Samsung unveiled its SyncMaster 2263DX monitor, a dual-screen display, with one 22-inch LCD display and an additional 7-inch connected monitor on a swiveling, positionable arm to create a multi-screen work environment in a single package.

Optimized with Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 in mind, the 7" monitor can be used for unobtrusive web conferencing, or for running instant messaging clients without infringing upon work space.

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Samsung has announced it will be releasing an addition to its Q1 Ultra line in 2008.

Packed in a tiny sub-2 pound form factor, the Q1 Ultra Premium PC will have a 1.33 GHz ULV Intel Core Solo U1500 Pentium processor and 1 GB of DDR2 system memory. The device is powered by a 57.7 watt hour Li-Ion 0cell battery with about 7.5 hours of life. It features a split QWERTY keyboard. integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, 300 pixel webcam, dual-array mic, 1.3 megapixel camera, 7" wide WSVGA backlit LED 1024x600 monitor with touch screen capabilities.

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The theme of this year's CES could very well be "Leaving the Format War Behind," as already Sunday morning, the emphasis from manufacturers has been centered around device connectivity and streaming service. "HD" is left in, and "blue-laser" is on the sideline...at least thus far.

Monday promises to be "Blu-ray Day," with a flurry of Blu-ray related events to help rub HD DVD's nose in the dirt, after the historic snubbing of HD DVD by Warner Bros. on the weekend.

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What could eventually resolve the value proposition for mainstream consumers to accept an incoming ultra-high-bandwidth pipeline into their homes is the ability of high-definition, on-demand video. But that will require a level of cooperation that competitors thus far have been unable to muster.

"Convergence," used by CE manufacturers to promise solutions the way some political candidates promise "change," has once again become the big problem. The conventional logic is that converging the various communications services -- landline phone, wireless phone, broadband Internet, and HD video -- is the only way to make them both appealing to the consumer from a cost standpoint, and cost-effective to implement from the producers' and manufacturers' vantage point.

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In a shocking response to news today that Warner Bros. would make its high-definition movie releases only available on Blu-ray, the HD DVD Promotional Group has canceled its Sunday press conference at CES, and its meetings with the press.

The HD DVD Promotional Group, alongside Toshiba and Microsoft, had planned a cocktail party and press conference to tout the success and improvements in both the HD DVD format and hardware players, which saw heavy sales during the holidays thanks to falling prices.

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Are Corel's file formats 'less secure' than those in Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007, as Microsoft told customers in a highly controversial support bulletin? Definitely not, according to Corel officials.

Corel officials today hotly refuted claims by Microsoft that older file formats for CorelDRAW and its Quattro spreadsheet software ever posed security risks when opened within Microsoft Office. But they stopped short of contending that Microsoft is intentionally vilifying either CorelDRAW, an illustration package which Corel sees as complementary to Office, or Quattro, a spreadsheet that's the counterpart of Excel in Corel's WordPerfect Office X3.

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Maybe they are busy prepping for CES, but Microsoft only plans to issue two patches for the first Patch Tuesday of the new year. Both patches will deal with code execution vulnerabilities in the Windows Vista operating system. One will be rated "critical," while the other received an "important" rating from the Redmond company.

The critical patch affects not only Vista, but all versions of the Windows operating system, while the important patch is also intended for Windows 2000, XP, and 2003. FrSIRT may provide some idea as to what these patches may be: it currently lists a critical buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft DirectX, and a "moderate risk" flaw in the Windows CFileFind class.

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In a move that could upset the balance between the competing high-definition disc formats yet again, Warner Home Video today said that it is switching its allegiance entirely to the Blu-ray camp, in an effort to reduce confusion.

Beginning next May, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced late this afternoon, it will cease releasing new movie titles on the HD DVD format, preferring Blu-ray exclusively.

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DS2 now claims to be the only powerline vendor offering on-board support for the LLPD network mapping protocol in Microsoft's Vista. But is LLPD really simple enough for use in home networking? And what are the chances anyway for a technology that runs over home electrical wiring?

Attempting to make it easier for consumers to figure out their home networking connections, DS2 -- a top maker of the powerline equipment that works over home electrical wiring -- has now added full support for a feature in Microsoft's Vista OS that supports the display of computers, network adapters, routers and other devices on an easy-to-read network map.

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After Earthlink and Google scrapped plans to offer wireless in the city, many weren't so sure. But a start-up is promising to finish the job.

Silicon Valley-based Meraki, which has financial backing from Google, says it will attempt to complete the citywide network within one year. The company says it plans to lay out its plans on Friday.

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While even HP has admitted consumers' shifting preference toward notebooks as desktop PCs, for 2008, it plans to give desktops a boost with multimedia form factors, new AMD CPUs, and some intriguing price points.

If the desktop PC form factor has any room left in which to grow this year, it's in the media form factor. There, it has to be willing to assume an odd shape, perhaps not so much an element of your desk as something that can be wedged in an open cavity between cabinets in your home entertainment system.

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Citing "philosophical differences," the chipmaker has abruptly announced its departure from the One Laptop Per Child organization.

Intel failed to appear at a board meeting in Florida recently, which apparently set off a dispute between the company and those in charge of the program. It is this argument which led to Intel's announcement on Thursday.

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The Associated Press today reported 2007's substantial decline in the music industry's album sales, illustrating how albums are no longer the vehicle of choice for music consumption.

The year 2007 saw a total of 500.5 million albums sold, including "hard copy" media: CDs, cassettes and LPs -- yes, someone's still out there pressing vinyl. This is a 15% drop from the unit total for 2006, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

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Wireless links carry the potential to speed consumer adoption of high-def video by easing home networking woes. Sony, Toshiba, LG, Samsung, NEC, Matsushita, and now Intel are now working on a standard called WirelessHD to help meet this promise, while some other vendors continue to go it alone.

Although consumer electronics makers are still trying out a variety of approaches to sending high-def video over wireless links, the industry is now starting to see more consolidation around an upcoming standard known as WirelessHD.

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California-based Sling Media Inc., maker of the popular SlingBox place-shifting hardware device, has officially announced its intention to demonstrate SlingPlayer for BlackBerry and a new HD SlingBox at CES 2008 next week.

Sling Media announced that it will be showing off SlingPlayer Mobile on a BlackBerry Pearl 8120, with a release slated for later this year. Sling intends to extend its service for watching and programming TV remotely through the popular e-mail handset.

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