Microsoft has some good news for movie fans. If you want to watch .mov files in Windows 7, you don't need to install Apple's QuickTime. Bye, bye annoying system tray icon! Adios, Apple update! The support for .mov files was mentioned deep in a long list of changes that are coming to the Windows 7 Release Candidate. On the Engineering Windows 7 blog, in a post entitled 'Some changes since beta for the RC', Chaitanya Sareena, Senior Program Manager on the Core User Experience team, talks up improved playback support for video content from digital camcorders and cameras: "We've since added support for Windows Media Player to natively support the .mov files used to capture video for many common digital cameras," writes Sareena. While this may delight owners of cameras which output in the .mov format, it's also good news for anyone who enjoys watching movies on their PC, as movie trailers, particularly those on Apple Movie Trailers, come in .mov format, and so require QuickTime (or a freeware player such as VLC) to view. Windows users who install QuickTime are then nagged with pop-ups from the Apple update software prompting them to install other Apple software such as iTunes and Safari. And while this move brings wider camera support, and rids Windows users of those annoying nag screens, it also has the added benefit for Microsoft of making one Apple application less necessary to download. ( www.techradar.com )

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Facebook today asked its users for help in re-writing its terms and conditions, announcing The Facebook Principles, a set of values that will guide the development of the service, and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities that governs Facebook's operations. Users can review, comment and vote on the Principles and the Rights and Responsibilties at Facebook, and the company will periodically republish them, incorporating any changes."Our main goal at Facebook is to help make the world more open and transparent," said Mark Zuckerberg. "We believe that if we want to lead the world in this direction, then we must set an example by running our service in this way."Facebook attracted widespread criticism when it rewrote its terms and conditions earlier this month in a way that many users felt infringed their privacy and control over their own data, eventually reverting to its original T&Cs as a temporary measure. As they stand today, Facebook's ten Principles are: Freedom to Share and Connect, Ownership and Control of Information, Free Flow of Information, Fundamental Equality, Social Value, Open Platforms and Standards, Fundamental Service, Common Welfare, Transparent Process and One World. The Statements of Rights and Responsbility is a wider-ranging document, covering acceptable behaviour by users as well as Facebook. Significantly, the first section is labelled Privacy. Facebook also announced its intention to establish a user council to participate more closely in the development and discussion of policies and practices. As a start, the company indicated that it would invite the authors of the most insightful and constructive comments on the draft documents to serve as founding members of the group. ( www.techradar.com )

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A survey of over 2,500 callers to The Gadget Helpline, a phone service that consumers having problems with broken electrical equipment can call for help, asked "what gadget makes you the happiest". The results underline once gain the increasing popularity of games consoles, once considered a niche hobby for young men. The Wii, made by Japanese giant Nintendo, topped the poll, with Microsoft's Xbox 360 coming in fourth place and the hand-held DS console coming in eighth place. The Wii, which was launched just a little over two years ago in the UK, has beaten off the iPod, the digital music player made by Apple, and which has won over an army of fans since it first hit the British market in 2001. Nintendo's success has been to attract not just technology fans, but also children and older consumers to its machines, thanks to its so-called casual games. Five million households in Britain now own a Wii, with more than 3 million sold last year. The gadget allows players to use a hand-held controller to simulate a sport, such as golf or bowls, pretend to ski jump or even play the ukulele – activities far removed from the fast cars and shooting games favoured by software manufacturers in the past. GadgetHelpline.com, is a telephone service that costs 60p a minute, that promises to help baffled electronics users struggling their kit. A spokesman said: "With the world now quite literally at our fingertips, we're fast being robbed of the need to socialise with other humans, but the success of games consoles shows that there remains huge appeal in the concept of sharing time and space with friends and loved ones."

1. Nintendo Wii

2. iPod

3. iPhone 3G

4. Xbox 360

5. Blackberry

6. Sky+

7. Mac Book

8. Nintendo DS

9. Tom Tom 930 Satellite Navigation System

10. Sony PRS-505 Reader

( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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Dell has announced a netbook sporting both a 10-inch display and an HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) output. Available soon with Ubuntu 8.04, the Inspiron Mini 10 includes a 1.3GHz Atom Z520 or 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor, 1.3 megapixel webcam, Bluetooth, and optional, integrated ATSC tuner. Available in black, white, pink, red, blue, and green, the Inspiron Mini 10 features a keyboard that's "92 percent the size of a standard keyboard." The netbook weighs 2.86 pounds with a standard three-cell battery. A six-cell battery will also be available, the company adds. Features and specifications listed by Dell for its Inspiron Mini 10 include the following:

• Processor -- Intel Atom Z520 (1.33GHz) or Z530 (1.6GHz)
  
• Memory -- 1GB of RAM (soldered-in, not expandable)
  
• Display -- 10.1-inch display with 1024 x 576 resolution (1280 x 780 is a planned option)
  
• Camera -- 1.3 megapixel webcam
  
• Storage -- 120GB or 160GB hard disk drive
  
• Networking -- 10/100 Ethernet port
  
• Wireless:
  • 802.11g or 802.11a/g/n wireless networking
    
  • Bluetooth 2.1
    
  • GPS (forthcoming option)
    
  • ATSC tuner (forthcoming option)
• Other I/O:
  • 1 x HDMI port
    
  • Audio headphone out and mic in
    
  • 3 x USB
• Expansion:
  • SD/SDHC/MMC/MS card reader
    
  • 2 x PCI Mini card slots (occupied by WiFi and Bluetooth cards)
• Dimensions -- 10.28 x 7.19 x 1.25 inches (261 x 182.5 x 31.77mm)
  
• Weight -- 2.86 pounds (1.3kg) with three-cell battery

The Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist, Bertrand Piccard, is currently working on the development of his latest invention - world's first airplane that will be able to fly around the globe using only solar power. His grandfather was Auguste Piccard and his father was Jacques Piccard. Both were famous balloonists and inventors. Auguste Piccard was the one to create the pressurized cabin and the stratospheric balloon, which was able to fly up to 16,201 meters, when launched back in 1932. He was also the one to invent the Bathyscaphe, a submarine that in 1952 managed to dive to 3150 meters. Jacques Piccard, Bertrand's father, broke the world record with deepest-ever dive. He went down 7 miles to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. In addition, he was the one to create the first passenger submarine in the world. As for Bertrand, than it is worth mentioning that the balloonist managed to make the first non-stop trip around the globe in a balloon, registering the longest flight in the history of aviation. Now the inventor works on Solar Impulse project, a solar-powered aircraft. Together with his team Bertrand wants to promote renewable energies. The inventor hopes Solar Impulse will succeed in making a tour around the world without fuel.

At the moment engineers are working on the first prototype of the plane at Dubendorf, Switzerland. One of the main goals is to create a new-generation aircraft that will boast a low weight, smart energy management systems as well as high performance storage elements. Its wingspan will be 80 metres, which is wider than that of an Airbus A380. This will minimize drag and provide more space for solar cells. Engineers will install a layer of ultra-thin solar cells, which will be flexible enough to resist deformations and vibrations. It is hoped that the aircraft will be tested later this year and the second prototype will be built in 2010. The Solar Impulse team hopes to real flight around the world will take place in 2011. The main funding for the project comes from Solvay, Omega, and Deutsche Bank. Technical help comes from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), a Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Dassault, a French group of firms under the management of Serge Dassault. Additional information on the project can be found on Solar Impulse website. ( www.infoniac.com )

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Twenty-nine MPs have signed an Early Day Motion outlining their concerns. It urges ministers to “consider measures to prevent the monopolisation of the online search advertising market”. Google has increased its share of the market to almost 90 per cent in the last year. The motion, tabled on February 11, has the support of 25 Labour MPs, one Conservative MP, two Liberal Democrats, and a member of the Scottish National Party. “A monopoly is unhealthy,” said Andrew Dismore, one of the Labour MPs backing the motion. “Google cornering the market is not good for competitive pricing or quality of service. The Government should recognise that there is a potential problem.

“The Competition Commission should draw up recommendations to protect consumers – in this case, the people buying the advertising.” Google, however, has defended its position, arguing that market dominance does not necessarily constitute a monopoly. It has also emphasised that Google does not set the price of online adverts, which are determined by auction and therefore driven by the market. “On the internet, competition is literally one click away,” said a Google spokesman. “We have to prove our value to our users and advertisers every day, because if they’re unhappy with Google, there’s nothing preventing them from switching to another search engine.” A recent report from industry analysts Forrester Research found that 55 per cent of internet users use more than one search engine every week. It’s the second time in a month that Google has been the subject of an Early Day Motion. Around 70 MPs backed another motion criticising Google’s decision to run online adverts for gambling websites despite the economic crisis. ( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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In response to Intel's response to an anonymous Nvidia Powerpoint slamming Intel integrated graphics, Nvidia has now released an official Powerpoint, detailing why Intel's slurs on ION are not to be believed. Abandoning the raw nastiness of its first, unsigned document, Nvidia takes a stab at playing it professional in its latest propaganda attempt, laying out claim to counter claim with no solitaire slides in sight. Countering Intel's claims the Ion platform is not validated, Nvidia points out it is, in fact "OEM-validated, Microsoft-validated, NVIDIA-validated", although we fail to see how Nvidia validating its own products helps much. Nvidia says Ion replaces an outdated three chip design with a more contemporary two chip one, taking up 55 per cent less area. Ion, argues the Goblin, also offers a "more feature rich" experience than Intel netbooks, nettops, and notebooks. As for Intel's declaration that the "Window of opportunity for NVIDIA Ion is very short", Nvidia concludes by reasoning that the next generation Atom (Pineview) "forces customers to use Intel graphics (with minor improvements)", whilst its Second-generation ION - purportedly due out in the fourth quarter of this year - "expands CPU support, performance and features." ( www.atomicmpc.com.au )

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You've probably known about the contemporary 3.5" Hard Disk Drive - it's most likely what your operating system is installed on right now. The current maximum storage amount you can get in these mechanical drives is two terrabytes, but a new nanoscale process can give up to 1.175TB on a disc the size of an American quarter (roughly the size of an Australian 20 cent piece). Such incredible density (fifteen times the current highest) also requires a complicated manufacturing process, involving sliced crystals cut at specific angles, cooked for an entire day at huge temperatures, and then treated. The whole process creates hexagonal metallic dots, each acting as a one or zero just the same as a hard drive works now. With such a small size you start to run into problems elsewhere with actually reading and writing to such a small area, but those clever scientists reckon that with enough time (and most likely money too) the problems are definitely fixable. ( www.atomicmpc.com.au )

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One of the latest invention in technology was recently revealed by a team of researchers led by Shakeel Avadhany at Boston's Levant Power Corporation. The mechanical engineers managed to develop a system called GenShock, which represents a shock absorber that has the ability to partially power a vehicle driving through pothole-plagued locations. The device can also smooth the ride. The invention is installed on a car. When hitting a small pothole in the road, hydraulic fluid spurts into a turbine, which afterwards starts rotating as fluid runs through it. In such a way the turbine powers a small electric generator. Scientists believe that their latest invention could someday be useful for hybrid vehicles. Electronics incorporated in the system make the ride of a car through bumps smoother. Simultaneously it can generate electricity which the vehicle can use.

The first to test the system will be the U.S. military. With improved fuel efficiency the military cars will consume less fuel when driving through war zones. Besides, with a smoother ride it would be easier to handle the vehicles, making it possible for the soldiers to drive them faster through the areas. According to Avadhany, an undergraduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, currently Levant Power Corporation is working on the development of a regenerative shock absorber, which will be used in the next-generation Humvee. If successful, the system will be incorporated in the heavy trucking and then be available for those who are into hybrid vehicles, informs National Geographic. If the company's latest invention is installed on a military Humvee, the energy recuperated can be used to increase fuel efficiency by 3 to 10 percent, which corresponds to up to a 4 mile-per-gallon increase in fuel saving. Karl Hedrick, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, who did not take part in the research, mentioned that the system works just like the regenerative braking technique, which is applied in some hybrid cars to generate power from energy discharged when a vehicle brakes. ( www.infoniac.com )

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The Electronic Privacy Information Centre (Epic) said legislation was needed to prevent other websites exerting control over users' own personal information and content such as photographs. The United States-based organisation was poised to make a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission about new terms for users of Facebook that appeared to give the social networking site greater control of individuals' information. However, Facebook has since backed down over the changes following an outcry from users who feared their preferences and photos could be stored and used for future marketing. "This row underlines the need for comprehensive privacy laws," said Epic's president Marc Rotenberg told the BBC. "It is great that Facebook has responded by going back to its old terms of service. That is a step in the right direction, but these issues don't go away. It is going to be an ongoing concern for users until we get privacy laws in place."

Facebook members who decide to delete their account can make sure all material they have posted, such as photos and comments on other members' profiles, is taken down. Earlier this month, Facebook changed this so that anything posted on another members' profile would remain, even if the poster cancelled their account – effectively giving it control of such information in perpetuity. But in a blog post shortly afterwards, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote: "Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago. Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues people have raised." Mr Zuckerberg said Facebook would draw up a new document in conjunction with its users. The company has set up a special group called "Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities" to let users have their say.

"This just reflects the ongoing process of people trying to figure out the internet," John Byrne, a senior analyst at Technology Business Research Inc. told Computerworld.com. "The lesson that should be learned is that these content sites are not your own personal diaries. Consider it more as publishing and less about your personal circle of friends. People need to wake up." Facebook faced similar criticism in 2007 when it introduced a service called Beacon which users feared would provide advertisers with too much of their information. Mr Rotenberg added: "Mark Zuckerberg said users should be able to own and control their information. If everyone starts with that principle we can end up in a very good place. On a lot of these issues where there is confusion on that point, I see a lot of debate." ( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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Expected to retail at £149.99 in the UK, the DSi is the second upgrade to the hugely popular DS console. Featuring larger, brighter screens, an SD card slot and two motion sensing cameras, the new console is, nevertheless, thinner than the previous version of the console, the DS Lite. The new console will also have an on-board web browser, which will allow gamers to download new titles from Nintendo’s new DSiWare service, similar to the WiiWare download service operating on Nintendo’s home console, Wii. There will be games developed specifically for the DSi’s new features, such as the cameras, but owners of a large DS library will be able to use most of their existing game cards with the new console. However, the removal of the expansion slot at the bottom of the machine means that gamers will not be able to play Game Boy Advance titles or use certain hardware, such as Activision’s Guitar Hero grip controller, with the DSi.

( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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According to digital experts, online games provide a form of escapism for people during the difficult times, plus the internet provides near-free entertainment when disposable income is low. The number of visitors to online game sites rose by 29.9 per cent during the last quarter of 2008, compared with a 0.3 per cent decline during the same period the year before, according to data from ComScore. Miniclip, one of the largest free games website, has seen a rise in the number of its users to over 4.1m in UK and 50 million per month worldwide. The company which has just announced a partnership with Microsoft, claimes its major users are older net surfers who enjoy puzzles, satirical and political games. Rob Small, chief executive of Miniclip.com said: "Online games have grown so rapidly because they are accessible to everyone, predominantly free and fun to play. The potential audience is huge - anyone who has an internet connection. "In recent months we have seen accelerated growth as online games become a fun and cost effective alternative to expensive console games and other leisure activities during an economic downturn." It appears that online, ad-supported gaming is one of the activities that has benefited during this economic downturn,” said Edward Hunter, comScore director of gaming solutions. “Not only have consumers turned to outlets such as gaming to take their minds off the economy, but as they curtail their discretionary gaming-related purchases they are turning to free alternatives.” Miniclip gets over a billion gameplays a month. The most popular games are:

1. Commando (600m+ gameplays)

2. Trials 2 (460m+ gameplays)

3. Quick Fire Pool (220m+ gameplays)

4. Snow Line (200m+ gameplays)

5. Bloxorz (200m+ gameplays)

( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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NVIDIA has hit back at Intel's legal attempt to scrap its chipset licence, claiming it is all about trying to protect Chipzilla's flagging CPU sales. Intel claims that the four-year-old chipset licence agreement the pair signed does not cover CPUs with integrated memory controllers, such as Nehalem. It has taken Nvidia to court to settle the matter. Nvidia head honcho, Jen-Hsun Huang, was confident that the licence applies to the likes of Nehalem. He said the case is nothing to do with the licences but was all about Intel being terrified that Nvidia was going to nick Intel's business. Huang said that Intel's CPU days had run their course and the "soul of the PC" is shifting to the GPU. Quite what makes up the soul of a computer is probably about the same as guessing how many angels can fit onto a silicon chip, however it is Huang's theory and probably gets great comfort from it. Huang thinks that since Nvidia is getting so popular Intel needs to initiate a dispute over a contract signed four years ago because Ion, SLI, Hybrid power, and CUDA threaten Intel's ability to control the PC platform. "They're attempting to prevent us from operating," an NV spinner told the INQ. "They want the entire platform, they don't want anyone else to innovate." Nvidia's chipsets for Intel's current CPU bus interface are not affected by the dispute. ( www.atomicmpc.com.au )

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The companies hope that piggybacking on the phenomenal success of Apple's "App Store", which allows users to download games and other services, will help them to counter a collapse mobile phone sales. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, who yesterday launched the company's Windows Marketplace service at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, said the store will take mobile phones to "another level". "It's no longer about how the phone works by itself but how it works with the internet," he said. "It is your instant access to all the people and information that you care about." Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone company, and the network operators O2 and Orange also launched rival stores. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia's chief executive, said the company will collect 30pc of the revenue paid to software developers, such as EA Games and Lonely Planet, through its Ovi application store. The moves come as the industry tries to find new revenue streams as mobile phone sales are expected to decline by 10pc this year.It will be only the second time the industry has contracted since mobiles were invented in the 1980s.

Analysts expect Apple's App Store to generate more than $800m (£556m) in its first year. Since the service was launched last July more than 500m applications, from games to interactive travel guides, have been downloaded. Tony Cripps, principal analyst at mobile phone consultancy Ovum, said: "Every man and his dog wants an apps store. Apple's has been such a phenomenal success that all the other players are desperately trying to play catch-up as traditional revenues fall."Orange and O2's apps stores – called Orange Portal and O2 Litmus respectively – could anger their mobile phone-making partners as the marketplaces will go head-to-head with their own stores.Yves Maitre, head of Orange Devices, said the launch would help "drive continued demand of mobile broadband use". James Parton, head of O2 Litmus, said: "O2 is creating not just another apps store, but a completely consumer-led series of useful applications". ( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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The death of the digital camera moved a step closer after Sony Ericsson unveiled the world's first mobile phone with a built-in 12.1-megapixel camera. The device, codenamed Idou, will go on sale later this year, and is expected to be available in UK shops in time for Christmas. Sony Ericsson's new handset could render digital cameras obsolete by offering as many megapixels as many semi-professional and consumer cameras. The Idou will also compete directly with Apple's hugely popular iPhone, and features a 3.5in widescreen touch-screen and powerful flash for high quality photos. It also has all the capabilities of Sony Ericsson's Walkman range of phones, which means it can be used for music and video playback as well as taking pictures. The device will run the Symbian mobile phone operating system, and users will be able to download extra software and applications to their device. "The Idou is certainly an impressive change in direction for Sony," said Ernest Doku, a consultant with mobile phone comparison site Omio.com. "Sony has produced a slick, feature-rich handset to combat the iPhone's dominance, and Idou is bound to make waves with its built-in 12-megapixel camera. ( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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Officials from New Mexico's Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory have fessed up to having only just realised that 67 of its computers were missing, with no less than 13 of them having disappeared over the past year alone. A memo leaked by the Project on Government Oversight watchdog brought the lost nuclear laptops to the public's attention, leaving the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration with no choice but to confess. Better than letting the debacle blow up in their faces, we presume. Kevin Roark, a nuclear spin doctor at Los Alamos, confirmed that the lab was now carrying out an inventory check to make sure no additional PCs (or nukes??) were missing. Roark dismissed fears the computers contained highly-sensitive, classified information about how to blow up islands in the South Pacific, noting it was more likely to cause "cybersecurity issues" than issues of national security. In other words, personal information about the lab's staff might be at risk, but none of the lost laptops came equipped with a big red button, so we can all sleep easy. Three of the 13 computers which went missing in the past year were stolen from a scientist's home on Jan. 16 and the memo also mentioned a BlackBerry belonging to another staff member had been lost "in a sensitive foreign country". Could that be Russia? China? Iran? ( www.theinquirer.net )

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