BlackBerry Playbook: The RIM tablet

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds,

Today RIM (Research in Motion) finally introduced the world to the BlackBerry Playbook. The Playbook is a 7-inch tablet that RIM hopes will be a healthy competitor to the Apple iPad, and runs its own custom version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS.

The insides of this thing sound pretty good as well, and almost put the iPad to shame: a dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM, front and rear facing cameras that both support high definition, Flash 10.1 with hardware acceleration, HDMI out, USB, and HTML5 support. It’s got a widescreen 1024 x 600 display that supports multi-touch, and RIM was proud to announce that the Playbook will connect with BlackBerry enterprise servers right out of the box. Now, on paper this thing sounds powerful, but it’s really going to be the UI and user experience in software that will make or break this thing.

RIM says that the Playbook isn’t just for business, and that its OpenGL support is perfect for gaming. It also has e-reader capabilities, and a full web browser, as previously mentioned. Expect the BlackBerry App World to make an appearance here as well, along with in-app purchase integration that developers will be able to tap in to. RIM also says that the BlackBerry Playbook will be offerred in 3G and 4G models in the future.

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Parallels Desktop 5 build 9370 released

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: PC / Laptop, Software,

For all of you who run Windows and Linux virutal machines on your Mac by way of Parallels Desktop 5, you should know that the company has released an update this morning aimed at improving performance and enhancing compatibility. The update is recommended for all users of Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac, and is free. Here’s the list of changes:

• Mac folders shared with Windows now work correctly with MS Outlook, Lotus, Quicken and other Windows applications.
• Support for Autodesk Revit 2011 was fixed.
• MS Office 2010 activation is preserved in Boot Camp virtual machines.
• OpenGL now works correctly in Ubuntu 10.04 virtual machines.
• Virtual machines using Boot Camp partitions on 512 GB solid-state disks (SSDs) now work correctly.
• The problem with invisible virtual machines list on new MacBook Pros (released in early 2010) was fixed.
• A rare problem with Windows virtual machine’s screen turning black after upgrading to Mac OS X v10.6.3 was fixed.
• Problems with Parallels Service stopping to respond when the Parallels Desktop settings file is corrupt were fixed.
• Problems with screen resolution in Mac OS X Server v10.6.3 virtual machines were fixed.

You can get a copy of Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac for $10 off with $175 in free software.

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