When it comes to HTPC and nettop computers, most people look for the smallest machines they can find that offer the most performance. A small HTPC that supports 1080p HD video is what many consumers are looking for and with the ION 2 packing machines on the market the number of options is growing all the time. Habey has unveiled a new mini ITX mainboard called the MITX-6564 that is aimed directly at nettop and HTPC use.

The mainboard is called the MITX-6564. The machine is a low profile mini-ITX mainboard with ION 2 Graphics and an Intel Atom D510 dual-core processor inside. The thin mainboard is under an inch thick and is designed to be very quiet during operation. The ION 2 GPU has 16 CUDA cores and supports resolution up to 2560 x 1600 and full 1080p HD video. Connectivity includes VGA and HDMI.

The mainboard has dual RAM slots supporting up to 4GB of RAM and has a pair of SATA ports for up to a pair of storage drives. Other features include four internal USB ports and tow external ports. The board has a pair of mini-PCIe slots for WiFi and TV tuner options. The little board supports multiple Windows flavors and Linux.

The ACCC is taking more bits out of Apple, finds it a bit sour.

The ACCC's continuing investigation against Apple regarding it's warranty is still going on, but with Apple refusing to budge on it's policies, the result might be an increase in mobile plan fees. Apple are refusing to let Telco's (like Telstra, Optus, etc) to offer repair services for the Apple iPhone.

Last week, I posted about Telstra now offering 24 months warranty on their handsets, with Apple's iPhone excluded. The ACCC is still pushing for 24 month contracts to have 24 month warranty included.

Telstra has named their new CIO today.

Meet, Patrick Eltridge:

Former Seek and Westpac CIO, Patrick Eltridge has stepped up to the plate of chief information officer, replacing former CIO John McInerney who resigned in June of this year.

Could it be? Only 11 days until the world knows what's under the hood of AMD's new 6k range of graphics cards.

NDA paperwork is starting to come through and it looks like the 22nd is cemented into history as the launch of the AMD 6000 range of graphic cards. While we don't have exact model numbers, our understanding is that the PRO and XT flavours will be coming in, which should carry the 6850 and 6870 names.

While these names seem like a "replacement" of the current HD 5850 and 5870 parts, initial speculation with the name changes suggest these products could fall into the $200 - $250 segment.

Development of the Cell processor that powers the PlayStation 3 has not stalled, IBM are continuing to develop chips and supply hardware for future gaming consoles, a company executive said.

IBM is working with Nintendo and Sony, CTO of IBM's Systems and Technology Group, Jai Menon said.

The Cell processor which was developed by IBM with the involvement of Sony and Toshiba, first appeared in Sony's PlayStation 3 in 2005. It was a hybrid chip, including processor cores from IBM's Power architecture. But, lately there have been doubts about Cell's future and it's use in upcoming next-generation gaming consoles.

Are you ready?

The first picture of AMD's reference built Radeon HD 6870 has been leaked ahead of it's launch later this month, it reveals some outputs on the card.

It is the first GPU to no longer hold the ATI name, bearing an AMD Radeon branding in it's place.

I often work from my netbook when I travel and the worst thing about the little machine is that it lacks an optical drive. I still get handed CDs and DVDs with information on them that I can't access on the little machine. There are also many ultraportable notebooks on the market that lack optical drives as well. This is an issue for many users who want to watch movies and be able to access software and other content on discs.

Samsung has unveiled a new and very portable external DVD drive that can burn to CD and DVD media at fast speeds, and is small enough to fit in most any laptop bag or briefcase. The little optical drive is called the SE-S084F DVD Writer. It has WriteMaster technology for multitasking on the PC and high-speed media writing on slower computers. The machine also has Buffer Under Run Tech to prevent errors.

The optical drive will work with Mac or PC computers and has special Tilt Actuator Compensation Technology to use all the disc area. The little drive is so power efficient that it can get the connectivity it needs and power from a single USB cable. The burner is available to purchase right now with an MSRP of $59.99. I did see the thing online for $49.99 today making it a very good deal if you really need an optical drive that is easy to take with you.

It's been a while since I saw a new PMP launch with a traditional HDD for storage rather than flash. Flash is generally used in portable devices because it needs less power and can survive the drops and bumps that come with life on the road better than a HDD can. The downside is that you get less storage with flash for the same money than you would with a HDD. Cowon has unveiled the X7 PMP in Korea and it uses a HDD for storage.

The HDD is available in 80GB, 100GB, and 160GB varieties. We have the large 4.3-inch screen to thank in part for the high storage capacity and space to fit in a HDD. Just be sure you don't drop it or you might find your new PMP no longer works. That big 4.3-inch screen is touch capable and the resolution is a mystery for now.

The maker claims the thing is good for 103 hours of music playback per charge or 10 hours of video per charge. Other features include Bluetooth, a radio tuner, support for DivX video, and an integrated RSS reader .Cowon says the thing comes with a web browser, which would suggest WiFi is featured as well. A basic 160GB model will sell for 339,000 won with a version with integrated dictionaries selling for 379,000 won.

No one will deny that the iPad is very expensive with the base version selling for nearly $500. Despite the high cost, Apple is selling as many of them as it can make. There are a number of people interested in a tablet though that simply can't afford the iPad. A company called Cherry Pal has a new Android tablet that is coming to market called the CherryPad specifically aimed at these folks looking to buy a tablet in the sub-iPad price range.

The CherryPad is a 7-inch tablet with Android 2.1 as the OS. An update for Android 2.2 will be offered later in the year. The little tablet has a Samsung ARM11 CPU at 800MHz and supports all Android apps. The screen is resistive touch capable and has a resolution of 800 x 480 and an integrated gravity sensor. Other features include WiFi, a microSD card slot, 256MB of DDRII RAM, and 2GB of flash storage.

If you want, the thing with 3G coverage an optional 3G modem is available to purchase. The CherryPad has a pair of USB ports, integrated speakers and a mic along with a headphone jack. The internal battery is a 3200mAh unit good for up to eight hours of use per charge. The tablet weighs 1.1 pounds and has an aluminum case. The best feature is the price; you can buy the CherryPad America for $188 plus $18 shipping.

There are many categories of video games that spawn some very hard core gamers. There are hard core MMO gamers, hard core FPS gamers, and hard core flight simulation fans. Perhaps the group that has the most expensive hobby are the flight sim fans where controllers and systems can run hundreds of dollars each.

Thrustmaster has launched what may be the coolest flight simulation controller ever called the HOTAS Warthog. The Warthog is an exact replica of the joystick and throttle from the A-10C fighter jet. The joystick has a heavy metal base and uses construction that is mostly metal. The base can be removed and the joystick can be placed into a cockpit. The controller uses magnetic sensors for accuracy and has 19 action buttons with a 4-way POV switch.

The buttons on the joystick take the exact same pressure to operate as the buttons on a real airplane. The throttle is a dual throttle system and also uses magnetic sensor tech. The throttles have a push and pull system with detents for idle and afterburner. The detents can be disengaged as well for aircraft without afterburners. The throttle has 17 action buttons and its own POV controller. A control panel is also built onto the throttle with multiple toggles and the whole works is backlit. Warthog will ship this month for $499.99.

If you want to be able to shoot the video from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod out to your TV you really need a dock of some sort today. The problem is that many of us have entertainment centers that are so crowded that a dock just won't fit. This is where Scosche comes in with a new cable for dockable Apple gadgets that will let you view that video on your TV.

The cable is called the sneakPEEK II and has both component and composite connections on the TV end. On the end that attaches to your gadget is the standard Apple docking connector. That standard connector means the thing will work with any Apple device that can be docked including the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Another cool feature is that the cable has a micro USB port and comes with an AC adapter that will let you change your device while you play video back on the TV. Scosche specifically points out that the thing will work with the Netflix app on the iPad. I can see this being really good for those that plan to sign up for Hulu Plus as well. The cable is shipping now for $59.99 direct from Scosche.

Telstra has to day allowed two-year warranties for all mobile phones on a 24 month contract, except Apple's iPhone after lengthly discussions with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

ACCC chairman, Graeme Samuel said in a statement today "Telstra has decided to do what's right and fair for consumers, and has been negotiating with manufacturers to bring in warranty periods that last for the length of a consumer's contract," he also added "It is important for consumers and suppliers to realise that the Trade Practices Act implies certain statutory rights into consumer contracts. Just because the manufacturer's warranty period is up, it does not mean that consumers can be hung out to dry if they are left with a faulty product and ongoing service contract."

Telstra has had success with 24 month warranties with some manufacturers, those being HTC, Blackberry and ZTE.

The latest addition to Valve's smash hit zombie apocalypse FPS, Left 4 Dead 2 has had some DLC released in the form of "The Sacrifice", which is free for PC users (yay!) but for Xbox 360 users, they'll need to pay 560 "Microsoft points" or $7.

Valve didn't think making it free on PC was enough pain to cause toward Microsoft, so they lowered the price of the full Left 4 Dead 2 purchase price on Steam to $6.79 which is 20 cents cheaper than the DLC content on the Xbox 360 as a standalone purchase! So PC users can now enjoy Left 4 Dead 2 for half the price it used to be, with all the DLC content, still, free.

For Xbox 360's to get the same deal, it requires a ~$30 purchase of the game, then $14 for the 2 DLC packs, with $44 total.

Right now there's no confirmation, but the one thing that should interest you is the news caused Adobe Systems stock to rise 17% before falling slightly down to 11.5% higher than before the rumour. Microsoft shares rose by 0.4%.

News broke from The New York Times as they reported Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had a secret meeting with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen at Adobe's San Fransisco offices "recently".

The two had supposedly talked about Apple's dominance in mobile phones and discussed various options to attack that, with the inclusion of Microsoft purchasing Adobe.

One of the things that I hate to do is go to the bank and deposit checks. Luckily most of my pay doesn't come on checks so I can skip this hassle for most of the month. If you use PayPal a lot and have lots of checks to deposit the company has announced a new update to its iPhone app that will save you a trip to the bank to deposit the check. The update is version 2.7.

With version 2.7 of the app PayPal now allows you to take an image of a check front and back and then submit the check for deposit without having to actually go anywhere. PayPal isn't the only bank who does this; there are some other major banks that have a similar service. PayPal does say the user needs to hang onto the check for 15 days.

It is supposed to take about six days for the money to actually hit your PayPal account using this method. That means PayPal gets an extra few days before you can toss the check into the trashcan. The check capture service is powered by BankServ. The update also brings various bug fixes to the app for better performance. The app can be downloaded right now from the App Store.

Of all the complaints about the iPhone in all its various models, one of the most common is that the smartphone has a short battery life. The battery life each user gets varies a lot depending on how they use the device and sometimes even humidity can affect the run time of batteries. Whatever the reason the battery life for users is shorter than they like, many people turn to cases with batteries inside to get more use from their iPhone.

There are already several cases on the market today that offer a battery inside for the iPhone 4 and older models. None of them has the same sort of name recognition as Energizer does though. The battery giant has announced a new case specifically for the iPhone 4 called the AP1201. The case has a battery inside that claims to "almost double" the battery life of the iPhone 4 while protecting the device from drops and bumps.

The battery inside the case is charged via USB. The case battery and the battery inside the iPhone can both be charged at the same time thanks to pass through charging design. Energizer claims that the case is good for as many as 500 charges in its lifetime. That sounds a bit short to me, charging it each day will get you only around a year and a half use out of the thing. The AP1201 is in stores right now around the country for $69.99.

The iPad has bit into netbook sales significantly according to some analysts. The netbook market is still doing well though with robust sales. There are many netbooks to choose from on the market already today, and that number just keeps growing. Samsung has several notebooks and netbooks already and the company has announced the addition of a new netbook to its lineup called the NF301.

The NF310 is a 10.1-inch netbook with a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 and LED backlighting. The netbook has an Intel Atom N550 dual-core CPU and runs Windows 7 Starter. Other features of the machine include 1GB of DDR3 RAM, 250GB of storage, and a 3W stereo speaker system. The battery promises over nine hours of run time per charge and the netbook has 802.11b/g/n networking.

The weight for the small netbook is 2.87 pounds. The machine has the Samsung Charge and Sleep USB ports so you can charge your USB gadgets while the netbook is powered off. It will come in silver and has a spill-resistant keyboard design along with a touchpad supporting gestures. The NF310 will hit stores this fall for $399.

There are gamers all around the world who are waiting to get their hands on the new Playstation Move controller system. Many of those gamers will certainly be looking to play some of the shooting games that are offered for the console and will want a gun accessory to make those games more realistic. The official Sony Shooting Attachment accessory is set to launch this month along with an exclusive PS3 game for use with the accessory or without.

Sony announced today that the retro looking Shooting Accessory pistol accessory will land in the US on October 19. That is the same day that the PS3 exclusive shooting game called The Shoot will hit store shelves as well. The Shoot will cast the player as an action-movie hero that has to go through five different movie sets blasting away at enemies.

The game looks pretty cool and has underwater sets, sci-fi, and horror scenes among others. The game will feature combos and other power ups too. Pricing for the game and the Shooting Accessory are unknown right now.

There are as many choices for a mouse pad for gamers as there are other gaming peripherals. Some gamers like rough textured cloth pads and others like really smooth, low friction plastic surfaces that let the mouse glide around without much resistance or noise. If you are the type of gamer that likes a mouse pad that glides easily around a surface Razer's new Ironclad may be just for you.

The new mouse pad is made from anodized aluminum with a finely sandblasted surface. The Ironclad is made to minimize hand discomfort and to improve control. The mouse pad also promises enough friction that you can aim accurately. The surface of the Ironclad is extra large to allow for more mousing area.

The surface of the Ironclad will work with all mice and it has a non-slip rubber base that will keep the mouse pad from moving around during intense battles. Razer ships the mouse pad with a carry case to keep it safe during transit. The size of the mouse pad is 320mm L x 270mm W x 2.5mm H. It will ship in the US this month for $59.99 and will launch globally in November.

AMD is stamping it's one year anniversary of the AMD Fusion Partner Program by introducing the AMD Fusion Partner Program distributor track. The expanded program will give distributors access to all of the benefits and goodies within the AMD Fusion Partner Program to help increases sales of AMD-based solutions. AMD is also introducing the AMD Rewards Program - which is being used to add sales-based incentives for partners to increase channel sales growth.

David Kenyon, corporate vice president, Worldwide Channel Marketing, AMD said "It's amazing to see how far we've come in such a short amount of time," he also added "By extending the AMD Fusion Partner Program to all of our valued distribution partners, AMD is proud to now offer them vital information, motivation, support and incentives to help them to be successful in today's marketplace."

AMD Fusion Partner Program Structure