Dark Knight available online over opening weekend

Hollywood can celebrate that pirated copies of this year's hit films aren't showing up on major Internet sites.

Too bad for the studios' enforcement efforts that some can still be found on smaller sites.

At the same time that the new Batman film, The Dark Knight, was drawing record audiences (the movie is estimated to have earned more than US$155 million over the weekend), several copies of the film was available online.

A half hour after returning home from watching the film on Saturday night, I got home to find my colleague, Elinor Mills, has sent me a link that apparently originated at VideoEmbedder.com. Sure enough, a grainy and dark copy of the hit film was available for viewing and for download. It was still up on Sunday but could not be accessed on Monday.

Finding newly released movies is nothing new. In the past, it was easy to find them at Google Video and other video-sharing sites. Michael Moore's documentary, Sicko, was posted to the Web even before it had debuted in theaters. Following the appearance of Sicko on the Web, some argued that movies posted to the Internet can help boost interest in a film.
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Creative offers quick audio upgrade with Sound Blaster Play!

Adding a Sound Blaster sound card to your PC really doesn't get any easier than this. The Creative Sound Blaster Play! plugs straight into the USB port and comes with onboard stereo headphone out and microphone in jacks. Its compact thumbdrive-like size also makes it a simple audio solution, particularly for notebook users.

But while Creative's Sound Blaster Play! may look similar to some of the other USB audio solutions out there, it has some neat tricks up its sleeves. For one, it has Creative's Multimedia Surround Sound (CMSS) function which upconverts stereo content into surround audio. It also promises enhanced audio quality and surround sound in games with its built-in support for EAX Advanced HD 4.0 and Creative ALchemy software.

The Creative Sound Blaster Play! is expected to launch in Singapore from mid August at S$29 (US$21.32). It can only be used with Windows XP and Vista systems and requires a USB 1.1 port. We are still waiting for Creative to confirm the other Asian markets where the device will be launched.

Update: The Sound Blaster Play! will be available in most Asian countries before the end of July, with the exception of Japan where it has been launched since the first week of July.

Laptop bags could shorten airport wait

Hey, we're ready to cheer anything that can move travelers through an airport security queue faster--and a new line of "checkpoint-friendly" laptop cases by Anaheim, Calif.-based Mobile Edge falls under that rubric. Owners of the ScanFast bags don't have to dig their computers out of their cases. Airport screeners can X-ray the machine while it's still inside.

The bags come in briefcase, backpack, and messenger-bag styles; all are compliant with Transportation Security Administration guidelines. The collection is set to launch in late summer, with a tentative price range of US$79.99 to US$99.99.

The ScanFast bags, of course, aren't the first entry to the speed-security-lines genre. Among other offerings, there's the LapStrap, a laptop case that's essentially all strap and no bag.

Via CNET Crave

Centrino 2 hits tablet PCs

HP's business tablet PC, the 2710p, was anything but cheap. In fact, while its consumer HP Pavilion tx2000 Tablet PC is one of the most affordable touchscreen models in the market, its corporate sibling went with style, features and long battery life instead.



So it's no surprise that the next-generation HP tablet PC is getting some Centrino 2 love. First broken by AVING News, the actual report was quickly taken down (most likely due to embargo issues). Fortunately, Engadget managed to grab some details and even an image. According to the report, the 12.1-inch convertible tablet HP Compaq 2730p will hold a 1.86GHz low-voltage Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, 120GB harddisk and an integrated graphics chipset. No news on availability or price yet, though.

LG joins the Centrino 2 gang

They might be a little slow out the gate, but it's no surprise that LG will soon be joining the Centrino 2 crowd. Though details are almost non-existent, Akihabara News managed to score a couple of pictures of the Korean company's new offerings.



There are three models mentioned, the high-end S510, entertainment-focused R410 and R510 laptops. All that is known about the S510 is that it holds a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB RAM, 15.4-inch display and an Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics card. Nothing has been mentioned for the other two models, though it doesn't take a stretch of imagination to figure out that the R410 is a 14.1-inch machine, while the R510 sports a 15.4-inch display.

We're still awaiting confirmation on these new laptops for Asia. So if you love LG's design, keep a close eye on this space.

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