Eric Lai

Apple Inc. will not use Adobe Systems Inc.'s e-book digital rights management (DRM) technology, an Adobe executive said on Wednesday.

The confirmation added credibility to reports that Apple Inc. will offer its own FairPlay DRM technology to publishers to copy protect e-books sold for use on its upcoming iPad tablet computer.

Panasonic Computer Solutions Co. today released the latest model in its 13-year-old Toughbook line , a rugged Windows tablet with a power-sipping Intel Atom processor.

The Toughbook H1 Field is designed for emergency response professionals, construction managers and field sales reps who work in harsh conditions. Panasonic contends that it's the toughest tablet available.

Buying your next laptop computer or smartphone online could suddenly get a lot more expensive if a little-known U.S. Department of Transportation proposal to tighten rules around the shipment of small, battery-powered devices by air goes through, says an industry group opposing the move.

Airline passengers would be affected too, as rules banning spare lithium-ion batteries in checked-in luggage would also be extended to alkaline and nickel metal-hydride batteries, argues George Kerchner, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Portable Rechargeable Battery Association.

Bill Gates and others first envisioned that tablet computers would be the future of computing for everyone. So far, they have only caught on in niches, such as with e-readers or in specialized industries including healthcare or construction.

Apple Inc.'s iPad won't take tablets mainstream, but it will help legitimize and drive a new, fast-growing niche of "media tablets," one analyst said on Tuesday.

Despite the introduction of the iPad and the harsh words of Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs, netbooks will continue to thrive, say analysts and commentators, who cite the tablet's missing features and relatively high price.

During the launch today, Jobs called netbooks to create a third category between smartphones and notebook PCs.

Ongoing problems with a Microsoft Corp. Web site handling software licenses have left some business customers unable to activate and use their Microsoft apps for more than a month.

Microsoft first took down its Volume Licensing Service Center for maintenance in early December, after attempts to merge multiple licensing sites into a single, more secure site backfired for some users.

Forget 3D TVs. The next big wave to rush down the display tech pipeline are laptops and handheld gadgets with transparent OLED screens. At CES 2010, Samsung Electronics showed off a prototype laptop with a 14-inch see-through color OLED screen. According to Engadget, the screen is up to 40% transparent when turned off (versus 25% for other displays).

Hewlett-Packard Co. launched its first touch-enabled netbook on Wednesday, as well as a successor to its first-generation TouchSmart convertible tablet/laptop.

image courtesy of GizmodoThe big news may be coming later, though. HP and Microsoft Corp. are co-developing Microsoft's 'Courier' tablet PC, The New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources. The newspaper said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will unveil the tablet during his keynote speech at CES this evening, beating Apple Inc.'s much-rumored tablet to a full public unveiling.

Lenovo today announced its IdeaPad U1, a consumer Windows laptop with a touchscreen that can be detached and used as a separate Linux tablet computer.

Used conventionally, the 3.8-pound U1 runs Windows 7 on an Intel Core 2 Duo CULV processor and, reportedly, a 128GB solid-state drive.

The concept of powering devices without wires may sound still sound awesomely sci-fi to many users. Today's near-field devices remain hampered by their short range and inefficiency.

For example, the wireless charger for the Dell Latitude Z works only when the laptop is placed in its stand. The charger is more efficient than most others available today, but still wastes about 30% of the electricity it uses.