been overt, but that is about to change. EBay sellers should soon have the option of adding a "Skype Me" button in certain categories of listings such as in jewellery, where buyers and sellers will need to talk to each other about the items for sale. Clicking the on-screen button will start a real-time text or voice chat between the two. Obviously both parties will need to have the free Skype software. EBay hopes real-time chat and voice communications will make its marketplace even more dynamic and usable than it already is. We shall see.
• The Sharp Aquos TV range has eight new televisions compatible with High Definition TV. All of the models have the capability to display fast moving images much more clearly than the average TV, and a better viewing angle than has been possible in most flat-screen TVs to date of 176 degrees. Each model comes with a low-reflection Advanced Super View Black TFT LCD panel for enhanced picture quality. And of course, the necessary HDMI support is integrated into all the sets.
• Dell has brought out a cheap desktop PC for small businesses. The Dimension 3100c from Dell costs just €218 (ex VAT and postage). The simple system sports a 2.80GHz Intel Celeron D Processor 336, Windows XP Home Edition, 512MB DDR2 RAM, and an 80GB Serial ATA hard drive - which should be quite enough for a PC for a junior staff member.
• The range of iPod accessories continues to grow. The Portable Multimedia DVD Player from iLuc, called the i1055, comes in either black or white and means you can watch movies on a seven-inch LCD screen instead of the much smaller iPod screen. The iPod slots into the back of the device and charges at the same time. See i-luv.com
• Speaking of iPods, the new and compact Macally IP-N111 portable sound system for the iPod Nano boasts of 800 mega-watt power output per channel. A very neat little device for only about €43.
• Ipod users will also be interested to hear that Apple is coming under a lot of pressure to allow iTunes songs to play on devices other than iPods.
Consumer groups have been protesting outside US stores, and Apple is facing legal action in Scandinavia, where regulators consider the iTunes's terms and conditions to be potentially illegal and monopolistic. However, most observers think Apple will just pull out of markets where they are required to open up iTunes to other MP3 players.
• It appears Samsung may delay its Blu-ray High Definition DVD player until September. In fact, many of the other Blu-Ray players may come out later, in part because manufacturers are counting on the Sony PlayStation 3 - itself delayed - to build the market for Blu-Ray, which will compete with the Microsoft-backed HD-DVD format. Meanwhile, Sony's plans for the PS3 will include many free services attached to the online service linked in to the console.
• Until now you have only been able to buy keyboard and mice direct from Microsoft, but now the tech giant is expanding into webcams, launching a range of so-called LifeCams.
The VX-6000 and LifeCam VX-3000 work with Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger service. The 6000 version has a five-megapixel camera and 3x digital zoom. The VX-3000 has a lower resolution 1.3 megapixel camera. They will be available from August.
• Sony is bringing out a new range of USB or flash drive storage devices. Coated in black and silver, they feature a retractable USB connector, up to 4GB of storage, and have the Virtual Expander compression software pre-installed. This means they will hold even more memory.
• If you are keen to try out a new web browser, take a look at the Flock browser, which comes with integrated photo sharing.
The idea is to make Flock a great browser for the social dimension of the web, allowing sharing of content and blogging.
Right now only Flickr and PhotoBucket are supported by Flock, but more will be added in due course.
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