SanDisk has announced the upcoming availability of Vaulter, a solid state memory chip that will be able to turn standard HDDs into hybrid hard drives.

The flash-based PCI express module operates in parallel with the system's hard drive, with the duty of storing and launching the operating system and user-defined applications. By doing this, Vaulter relegates the hard drive to "cold storage," where the system can draw from only when needed.

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Nokia is hosting a "virtual launch" of its high-end N82 handset today. So the device whose specs have been floating around since May will now actually be made available - it's just the fanfare and events that are virtual.

For approximately €450 before subsidies and taxes, the N82 supplies a 5 megapixel camera with a xenon flash and Carl Zeiss zoom, A-GPS, Wi-Fi connectivity, and standard 2 GB microSD memory. The candy bar-style handset is 112 x 50.2 x 17.33 mm and weighs 114 grams, with a 16.7 million color 240x320 screen.

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Delaware firm Autotext Technologies has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against 23 major technology companies including Apple and IBM, regarding predictive word processing.

Autotext is suing the following companies: Apple, AT&T, Helio, Hewlett-Packard, HTC America, IBM, Kyocera, LG Electronics USA, Microsoft, Motorola, Nintendo of America, Nokia, Nuance Communications, Palm, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Samsung America, Sanyo North America, Sony, Sony Ericsson, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and Zi Corporation.

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Today, IBM's newly-acquired Business Intelligence and Management group Cognos unveiled a couple of developments that were no doubt deciding factors in its recent acquisition. Among them is a new accounting reporting tool that European customers will not only need but require, in the wake of regulatory changes.

First, the company introduced its new Cognos 8 Controller Performance blueprint, which is designed to help finance departments renew and improve closing, consolidation, and reporting processes.

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VMware has launched a public beta of Server 2, the latest version of the California company's software that allows physical servers to be partitioned into multiple virtual machines. Using a web-based management system, this version of the software supports over 30 guest operating systems, including Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 beta, Vista, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, and Ubuntu 7.10. 64-bit guest operating systems on 64-bit compatible processors are also supported.

VMware Server 2 supports up to 8GB of RAM per virtual machine and up to 2 virtual SMP processors, has enhanced support for virtualized USB 2.0 devices, and supports VMI communication between virtualized operating systems and the virtualization layer. The beta of VMware Server 2 can be downloaded on the company's site.

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Microsoft has made another affirmation of its commitment to providing the visually impaired with useful software, announcing this morning it is developing a plug-in for Microsoft Word that translates documents into DAISY XML, a standard for digital talking books.

DAISY works by creating a digital audio file which narrates the document's content that maps to text. Refreshable Braille displays comprised of digitally-activated pins are also made to correspond with DAISY files, so the reader can know how words are spelled, or to promote quicker content scanning.

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Personalized free radio service Jango launched its public beta on Monday. Using a single artist as a "seed," the site generates a list of similar artists, which the user can be tailored to his or her preferences and create "stations" to share with others...Sound familiar?

If Jango does show a difference from the Music Genome Project's Pandora, it's in the social networking aspect, though it may be slightly less developed than it is on Last.fm. Users create their stations and profile, meeting like-minded friends in the aptly-named "Like Minds" category. Users can see who is listening to their stations live, and communicate with them via "thank you" notes.

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IBM announced today the $5 billion dollar cash acquisition of Canadian business intelligence and performance management company Cognos, giving IBM a reputable product line, 4000-person staff, and impressive portfolio of contracts in one fell swoop.

Cognos is an Ottawa company that develops software and systems to help businesses manage information and resources. It has had contracts with such varied groups as Bank of America, Boeing, Mercedes-AMG, Toshiba America, The Office of Budgeting and Planning of Washington DC, and The Royal Army of the Netherlands.

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Only slightly behind schedule, NBC Direct opened in beta over the weekend. The service promises time-sensitive, ad-supported versions of NBC's biggest hits for free, although the phrase "For a Limited Time" is taken quite literally.

NBC Direct was announced at about the same time as Hulu launched its beta, and did not promise anything radically different from that service. In fact, it promised much less.

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The One Laptop Per Child initiative which strives to give children of developing nations equal and affordable access to modern educational tools, has received the gift of SimCity from Electronic Arts. The 18-year old franchise was donated to the OLPC project by EA as a time-honored piece of "edutainment" software.

"The game should prove to be an incredibly effective way of making the laptop relevant, engaging, and fun, particularly for first time players," said Steve Seabolt, the vice president of global brand development of The Sims franchise.

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An open beta of Adobe's Web-based Photoshop Express is slated to be available before the end of 2007, the company said today.

First publicly mentioned in the beginning of this year, and then officially unveiled two months ago, Adobe's Photoshop Express is a streamlined, Web-based photo editing suite likely to be used in conjunction with other online brands. At the recent 6sight Digital Imaging conference, John Loiacono, senior vice president for Adobe Creative Solutions, mentioned collaborations with Shutterfly and Photobucket as a couple of the common ways consumers will use the product. Photobucket already has a Web-based Adobe video editing tool available called Remix.

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YouTube announced yesterday that it had increased the size limit for videos to 1 GB, and also introduced new software that allows users to simultaneously upload multiple videos.

Users may still opt to upload their videos to the site through the browser form if they do not wish to put a piece of YouTube software on their hard drives, or in the case of Mac users, if the software isn't supported at all.

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AT&T today announced the availability of yet another subscription-based music offering on select handsets, this time a mobile version of Pandora, a music recommendation service.

While Pandora can be ad-supported or subscription based when used in a browser, the mobile version will only be available for an $8.99 monthly charge, and integrates user data from the online version.

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Three years ago, Hewlett-Packard announced it would revamp its digital camera lineup and invest $1 billion in research and development over 18 months to become a leading vendor. In a stunning about-face today, HP announced that it is now seeking an outside OEM to design and distribute HP branded digital cameras.

The company will continue to sell its own models through the holiday season, and then cease in the first half of 2008, when a partnership is intended to be in place. The company that will take over production has not yet been determined.

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Blackboard Communications Systems announced Wednesday that it would be partnering with Sony to begin developing contactless identity card systems in the U.S. Blackboard designs "one-card" systems for campus transactions, bridging financial, data, access, and authentication systems into a single "network transaction environment."

The company's swipe-able card systems are in place in many academic institutions across the globe. By partnering with Sony, and utilizing its successful FeliCa system, Blackboard systems will be able to produce student identifications that work like SpeedPass and EZPay.

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