September 06, 2005, 2:39 PM PDT
Verizon sues telemarketers
Posted by: Kent German

Verizon Wireless has filed lawsuits against two telemarketing companies, Intelligent Alternatives of San Diego, California, and Resort Marketing Trends of Coral Springs, Florida, citing that the companies are abusing customer privacy rights. Verizon is alleging the telemarketers made phone calls to its customers using prerecorded messages and autodialers. Such practices violate the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and some state laws. Verizon said it is seeking to stop the calls and is asking the court to award monetary damages. With concerns about telemarketing on the rise, it's great to see that Verizon is taking some action to stop those pesky calls. Hopefully, customers will ultimately benefit.

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September 06, 2005, 1:42 PM PDT
The Hurricane Katrina relief parade
Posted by: Molly Wood

DirecTV has dedicated Channel 100 to news, information, and personal messages about Hurricane Katrina. PayPal has a one-click donation button, MyPoints lets you donate points (which are turned into cash), and Yahoo has made some pretty impressive efforts, including this metasearch site. Heard of more?

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September 06, 2005, 1:37 PM PDT
Microsoft hardware galore!
Posted by: Lara Luepke

Today, Microsoft officially announced a slew of keyboards, mice, and desktop sets. As with most other input device manufacturers, Microsoft has jumped on the laser bandwagon, with its Wireless Laser Desktop 6000, which pairs a Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 and a multimedia keyboard, the Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 6000, and Microsoft's first gaming mouse, the Laser Mouse 6000.

And, if that's not enough names and numbers for you, Microsoft also released a group of laser-less mice: Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 4000, Notebook Optical Mouse 3000, Wireless Optical Mouse 5000, and Comfort Optical Mouse 3000. Two ergonomic keyboards, the Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 and the Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000, round out this hardware line.

One extra feature Microsoft added to this crop of mice is a magnifier button that allows you to highlight a square of the screen and enlarge it for easier reading or data entry. Otherwise, the keyboards and mice offer the same general functionality we've seen from Microsoft hardware in the past. We'll have reviews of some of these products up soon, so keep an eye out.

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September 06, 2005, 11:30 AM PDT
Sharp M4000: light, but no lightweight
Posted by: Michelle Thatcher

For those of you who think thin-and-light is a bit of a misnomer, check out the new Sharp M4000 WideNote. With a 13.3-inch wide-screen display, this true thin-and-light measures 1.2 inches thick and weighs a remarkable 3.7 pounds--almost a pound less than other models in its class. It's no slouch when it comes to features and performance, either; for all the details, check out our M4000 review.

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September 06, 2005, 11:12 AM PDT
Logitech's mouse infestation
Posted by: Lara Luepke

Every now and then an innovative new mouse comes out and impresses us. Logitech did just that last year when it released the MX1000, and with today's announcement of the Logitech MX610 Cordless Laser Mouse, we were again impressed. This "smart" mouse works with your PC to give alerts via flashing lights on the mouse when you've received an e-mail or an instant message. And since it has a range of up to 30 feet, it can function as a kind of pager-—take it to the kitchen with you when you need to know when you get an e-mail or an IM. It also senses when the PC is on or off and powers down accordingly, and it can sense signal interference and automatically switch channels.

Logitech also announced the sporty-looking V400 Laser Cordless Mouse; the LX7 Cordless Optical Mouse, a basic cordless mouse; and the V270 Cordless Optical Notebook Mouse for Bluetooth.

The MX610 retails for $59.99, the V400 and the V270 retail for $49.99, and the LX7 will cost only $39.99. They should all be on shelves in October.

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September 06, 2005, 10:05 AM PDT
Alienware enters the MP3 fray
Posted by: James Kim

Alienware, purveyors of high-performance desktop and notebook PCs, has announced its first MP3 player: the CE-IV. Shipping in October, the CE-IV (CE for Close Encounters) comes in 512MB and 1GB capacities and has a unique otherwordly look about it, complete with an alien head with glowing eyes as the main controller button.

The CE-IV's primary features: MP3 and DRM9 WMA playback; SD memory expansion slot; FM tuner; red or white LCD with standard ID3-tag info fare; and SRS Wow. The unit looks like it has a swappable battery. Other than its Klingon-like styling, the CE-IV doesn't shout, "I'm the next big thing in MP3!" Also coming soon is the Alienware HUB Docking Sound System, a stylized Alien egg-esque 2.1-speaker system. No details on pricing yet for all the new Alienware stuff.

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