Triple Screen Notebook: Acme Laptop Does a Three-Way, Unfolds Into Obscenely Wide Triple Screen

from Gizmodo by Charlie White

This prototype of an Acme semi-portable notebook with a huge folding three-way display was rolled out in Taipei during Taitronix Autumn 2007 that just wrapped up earlier this week. It starts out as a mild-mannered suitcase, and then unfolds into a monster laptop with a outlandishly wide screen. There is no information on the size of each of the flat panels, but from what we can see they look like they are each at least 20-inch-diagonal displays. No pricing was announced, but it'll be available sometime next year. [AVing]

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Napster Dumping Client Download

from TechCrunch by Nick Gonzalez

Word is that Napster is dumping their desktop client and relaunching with a fully web based client as part of an effort to broaden their reach. Customers will be able to listen to their music over the web on any computer after signing in. The new web client will make it possible to join a slew of other online music services in creating embeddable music widgets to push their product and become accessible on web enabled devices.

However, the desktop client is only part of what's holding the company back. Napster is still a subscription-centered service, which keeps them incompatible with the leading digital music player, the iPod (not a good idea, say industry experts). Consequently Napster has lagged behind Apple's end to end iTunes system which reportedly controls 70% of the digital music market.

But the company is holding out for a glimmer of hope. Amazon has already crossed the chasm into open digital downloads. Christopher Allen, chief operating officer at Napster, forecasts that by the end of next year these DRM free MP3s will become standard. So far, only Universal Music Group and EMI Group sell music DRM free. However, with labels loving the iPod but hating the revenue split, other labels are sure to follow.

In other music news, Ars Technica is expecting iTunes to lower the price of DRM-free songs to $0.99. That's still $0.10 more per song than Amazon is charging. Note our recently article on the inevitable march of recorded music towards free.

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50x Faster Than BitTorrent: I Want

from TechCrunch by Duncan Riley

Popout Thomas Crampton interviews Ogilvy China’s Kaiser Kuo on the current state of web development in China in the video above. It’s interesting in its entirity as they discuss the growing wave of Web 2.0 development in China, but of particular note is Kuo’s description of Chinese P2P file network Blin.cn.

Kuo claims that Blin.cn is 50 times faster than BitTorrent and when downloading the show 24 season 6 he was able to start watching it with 2.2% downloaded after only 3 minutes, and all in DVD quality.

It’s interesting to consider the broader ramifications of what Kuo is saying. His general argument is that without the artificial market restrictions imposed on P2P networks in the United States by the RIAA and the MPAA, Chinese companies have been free to innovate and are now producing superior web technology in P2P sharing, and a whole range of related industries. If you think it’s bad that China dominates the market for consumer goods, imagine that today companies in China have already created the next wave of P2P innovation and are thriving, perhaps ironically in a Communist country, with more freedoms than their American counterparts. It’s not unreasonable to consider that next year and into the future that much of what we do online may end up being based on Chinese designed technology and programming, and not good ol’ fashioned American know-how.

(via zeropaid)

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Indentured Servitude: AT&T Decides to Play Nice, Lets Customers Change Calling Plans Without Penalty

from Gizmodo by Charlie White

AT&T, the 800-pound gorilla of U.S mobile services, decided to pull a Verizon and let its cellphone users off the hook if they decide to change their contracts. The company says now people can get out of their indentured servitude early without having to pay a flat termination fee. Going a little bit easier on the poor souls, the quit-fines will be reduced according to how long a customer has been letting his blood be sucked by AT&T. Even more important to some users, they'll be allowed to change their level of service without extending the contract, or signing up for more abuse from the Ma Bell giant. If you happen to like AT&T and its fine, fine, cellphone service, please excuse our bile-spitting criticism. [Yahoo News]

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LG.Philips develops 2.4-inch a-Si LCD with 1mm bezel

from Engadget by Darren Murph

LG.Philips is far from being a newcomer to the cellphone display realm, and while it claimed to have cranked out the " world's slimmest" LCD for mobiles around this time last year, it's now boasting about one with an uber-thin bezel. Reportedly, the outfit has conjured up a 2.4-inch a-Si TFT-LCD, which touts a 320 x 240 resolution and possesses borders of just one-millimeter. The display is based on its Narrow Bezel Technology, and it should start mass production of the panels sometime next year. Notably, no price was mentioned, but the firm did state that it planned on applying the same technology to "other models to expand its lineup of slim border products."

[Via AkihabaraNews]

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