Study: Huge growth in Wi-Fi devices expected

Embedded Wi-Fi chips could end up in almost a billion consumer electronics devices by 2012, according to market researcher In-Stat.

In-Stat said that more than 294 million consumer electronics devices with Wi-Fi shipped in 2007. But that number is quickly growing and will likely reach 1 billion by 2012. The fastest-growing embedded Wi-Fi segment is mobile handsets. By 2011, dual-mode cell phones will surpass PCs as the largest category of Wi-Fi devices, the In-Stat report said.

Several factors are driving adoption. Over the past few years, prices on Wi-Fi hardware have come way down. And the battery life for devices using Wi-Fi has improved dramatically, making it possible to embed Wi-Fi in handheld devices like cell phones. Today, many smart phones, like Apple's iPhone, come equipped with Wi-Fi.
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Thumb drive + liquid = coolness

I wouldn't recommend putting your thumb drive in liquid. But how about putting liquid inside your thumb drive? Now that's cool.

That's exactly what CNK Promotions is offering. The merchandising company sells USB thumb drives with an acrylic body (PDF) that's hollow and can be filled with the colorful liquid of your choosing. The drives can be made with a customized logo or mascot printed on the case and offer storage space up to 8GB.

Another thing about the liquid-filled thumb drives is that they can float, which betters the chance of their being found when dropped in water. Whether or not they are actually water-resistant is unclear. However, thumb drives are known to be very resilient. (My last one died only after I let it run through the laundry process three times--by accident, of course!)

Personally, I think the 8GB capacity is a little small, but I would totally look past that if the drive is filled with gin or vodka. How about you?

Via CNET Crave

Windows XP gets another lifeline

Bowing to continued demand, Microsoft has again extended the life of Windows XP.

Although the largest PC makers can't sell XP anymore (except for ultra-low-cost machines), they can sell Vista Ultimate and Vista Business machines with XP discs in the box, or even Vista machines that are "factory downgraded" to Windows XP.

That option was supposed to go away early next year, as Microsoft was going to stop supplying Windows XP media after January 31. However, the company now says it will offer the discs through July 31, giving the option a six-month extension. (Update: PC makers will also be able to sell the factory downgraded machines online as well.)

In a statement provided to CNET News, Microsoft tried to put the best face on the move.
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Hasta la Vista baby, we're just not interested

Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system is still playing second fiddle to XP with business users, with more enterprises confessing to checking out the unreleased Windows 7 OS than its predecessor.

More than half (58 percent) of businesses using Microsoft technology are "exploiting" Windows XP compared to just 4 percent for Vista, according to the "reality checker" research by the Corporate IT Forum (Tif).

Tif's reality checker surveys help its members quickly compare the progress and position of their companies' IT against the technology choices of other members.

The group also found that 35 percent of organizations describe themselves as "not yet interested" in Vista.

The OS most people appear to be developing or piloting is Windows XP, with 12 percent of businesses saying they were doing so compared to 5 percent for Vista.

Interestingly, more businesses said they're currently investigating or analyzing Microsoft's next scheduled OS, Windows 7 (30 percent), than Vista (14 percent).
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HDD enclosure threatens to break your laptop

Now here's another one of those concepts that make you wonder why designers go through such great lengths to make our lives more miserable. Like in this hanging hard drive's case (pun totally intended), which is perched on the precarious edge of our laptop screen.

How this will work, if designer Sangho Jin's idea takes off, is that the two swiveling clip-ons with LED power indicators will attach themselves on the edge of your laptop screen. Voila. As simple as that. Now you don't have to leave the 2.5-inch hard drive lying around on your desk.

It would have been a nifty idea, if not for the fact that uneven weight distribution will either warp your screen over time, or you'll constantly worry about the drive falling off. And we all know what happens if that takes place.

Via Gadget Lab | Credit: Yanko Design

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