Mid last month we all got a sneak preview of Intel’s Linux-based Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform, which will initially be taken into production by RedFlag of China. However, many of us were curious to see how the actual Midinux (iPhone-like) graphical user interface (GUI) would function. Below is a video demo created by YouTube member pczou showcasing the customized OS on a MID reference board. MORE »

64 Studio is a GNU/Linux distribution tailor-made for digital content creation, including audio, video, graphics and publishing tools. A remix of Debian testing, it comes in both AMD64/Intel64 and 32-bit flavours, to run on nearly all PC hardware. MORE »

NETGEAR, Inc., a worldwide provider of technologically advanced, branded networking products, today announced the execution of a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Infrant Technologies, Inc. MORE »

HomeSeer Technologies announces its new “HomeTroller” home automation controller. The new controller is designed to integrate home lighting, appliances, security, climate and audio/video systems by combining the best attributes of the most popular automation systems available. Homeowners can choose the technologies that best suit their needs and control their homes with a wide assortment of interfaces including push-button controllers, touchscreens, wireless remotes, telephones, even voice! Like other HomeSeer systems, HomeTroller is also web-enabled and may be accessed by any internet-capable device from anywhere in the world. MORE »

Whoa… looks like the guys at Data Robotics took my advice. The company has decided to skim $200 off the original $699 Drobo price tag (pre-order). According to Engadget, the company has received so many pre-orders, which in turn increased volume and cut costs, that they decided to make the product more competitive before being released to the public on June 1st. Good move, guys. Now, if you could just add an Ethernet port – perhaps in a future version – to make it networkable, that would very much be welcomed.

With a little help from multimedia powerhouse, Razorfish, Netflix showcased a new front-end for their on-demand (aka “Instant Watch”) video service. To say the least, the Netflix Silverlight player is a leap ahead in terms of interactivity over standard WMV streaming solutions. Not only is video quality extraordinarily better (capable of up to 720p video), but Silverlight, in this example, enables users to select video chapters (not sure if they’re the actual chapters used in the DVD version), rate movies in real-time, add movies to their queue, see similar movie selections, view a movie’s summary, and even sync a movie with a buddy at another location to enjoy a shared experience, complete with an embedded IM gadget. Also see: Top 10 Silverlight Questions Answered for system requirements and compatibility.

Over two-thirds of U.S. households believe the acquisition of pirated content is wrong, a similar level of moral outrage as when they are asked about cheating on their taxes, according to Global Digital Living™ II. This new study from Parks Associates, which investigated online piracy habits in 13 countries around the world, found 69% percent of American households believe it is wrong to download pirated music and video from the Internet, 77% believe it is wrong to cheat on your taxes, and only 44% believe it is wrong to drive over the speed limit. MORE »

Driving the worldwide acceptance of high-speed networking over power lines, the HomePlug® Powerline Alliance today announced that its member companies have now shipped over nine million powerline communications devices on six continents. Building on this momentum, Intel® Corporation recently disclosed at its Developer Forum in Beijing, that the company plans to include HomePlug AV technology as an optional feature on select 2008 desktop platforms. MORE »

Service providers can attain greater average revenue per user (ARPU) growth by enhancing existing voice, data and video services, and through bundling services and expanding the overall broadband customer base, reports In-Stat. The excitement around IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is based on the premise that an intelligent, converged network will open up market opportunities for many new services and applications, the high-tech market research firm says. Home networking plays a fundamental role in these emerging markets. MORE »

Canonical and Dell are pleased to announce a partnership to offer Ubuntu 7.04 on select desktop and notebook products. This is a tremendous step forward for Ubuntu, our users and customers. MORE »