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We've looked at quite a few mind mapping tools here on Webware. Most recently, Webware's Rafe Needleman checked out a half dozen services that do the job one way or another. Nearly all of them require you to build and develop maps in a giant 2D space, something I think most people will spend more time trying to figure out rather than simply getting ideas down, which is where Text2MindMap is quite handy.

Instead of having you build out your ideas on some huge network of nodes, the tool lets you simply write down a list. Whenever you … Read more

Google plans to release later this week a near-final version of the Google Web Toolkit 1.5, software designed to ease the onerous parts of writing sophisticated Web-based software.

GWT 1.5 includes support for Java 5, a version of the Sun Microsystems programming language released in 2006, and produces software that runs about 1.2 to 2 times faster for complex Web applications, said Bruce Johnson, Google's engineering manager for GWT.

The new software fuels Google's ambition to make the Web a much richer software environment--an ambition on display Wednesday and Thursday at the Google I/… Read more

Sony signed an agreement with the country's six largest cable companies Tuesday to develop a TV that will receive cable services without the need for a set-top box.

The Japanese electronics giant will make an LCD set based on the Tru2way cable platform introduced in January at CES by Comcast. Tru2way allows interactive cable services to be integrated directly into devices.

Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Cablevision, and Bright House Networks have all agreed to develop the technology behind Tru2way.

Sony's not the first consumer electronics company to announce a device based on the platform, … Read more

Intel doesn't just make and market CPUs--the company builds "platforms," which is a fancy way of saying it likes to bundle together a set of specs for a particular combination of CPU, motherboard chipset, and Wi-Fi interface, and slap a sticker on it.

The Centrino brand has been a big success, while other attempts, such as AMD's Live and Intel's Viiv, have not. Naturally, we've all been eagerly awaiting the launch of Centrino 2, expected at Computex Taipei 2008 (which will take place June 3-7), with the new platform followed by updated laptops from … Read more

Last week, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization announced its new XO-2 laptop design, which will likely replace the XO-1 design I've written about before on this blog. There are images of the XO-2 on the OLPC wiki and a video clip from the announcement on Joanna Stern's blog for Laptop magazine.

The new design uses two touch-screen LCDs flanking a central hinge. This approach allows the unit to be used as a book with facing pages (shown here), as a conventional laptop using a virtual keyboard on the lower display, or as a single system shared … Read more

The National Journal writes that when Arun Chaudhary was a teenager, his father asked him why he didn't want to get into politics. "I can't, Dad," he recalled saying. "I have a funny name." Now Arun Chaudhary, the son of an immigrant Indian father and a Jewish mother, is as close to politics as one can be: He took leave from his day job -- professor at the NYU film school -- to become Barack Obama's videographer (or, so the official title, director of field production).

After 10 months on the campaign trail, … Read more

While you're out buying goods for your Memorial Day barbecue, why not swing by Best Buy and pick up a HTC Touch Dual? Yes, the Touch Dual will be available in stores and online starting this weekend for a nice chunk of change--$549 to be exact. First announced at CTIA 2008, the Touch Dual alleviates some of the text entry pains of the original HTC Touch by providing a slide-out SureType-like keypad. It will also be the first Windows Mobile 6.1 device available in the United States, and also features support for U.S. 3G bands (HSDPA … Read more

I don't know how many of you still play the Sims 2 but, if you do, here's something to add to the clutter in your virtual home: IKEA furniture. The expansion pack for the PC simulation game will debut on June 20 in Asia with a recommended retail price of S$25.90 (about US$19). Folks in the U.S. and Europe will get theirs on June 23 and June 27, respectively. The collaboration is not the first of its kind as gamers already have access to Ford's Mustang GT and H&M apparels. What … Read more

After countless rumors, it appears that last year's underwater dystopian masterpiece, BioShock, will see the light of day on the PlayStation 3 after all. The critically acclaimed title had recently been in the news regarding its big-budget Hollywood adaptation.

Now, Computers and Videogames is reporting that the latest issue of the UK magazine PSM3 is showcasing a preview of the PS3 version of the game along with a handful of screenshots. While there's been no word from 2K Games officially, once the magazine hits newsstands on June 5 we'd imagine a press release will follow shortly after. … Read more