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In 2007, U.S. officials recalled melamine-laced pet food that caused the deaths of cats and dogs and lead-coated toys that endangered toddlers. Now, digital photo frames infected with computer viruses are the latest problem import from China.

"That phenomenon apparently has bled over to the digital side as well," Marcus Sachs, director of the Internet Storm Center at the SANS Institute (SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security), said of the Chinese manufacturing problems that get exported. "Essentially, it's a supply chain problem. We've become dependent on a cheap source coming out of Asia."

The culprit … Read more

Global notebook shipments exceeded desktops on a quarterly basis for the first time ever, with Netbooks playing a decisive role, iSuppli said on Tuesday.

Notebook PC shipments rose almost 40 percent in the third quarter of 2008 over the same period in 2007, hitting 38.6 million units, said iSuppli, a market research firm based in El Segundo, Calif.

Netbooks may have been the deciding factor in pushing notebooks over the top.

"The big news from iSuppli's market share data for the third quarter was undoubtedly the performance of Taiwan's Acer," said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst … Read more

As party season ratchets up to full swing, those with an appreciation for the sciences might enjoy this novelty Chemistry Cocktail Set. The chemical composition of drinks won't be affected, but for the mad scientist in all of us, this cocktail set glows with (hopefully nonradioactive) whimsy.

The set includes four glass test tubes, a glass beaker, a stirrer, a cocktail shaker, and a metal tray. It is hand washable.

Fun is fun and all (and we all know science is fun), but I am a little confused by this product. I can imagine it sitting on my kitchen … Read more

As chip equipment goes, so goes the electronics industry and the rest of high tech.

It's a pretty simple equation. Electronics gadget makers get silicon from chipmakers, which get production gear from companies like Applied Materials and ASML. So when chip gear suppliers go south, you can bet the entire electronics industry (and the overall tech industry) is in a funk.

And it is. Appearing on CNBC Thursday morning, Peter Wennink, chief financial officer of Netherlands-based chip equipment maker ASML, said the "sudden drop in end demand for electronic products...is forcing our customers to announce severe cuts … Read more

There's not a lot of good news about the PC industry lately.

Gartner is predicting that IT spending will be down, and Intel says it sees significantly lower demand for its chips. Now add to that iSuppli's doom-and-gloom prediction that PC shipments will rise only 4.3 percent in 2009, and 7.1 percent in 2010.

It's a pretty dramatic change from what the industry analyst company had previously forecast: shipments rising 11.9 percent next year, and 9.4 percent in 2010.

The PC market has been growing at rates of at least 10 percent per … Read more

Tuesday, I linked to a Dow Jones story on CNN's Money Web site about a virtual teardown iSuppli did on T-Mobile's fancy G1, the first commercial smartphone to run Google's Android. Some readers had issues with the story, and I'm going to address those here.

First, I quoted the price of the G1 at $399 instead of the $179 new customers typically get. This was due to a communications mixup between me and one of my T-Mobile marketing contacts. He was giving me the unsubsidized price, not the retail price, probably thinking I was inquiring to … Read more

Updated at 2:50 p.m. with correction of comments in FORM 10-Q

Intel reiterated in an SEC filing Friday that business conditions may worsen and that demand for its chips may take a hit because of global economic conditions.

As a result of the recent financial crisis, "there could be a number of follow-on effects from the credit crisis on Intel's business, including insolvency of key suppliers resulting in product delays; inability of customers to obtain credit to finance purchases of our products and/or customer insolvencies," Intel restated in a FORM 10-Q filing.

Intel also … Read more

Does the world really need Post-it 2.0? Ask those of us with Post-its habitually plastered on our monitors, walls, backs, and foreheads, and we'd probably be hard-pressed to come up with suggestions for improving the classic attachable notes.

Still, the designers at Sequoia Studio have come up with an inventive concept product called E-notes. The notes use tactile and flexible electronic paper technology and are powered by a solar captor. They can be stuck and unstuck to surfaces easily using a glue inspired by the adhesive that keeps the gravity-defying gecko in place. The best part? They can … Read more

Along with the economy, chip forecasts are heading south.

Following an outlook about weak chip industry capital spending from market researcher Gartner on Wednesday, iSuppli cut its 2008 IC revenue forecast to 3.5 percent from 4 percent on Thursday.

The memory chip industry is the canary in the coal mine. At least two memory chip manufacturers are on life support right now. Hynix, the world's second largest maker of memory, is trying to scare up cash by seeking buyers for a 36 percent stake in the company. The other ailing memory maker is Qimonda AG. Rumors have been … Read more